Peconic Bay Scallop Season Off to 'Horrible' Start

NORTH FORK, NY — Monday marked the day scores of hungry fans wait for each year — the first day of Peconic Bay scallop season, when fishermen bring in the deliciousness that can be enjoyed for months to come.

But this year, local seafood owners agree, the season is off to a less than stellar start.

"It's horrible," said Keith Reda, manager of Braun Seafood in Cutchogue. "We've seen less than half of what we had last year."

Reda said he's not sure what's caused the drop-off in scallops, but added some blame it on the brown tide or other environmental factors. "Nobody has a scientific reason," he said, adding that he's reached out to experts. "Nobody can give you a definite answer."

Reda added that scallops have a two-year life cycle, which means next year's yield might prove more promising.

The scarcity of the sweet morsels means prices will be higher this year, Reda said. That's bad news for fishermen and fish shop owners alike. "The price gets to a certain ceiling and people stop buying," he said.

Charlie Manwaring, owner of Southold Fish Market, said the scallop season is "slow. It's not like the last few years. We're getting less and less every day. Guys are down to three to four bushels, with some doing five. Last year, guys were still getting their limit, 10 bushels a day. It's probably half, if not a third, of what we saw last year."

Last year, he said, fishermen were bringing in up to 150 bushels a day in total while this year so far, he's gotten maybe 45 bushels.

When asked what the reason might be for the dismal season, Manwaring said, "Who knows? Nobody knows. It's Mother Nature."

There are, however, babies and buds that've been seen, which, if they live, could mean a much better year in 2017.

Lower numbers mean higher prices, Manwaring agreed.

"It sucks, plain and simple. But that's life. You have good years and bad years." This year's season, he said, will be "short and sweet."

And, with recent natural events such as the recent red tide, Manwaring said, "It's lucky we have any, period. That's the scary part, you can't really every rely on scallops. They're good for the economy, good for everyone — but they can be taken away in so many different ways."

This year's scallops are smaller, Manwaring said, but still delicious.

"Peconic Bay scallops are the best," he said. While some favor scallops from Martha's Vineyard or Nantucket, for Manwaring, "Peconic Bay scallops are my favorite."

In the coming days, fishermen will still be going out, but if they're going to be catching less, they'll need to be paid more, as an incentive, "to keep them enticed and keep them going."

Still, he said, "It's going to be hit or miss for the next month. We may have them for a couple of days but then we might not have them due to wind. We'll have them for the whole winter, hopefully, but if it's not nice weather, the guys aren't going to go out, so it'll be spotty. We have faithful guys that do it every day but by the same token, if they don't make a day's pay, they're not going to go out."

This year, Manwaring predicts he won't be selling many scallops wholesale in New York City or up and down the East Coast to Maine or Florida, as he did last year. "It's going to be a local retail market."

The Peconic Bay scallop season may not be like it was in its heyday, Manwaring said, but the thought of the succulent morsels "still brings tons of people out here. We're seeing people from the city coming out for the day, checking their houses and grabbing four or five pounds."

Peconic Bay scallops are a boon for the local economy, because the same people buying scallops are stopping at wineries and breweries and other businesses. "It's a good thing all around," Manwaring said. "I wish there were a lot more. This year, it's not going to happen. But that's life."