Peconic Bay Scallops Are Back, In Limited Supply — At A Price

LONG ISLAND, NY — Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus: Peconic Bay scallops can be found in time for New Year's celebrations — albeit in limited amounts and for a steep price.

In November, fans of the mouthwatering Peconic Bay scallops were disappointed once again when the season turned out to be less-than-stellar, with few scallops available.

But on social media, photos of the elusive, delectable morsels began appearing more widely this week. Some local fish markets say they've had the beauties all along this year — although in far fewer numbers than in past years.

According to Ken Homan, owner of Braun Seafood in Cutchogue, some of the baymen who have been "conching" for scungilli or clamming are done for the season — and have now turned their attention back to the elusive Peconic Bay scallops.

While there aren't that many to be had this year, Homan said, "Each guy is getting a bushel, a bushel and a half, 10 lbs. here or there." But because the scallops are fetching such high prices, it makes the scalloping worth the effort, he said.

Delighted customers are thrilled to find the scallops and feel "lucky" to scoop them up this season, he said — despite the price tag.

Peconic Bay scallops range from $50 to $55 a lb. on the North Fork and up to $82 per lb. on the South Fork, according to Charlie Manwaring, owner of the Southold Fish Market.

Scallops are steeped in both North Fork history and in beginnings of the family business, Homan said.

"My dad used to wake me up on the opening day of scallop season and on opening night, make scallop stew. I used to make it for my kids, too," he said.

Opening day of scallop season back in the 1960s was the third Monday in September, Homan said. "We were a company that handled scallops — that's what Braun's evolved from," he said, adding that in the early days, his father and others wore many hats, trying to make a living against the "tough seasonality" of the business.

Looking ahead, Homan said many scallop bugs have been spotted in recent weeks, making the forecast for next year's season slightly more encouraging after a dismal die-off for the past three years.

"We're hopeful that things will come back," Homan said. "The problem is that the mature scallops have been dying before the season. We are hoping things get back into the normal cycle."

For those hankering for a sweet taste of the scallops that capture the essence of East End living, Homan said the baymen know about holes in the bay where they're finding the scallops and are optimistic that they will continue to continue to bring in bushels, however few, throughout the winter.

Manwaring said he's had Peconic Bay scallops, although far fewer than in past years, all along this season.

"We're getting a few guys who are working all day for 15 to 18 lbs.," he said. "It's not a bonanza."

Next year's season, he agreed, all depends on whether the scallops die before they can be harvested.

For the past two years, fishermen and seafood shop owners alike have dubbed the grim situation "a wash," after an almost complete die-off — with simply no scallops to be had.

And this year, while a few are available, for the most part, it's slim pickings.

According to Stephen Tettlebach, a shellfish ecologist at Cornell Cooperative Extension who has been working on bay scallop restoration for 17 years, this year, once again, the adult scallop population in Peconic Bay did not survive.

"I anticipate the harvest this year will be very poor, due to a mass die-off of adults for the third year in a row," he said. "There seem to be a few more adults around compared to last year, but not enough to make for a substantial catch."

When asked what factors led to the dearth of Peconic Bay scallops, Tettleback said the data collected this year strongly suggest the die-offs are due to a combination of high water temperature, disease, and the physiological stress of spawning. The die-offs occurred throughout the Peconic Bays, with the majority of the mortality having occurred by late July, he said.

But, he added, all is not lost.

"The good news is that there was another good spawn this year, before the adults died, and there are a lot of juvenile scallops out there. We plan to continue our restoration efforts and are embarking on a couple of new projects to selectively breed bay scallops that are more resistant to high water temperatures and the disease."

When asked about the die-off, Manwaring said personally, he thinks the scallops' spawning cycle is awry. "They're spawning every year, but they're spawning too early," he said. "Mother Nature has gotten things a little screwed up."

Every year, there are juveniles, Manwaring said. "This year, there were three different sets of juveniles; they spawned three different times. They are doing their job, whether it's a month, or two or three months early, that's the issue."

When spawning should take place in September, it's been happening in June or July, Manwaring said.

When asked for a reason, Manwaring said, "No one knows." He added: "Once they spawn, they are vulnerable. Their life is done. They live a little longer, then they die."

There are a lot of buds in area waters, but "if they all die in August or September, what good is it?" he asked.

Peconic Bay scallops, he added, are intrinsic to the North Fork canvas. "It's our makeup," he said.

While in years' past, Manwaring has sent his scallops to restaurants in New York City and to locations along the eastern seaboard, this year, that abundance is just a dream.

"I put them out and they're gone in an hour," he said.

Of the prices, Manwaring said he remembers the days when Peconic Bay scallops fetched $7 a lb.: "My old boss? He's rolling in his grave. I can't believe they're that much. I can remember when they were $25 a lb., he thought it was a million dollars. I can't even imagine him knowing that now, they're $55 a lb.," he said.

Still, Manwaring sees hope, and believes that the days of a healthy harvest and lower prices will come again. "When Mother Nature wants us to have them, we will have them. It will just take a few years to get the right cycle," he said.