Where to Fish for Scallops

Scalloping, the sport of catching scallops, is a marine water activity for fishermen who want to try something else besides traditional fishing. This sport allows people to dive underwater and explore the bottom of the ocean while looking for scallops. Fishermen may take the scallops from the ocean for food or place them back in their original habitat. Approximately 96 percent of scallops eaten in the United States come from U.S. fisheries.

  1. United States

    • One of the United States' most common scallops, the bay scallop, lives near the nation's eastern shorelines. The range of the bay scallop stretches from New England to the Gulf of Mexico. Some U.S. locations with scallop populations are the Gulf of Maine in eastern Maine and Florida's Nature Coast, in the Gulf of Mexico near the mouths of the Steinhatchee and Crystal Rivers.

    Habitat

    • Scallops are bottom dwellers in the ocean, but they do not burrow into sediment like other mollusks. Also, scallops are usually found in seagrass, which offers these mollusks protection from natural predators. Depending on where they are, scallops are able to live at various water depths. The scallops near the northeast United States and Canada live at depths of 60 to 350 feet. However, some species live less than 10 feet under the water in the Northeast's bays and estuaries. In the Southern United States, scallops may be found approximately 200 feet under the ocean's surface. Scallops in the Southern United States do not live as close to shore as northeastern species since water temperatures are warmer in the southern region of the country.

    Equipment

    • Fishermen almost always need a boat for finding the best scalloping spots, according to the University of Florida's Sea Grant Florida program. If scalloping in shallow water -- 4 to 10 feet deep -- fishermen only require snorkeling gear for breathing since the scallops are within arm's distance. Scuba gear is necessary for deeper dives. Fishermen usually pick the scallops by hand and place them in a mesh bag. When diving, fishermen must place a buoy with a diving flag over the the scalloping site. The flag alerts other boats to the divers' presence.

    Asia and Australia

    • Aside from the eastern United States, Asia and Australia have abundant scallop populations near their coastlines. Southeast Asia is home to the Asian moon scallop (Amusium pleuronectes); this scallop lives in waters near the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and the Ryuku Islands of southern Japan. These scallops dwell in depths over 30 to 40 feet. Western Australia is home to the saucer scallop (Amusium balloti). The main populations of saucer scallops are near Shark Bay and the Albrohos Islands. Most saucer scallops live less than 100 feet below the ocean's surface, with some in shallow water near the Western Australia coastline.