Different stocks of the calico scallop, Argopecten gibbus are found in the Southeast coast of the United States, between Florida and North Carolina (Sarkis et al. 2006), but there are genetic and morphological similarities (Krause et al. 1994; FFWCC 2010) so we assume a unique stock within the area.

This species supports a highly variable fishery off the coast of Florida and North Carolina. Although the exact locations of commercial stocks vary from year to year, the Cape Lookout, Cape Canaveral, and Cape San Bias areas are particularly important to the fishery. The North Carolina fishery is small and extremely transient and the Cape San Bias fishery of Florida is also highly variable. In these areas commercial fishing efforts may occur only every 2-3 years and only after other stocks have been depleted (Blake and Shumway 2006).