DEI has conducted research to discover how to raise sea scallops, placopectin magellanicus, for stock enhancement and aquaculture

The high value of the sea scallop fishery has encouraged entrepreneurs to explore scallop aquaculture.  Currently, the only source of seed is wild spat collection, which can be very successful but is also highly variable.

DEI has conducted our own research and is collaborating with other researchers in attempts to develop a reliable source of cultured scallop seed. 

While DEI has several spaces suitable for spawning and growing scallops, and has successfully induced sea scallops to spawn just about any time of year, they are a difficult species to rear. Scallops typically take between 25 and 35 days to transform from swimming larvae into bottom-dwelling juveniles. By comparison, clam larvae swim for about 14 days. The extra time spent in this vulnerable state means the scallop larvae are at increased risk of mortality.

Left: a 20-day old scallop with a fully-developed larval shell and a full gut of digested cultured microalgae. Photo by Kyle Pepperman.

Right: This sea scallop has recently transformed from its larval state to a juvenile and is around 200 microns in shell length. Shortly after this stage they settle to the bottom of the ocean from the water column. Photo by Kyle Pepperman.