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Scallop, King (Pecten maximus)

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Common name - Scallop, King
Scientific name - Pecten maximus
Rating
  • 1
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Caught at sea Dive caught
Capture Area North East Atlantic  FAO 27
Stock Area All Areas
Stock Detail I-IX
Summary
Diver-caught scallops are a good sustainable choice, providing commercial harvesting is licensed and responsible and minimum landing sizes adhered to. They are becoming increasingly available in supermarkets and restaurants, look at product labelling for details.
Biology
King scallops are bivalve molluscs found in a range of depths from shallow waters in sea lochs to over 100m. They inhabit sandy-gravel and gravel seabeds. They have 2 shells or valves, the upper being flat, and the under or right valve, cup shaped. They are hermaphrodites (i.e. both male and female) and become fully mature at about 3 years old (80 to 90mm in length). Spawning occurs in the warmer months, from April to September. The species can grow to more than 20cm in length and live for more than 20 years, although average sizes are in the range of 10-16cm.
Stock Information
There are 4 main scallop fishing areas in UK waters: the English Channel, Irish Sea (Isle of Man), west of Scotland and the Moray Firth. There is no stock assessment by ICES and limited stock detail provided by UK or devolved governments. There are no quotas set for this species, although local/seasonal restrictions may apply.
Capture Information
Dive-caught is a selective method of capture which causes little or no damage to the seabed compared with scallop dredging. Scallops hand-collected by divers are also generally larger and of better quality than those scallops caught by dredging. Diving is restricted by depth to < 30m, which creates a natural 'refuge' below this depth for wild populations to regenerate. The minimum landing size for scallop in EU waters is 100mm, except in the northern Irish Sea (Isle of Man), Eastern English Channel and Welsh waters where it is 110 mm. Diver-caught scallops (Pecten maximus) constitute around 5% of landings in the UK, the majority originating from Scotland.
Alternatives
(Based on method of production, fish type, and consumer rating: only fish rated 3 and below are included.)
Read what the consumer pages of the Good Fish Guide say about this species.