September 16, 1962 - The ScallopThe Scallop
Exclusive Sunday Review Sketch by Dennis Puleston of Brookhaven
Focus on Nature by Paul Stoutenburgh, Cutchogue
September 16th has a special
meaning to many for it is today
that the scallop season opens. At
one time you could gather scall-
ops for your own use at any time
of the year and the 16th only
applied to commercial scallopers.
But times have changed and laws
have changed and now everyone
must wait until this date accord-
ing to the local Marine Fisheries
Protector.
I remember those old opening
days well, for it was then our
bays looked like a regatta in full
swing as all commercial boats
had to drag for scallops by sail.
You can still see traces of this
grand era of scalloping when you
walk along the docks and see
one of the old Great Bayers rob-
bed of all her finery except the
mast.
These were the boats that haul-
ed hundreds of bushels of scallops
to the shanties around the peri-
meter of our harbors to be open-
ed. Some of these can still' be
seen in our more secluded sea -
side areas. Those were the true
days of bay scallops. Those were
the days as a boy I could gather
a wash tub of these delicacies,
in what seemed to me but a flew
minutes, for the then fabulous
price of 50 cents.
Yet after the disappearance in
the 30's of our bay's famous eel
grass, the scallops as we knew
them, then, disappeared. It was
a rare find, indeed, whenever .
you came across one in the bays.
Lately though, they have made
a surprising come back and a
smaller but lively industry is
again flourishing here on Long
Island, so much so that whenever
there is a strong on -shore wind
that brings the scallops on the
beaches, half my class is absent
--;3 catch. Here is one chance
the local boys -shat
extra money that seems so neces-N
sary in today's living.
Mesl' people know the scallop
design as a decoration that start-
ed back in Palestine during the
Middle Ages. Later the Crusaders
adapted the shell of the scallop
and used it as proof of having
visited the Holy Land. Down
through the ages the design and
shape of the shell has been used
to decorate many objects and
even today we find it being used
as the symbol of one of our great
oil companies.
Yet few of us know anything
about this mollusk except for its de-
licious cooked flavor. I must be
careful saying this though, for
I am sure there are some of
you who would reply, "Don't
forget — they're also good raw!"
True this is for many a time I
have stopped while opening to
sample this succulent harvest. We
eat only the single abductor mus-
cle while in many countries the
entire scallop is utilized.
It is interesting to note when
opening them that most 42e
shells are dark in colorv=t we
find a variety of color changes
when the shells are cast up on
the beach. Here the colors range
from orange to red to purple to
brown to black with no two shells
looking alike.
Not only do the Shells bring
a delight in color, but the sap-
phire blue eyes that rim the live
scallop are fascinating. I am told
that these eyes do not actually
see objects but can detect a
moving shadow. This, plus their
uncanny ability to detect chemi-
cal changes in the water when
an enemy is about puts the
scallop on continual' guard. To
aid its survival, Nature has given
it the ability to swim away or
if necessary to swim and hide
behind a cloud of mud at the
bottom. Small jets of water are
forced out of its side and propel
it rapidly two or three feet at a
time. On calm days you can ac-
tually see them tipping the sur-
face of the water as they shoot
upward in their erratic flight.
Another interesting feature of
the scallop is that it is both male
and female, which even in these
days of gadgets is a pretty re-
markable fete. The young scal-
ops are spawned in early spring
as free swimming Jarvae. These
swim briefly before going to the
bottom where they can attach
them: elves by means of a hairy
thread to some marine plant.
Here they grow rapidly by using
their unique filtering system to
utilize the masses of microscopic
plant and animal life in the
water. During this time they are
growing and moving about freely.
After they have attained one
annual growth ring or are 21/4
inches in diameter from hinge
to biif, hey, then become man's
object of attack. A scallop's life
is short lived. Some- never even
reach the frying pan for many
natural causes. Two to three or
possibly four years is the life
span of a scallop.
Perhaps the seas can turn up
larger and more impressive scall-
ops but none can compare with
the delicate taste of the small,
Long Island Bay scallop.
'FIELD OBSERVATIONS
L R Ernest reports:
Week of September 2 —
Mecox
Bald Eagle
Southampton if K
'Red-tailed.
Marsh Hawk
Sharp - shinned Hawk
Sinnecock
Hud -onian Curlew
Stilt Sandpiper
Baird's Sandpiper
Gannets
Snowy Egrets
Cormorants
Loon
Virginia Rail
Northern Water Thrush
Black Terns
Green - winged Teal
Palm Warbler
Cape May Warbler
P Puleston, D Puleston, G Ray-
nor, J Bennett, Susan Baker,
Carolyn Marshall and P Stouten-
burgh report:
'E Moriches Flats — September 8
Marbled Godwit
Oyster- catcher w /young (3)
Forster's, Terns
Blue- winged Teal (7)
Black- bellied Plover
'Knots
Ruddy Turn :tone
American Egret
Snowy Egret
Dowitcher
Willets (3)
Great Blue Heron (12)
Hudsonian Godwit
Ring - billed Gulls
Laughing Gulls
Cormorants (2)
Semi - palmated Sandpiper
Yellow-legs
Taiping Plover
Loon