Sea scallop, Placopecten magellanicus, life history and habitat characteristics

Northeast Fisheries Science Center (U.S.)

"The Atlantic sea scallop, Placopecten magellanicus (Gmelin), is a bivalve mollusk of the family Pectinidae and order Ostreoida (Figure 1). It occurs on the continental shelf of the northwest Atlantic from the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence south to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The Atlantic sea scallop is one of the most economically important species in the northeast United States, and supports the most valuable wild scallop fishery in the world. The 2003 U.S. landings of 25,476 MT (meats) had an ex-vessel value of about

Technical Memorandum

Atlantic Coast (North America)

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)