The Us Northwest Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery

"This report is an updated assessment of U.S. sea scallops, using data through the end of the 2005 calendar year. The methodology used here is identical to that used in the last fully peer-reviewed stock assessment (NEFSC 2004), but is updated to include two more calendar years of landings and fishery-independent survey data (2004-2005). The Atlantic sea scallop, Placopecten magellanicus, occurs in continental shelf waters of the Northwest Atlantic between Cape Hatteras and Newfoundland. It supports one of the most valuable fisheries in the United States, with an ex-vessel value in 2005 of over $430 million, and is the most valuable wild scallop fishery in the world. Major commercial concentrations of sea scallops in U.S. waters occur in the Mid-Atlantic Bight (Virginia to Long Island), on Georges Bank and surrounding areas (including the Great South Channel and Nantucket Shoals), and near-shore areas in the Gulf of Maine"--Introduction.