Scallops Return to Chincoteague Bay

For about 60 years, bay scallops (Argopecten irradians or something like it) have been absent from Chincoteague Bay on the ocean side of the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia. They've been gone since 1933 when a hurricane tore through the region and blew away beds of underwater grasses that the scallops depend on for habitat. You pronounce Chincoteague "Shink-uh-teeg."

Seafood lovers will quickly announce that I don't know what I'm talking about because they've been eating bay scallops for years. They are correct, but they haven't been eating Chincoteague Bay scallops. They've been eating bay scallops from elsewhere along the Atlantic coast, particularly New England and Long Island. You pronounce these "Nu Ing-land" and "Lawng Oiy- land."

We know bay scallops are back for two reasons. First, the Daily Press of Newport News, Virginia, said so in January. Second, the newspaper said that scientists who study sea grasses found the scallops. Who are we not to believe scientists? The scientist who noticed them probably said something scientific like, "Hey. Look. Scallops! Who's got a net?"

Until these scallops were spotted, people only knew about Chincoteague scallops from museum specimens, nature guide books, and driveways made of half shells dredged from the bay. Although bay scallops are not an endangered species, even in Chincoteague, the scientists (who had probably written a quick research paper about the population of 18 scallops) told the Virginia Marine Resources Commission to ban scallop fishing, which it did. Immediately, old scallop fishermen who have been waiting around doing nothing for 60 years announced they would protest because their livelihood was being threatened.

The scallops are returning, the scientists say, because grass beds have been returning, which shows the importance of habitat even to a scallop.

Scallops are bivalve mollusks - they have two shells, an upper and a lower or a right and a left, depending on how you look at them. The shells are, well, scalloped. In the old days before people invented plastic spoons, they made spoons out of scallop shells. Because the scallop shell is scalloped and somewhat flat, it took a long time to eat and many people starved. The goddess Aphrodite was supposed to have emerged from a scallop shell and scientists plan to try to prove this after they finish studying sea grass. Today, Royal Dutch Shell uses a scallop for its symbol on gas station signs.

Scallops, being bivalves, have an advantage over single-shell mollusks. Because it has two shells, a scallop can open and close its shells to expel water and propel itself along the bottom of the bay. This is like holding your hands together at the wrists and making a clapping motion, only you won't get far if you do this while swimming so don't bother. The scallop has a strong adductor muscle that holds the two shells together. This is what enables the scallop to open and close its shells so effectively. Unfortunately, this muscle tastes good and is the part people eat. Says one source, "they are the sweetest and most delicate of the American scallops." For some odd reason, this muscle is also called the "eye."

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