Also known as the "Cape Bay Scallop" or "Atlantic Bay Scallop", it is found from PEI, Canada to Long Island So und, New York.  The most prized harvest area is Nantucket Island, off the coast of Massachusetts, where the harvesting and processing is strictly controlled.  Drag boats and divers in 10 to 80 feet of water harvest the true Bay Scallop. Because of the perishable nature of the Bay Scallops and their reputation of high quality, the boats and divers return daily with their catch, unlike other scallop fisherman that go out for weeks at a time. . 

 Also available shucked, Bay Scallops are considered the sweetest of any scallop available anywhere.  As with most other live scallops, but especially with Bay Scallops, they can be served raw on the half shell, or cooked; whole or shucked

Med-2 to 4/lb, 4" to 6" diameter

  The harvest of these large scallops is a traditional fishery in the northeast.  They are dredged in water fifty to one hundred feet deep by small one-man boats working ten to twenty miles out of Cape Cod Bay.  The remoteness of this harvest area can lead to interruptions in availability due to bad weather.  The scallops are harvested from cold, certified waters but still, like all live scallops, they tend to have a short shelf life.  Their size and attractive shell makes an incredible presentation.  They can be served whole, roe and all.  The flavor is sweet and the texture crunchy when eaten raw.

The Atlantic sea scallop is harvested from North Carolina to Newfoundland.  This large scallop, whose shell can attain a width of nine inches, is dredged from depths of 180 to 600 feet.  The most productive harvest areas are the mid-Atlantic coast, the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank, and Nantucket Shoals.  The Canadian fishery opens on January 1 and the U.S. season opens on March 1.  The U.S. season is limited in duration as part of a seven-year federal plan to allow over fished stocks to regenerate.  Spring and summer are good times to buy,

 as inventories rise and prices drop.  Prices begin to go back up around October, by which time the U.S. season has ended and inventories have been established.Atlantic sea scallops are almost always shucked at sea, since the live scallop dies very quickly out of water.  Most boats hold the shucked scallop on ice until they reach shore, but the best method of retaining their natural sweetness is by producing product that is frozen at sea (or FAS).  The boats that do this are preserving the product at it sweetest.  Within hours of coming out of the water, the scallop meat has been shucked, rinsed, and frozen.  But the equipment to do this is expensive and cumbersome, so most boats opt to go for the increased volume that ice storage allows.  Boats that hold their product on ice for processing onshore are sometimes at sea for three days or more before returning to port.  There is no way for a scallop to remain at its best for that long

Scallop meat is frequently dipped or soaked in a chemical called sodium tripolyphosphate.  This is often done to reduce drip and nutrient loss, whiten the meat (to a chalky white from a translucent pearly white), maintain texture, increase shelf life and eliminate the natural gassy smell scallops tend to give off after a few days.  However, it also adds a lot of water weight, up to 25%, which the scallop will lose when cooked or thawed.  A scallop treated in this way is said to be “soaked”, “wet”, or “processed”.  Even many of the so-called “Day boat” or “Dry Scallops” have been dipped but just not for a long period of time. Our FAS scallops are never soaked.  They are pure, unadulterated scallop meat

The Atlantic sea scallop meat is shaped like a tall drum, compared to Alaskan and Japanese sea scallop meat that is much flatter.  Top quality product will appear to be bright and shiny, and nearly a translucent pearly white, sometimes with pinkish or brown spots.  It will also smell sweet, like seaweed, and will have an elastic springiness that allows it to keep its shape.  It has a very sweet flavor with a texture that is lean and firm.  Thanks in part to their size, they are particularly well suited to grilling, but they also do well baked, broiled, fried, poached, or sautéed.

Due to over fishing and habitat destruction the scallop industry has experienced a considerable decline in the recent years.  This has lead to the development of Sea Scallop farms, the first of which are being located in New Foundland, Canada.  Scallop seed is collected naturally in mesh bags that have been filled with old monofilament rope.  The seed collects on the rope and falls off naturally in a few months when it reaches \about half an inch.  It is then placed in hanging cages suspended from the surface.  It takes a total of three to three and a half years to

reach the three-inch market size.  Although this product is very delicious and has many uses in the whole form it will be available fresh shucked in the future.  At the three-inch size the muscle shucks out at about fifty count to the pound. Properly stored at thirty-five degrees under damp covering and not sitting in liquid, Cultured New Foundland Sea Scallops should have a four to five day shelf life from harvest.

Of growth.  In affected areas, the mortality rate can be 100%.  Ostrea edulis is the indigenous species of Europe, known to most Americans as the "Belon."  The name "Belon," however, really applies only to the oysters raised in Brittany, France, where they are very famous and consumed in great quantities.  The Belon oyster commands the highest price in European restaurants because of its popularity and fragile nature.  On the world market, the European Flat oyster is the most expensive oyster on a menu.  The European Flat is similar to the Olympia in flavor and texture, but much stronger.  It is very firm in texture, slightly salty with sweet meat, and has a distinctive mineral finish.  European Flats are identified by their round, shallow shell.

The Alaskan sea scallop is harvested off the coast of Alaskan in the Bering Sea..  This large scallop, whose shell can attain a width of nine inches, is dredged from depths of 180 to 600 feet. 

Alaskan sea scallops are  always shucked at sea, since the live scallop dies very quickly out of water.  Most boats hold the shucked scallop on ice until they reach shore, but the best method of retaining their natural sweetness is by producing product that is frozen at sea (or FAS).  The boats that do this

are preserving the product at it sweetest.  Within hours of coming out of the water, the scallop meat has been shucked, rinsed, and frozen.  But the equipment to do this is expensive and cumbersome, so most boats opt to go for the increased volume that ice storage allows.  Boats that hold their product on ice for processing onshore are sometimes at sea for three days or more before returning to port.  There is no way for a scallop to remain at its best for that long.

Scallop meat is frequently dipped or soaked in a chemical called sodium tripolyphosphate.  This is often done to reduce drip and nutrient loss, whiten the meat (to a chalky white from a translucent pearly white), maintain texture, increase shelf life and eliminate the natural gassy smell scallops tend to give off after a few days.  However, it also adds a lot of water weight, up to 25%, which the scallop will lose when cooked or thawed.  A scallop treated in this way is said to be “soaked”, “wet”, or “processed”.  Even many of the so-called “Day boat” or “Dry Scallops” have been dipped but just not for a long period of time. Our FAS scallops are never soaked.  They are pure, unadulterated scallop meat.

The Alaskan sea scallop meat is shaped like a squat drum and gives good plate coverage, compared to the Eastern Sea Scallop which is much taller and not as wide.  Top quality product will appear to be bright and shiny, and nearly a translucent pearly white, sometimes with pinkish or brown spots.  It will also smell sweet, like seaweed, and will have an elastic springiness that allows it to keep its shape.  It has a very sweet flavor with a texture that is lean and firm.  Thanks in part to their size, they are particularly well suited to grilling, but they also do well baked, broiled, fried, poached, or sautéed.