American sea scallop
St. Pierre Bank
Profile updated on 5 April 2024
SUMMARY
SUMMARY
IDENTIFICATION
SCIENTIFIC NAME(s)
Placopecten magellanicus
SPECIES NAME(s)
American sea scallop
The American Sea Scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) is primarily distributed on three different beds throughout St. Pierre Bank (Newfoundland, Canada), including the North (inshore fleet), Middle, and South (offshore fleed) beds. This species ranges from depths of 40-100 meters and is found on hard bottoms generally composed of sand, gravel, stones, and shell fragments (DFO, 2023).
Distribution of the sea scallop overlaps with the Iceland scallop, specifically at high overlap in the Middle and North bed, whereas the sea scallop inhabits only the Southern bed (DFO, 2023).
The sea scallop resource is managed by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) which monitors fishery landings data, catch-per-unit-effort, and overall abundance of the population (DFO, 2023). Stock assessments are publicly released by DFO every 2 years, the latest one is from 2023 (DFO, 2023).
ANALYSIS
- Total landings of the sea scallop across St. Pierre Bank (offshore and inshore fleets) have never exceeded the Total Allowable Catch (TACs) (DFO, 2023).
- Generally speaking, landings of sea scallops from the inshore fleet (North bed) have never exceeded the TAC limits set by management, since TACs were implemented in 2005 (DFO, 2023).
SCORES
Management Quality:
≥ 6
≥ 6
≥ 6
