Meet the Scallop

Scallops have captured our imaginations and tickled our tastebuds for centuries.

So how is it that a creature so entwined in our culture and history is still a mystery to so many of us?

Meet the Scallop

Two scallops opened to reveal anatomy labeled with parts like gonad, gills, adductor, and more, with a quarter for scale and logos. Marine science educational image.

Sea scallops themselves are bivalves, meaning they have two shells, aka valves, enclosing their delicious meaty parts. They survive by drawing seawater over their gills, extracting phytoplankton and organic material as their food.  They belong to a family of shellfish called the Pectinidae, but the sea scallop - Placopecten magellanicus - is the only species within the genus Placopecten.  As a taxonomic family, Pectinids exist the world over and many species are fished or farmed: the bay scallop (Aequipecten irradians), the Japanese scallop (Patinopecten yessoensis) and the King Scallop (Pecten maximus) to name a few.  The fishery for the sea scallop in the northeastern US is the largest scallop fishery in the world. 

When we eat a scallop - perhaps pan seared with citrus-ginger sauce or maybe bacon wrapped and broiled- what we’re really eating is only part of the scallop: the adductor muscle.  This so-called scallop 'meat' is the muscle that closes the two shells together…but it's only part of the story. 

The US market has traditionally been only for scallop meats, but in the rest of the seafood-eating world, it’s not  uncommon to eat other parts of the scallop too, or even the whole animal (minus the shell).  Consequently, as live scallops become more available in the US market, chefs and consumers will have an astonishing array of opportunities for culinary exploration and dining experiences.  So…let's explore!

Fishing boat on water at sunset with trees in background and seagulls flying.
Person wearing gloves holding a large scallop shell on a boat with water splashes.

Do scallops have a season?

Scallops’ life cycle means they’re plumper at certain times of the year, generally right before they reproduce. And fisheries management differs from area to area, as well as from gear type to gear type. Click below to learn more.