Mr. Greg Rivara of the Suffolk County Cooperative Extension Marine Program made a presentation on developing commercial aquaculture of small (under 57mm) bay scallops for sale to restaurants to be consumed whole in the shell, a budding industry in other states. The market demand for this product is for a scallop that is less than New York’s current minimum size limit. Massachusetts and Rhode Island grant cultured scallops an exemption from such regulations as minimum size, which are designed to protect the abundance of wild scallop populations and are, according to Mr. Rivara, irrelevant in terms of cultured animals. He argued for a similar exemption for cultured scallops in New York. Local restaurant demand could easily be developed for this product as an appetizer and it should not compete with normal-size shucked scallops served as a main course. The whole, in-shell market takes scallops prior to the winter season, requiring only a single growing season (May-Christmas), which would avoid winter mortality. Mr. Rivara pointed out that no labor has to be invested in shucking. To avoid genetic pollution of wild stocks by cultured organisms, Mr. Rivara suggested that all stock used in culture operations be local and harvested before spawning. The aquaculture would be a cottage industry, done in small cages on carefully spaced, five-acre assignment farms. He projected that the industry would yield $20 million in annual sales. He noted that an existing regulatory loophole should be closed: undersize "seed" scallops can presently be sold by hatcheries to other states, where laws allow repackaging them as food, and these sub-legal scallops can then be shipped back to New York and offered for sale in restaurants.

Mr. Rivara stated New York’s location is ideal, although the brown tide could be a problem. A common sense approach here would benefit the fishing industry. Two problems exist: there is not enough bay scallop seed available, and current laws protect only wild fisheries, not aquaculture. Unpredictable weather could also create problems.

Council Sandy Mason asked how development of a bay scallop aquaculture industry in New York might impact wild-harvest scallop fishermen if the market became saturated. Mr. Rivara responded that there would be two different markets--one in the shell for cultured product and the existing market for adductor muscle, which would continue to be supplied from harvesting wild stocks. Chairman Wise brought up how the brown tide would be a problem in the long-term establishment of bay scallop aquaculture in New York. Mr. Rivara foresaw small cooperatives of farmers with at least two sites; their cages could be relocated if the brown tide reappeared to avoid devastation. Mr. Rivara responded to concerns expressed by Councilor Knobel and several others that this project would overwhelm the wild-harvest bay scallop fishery by saying that there was plenty of existing leased but unused bottom in New York’s Marine District, primarily in the Peconic Bays System, that could be used for scallop aquaculture and this would not restrict the amount of bottom open to wild stock harvesters. Further, he again noted that the aquaculture product and the wild-caught product would be targeted at different markets.

Mr. Colvin of DEC expressed reluctance to create demand for a product (a bay scallop of less than current legal size) which could be harvested from the wild illegally, especially given recent experience with seed hard clams and Atlantic sturgeon. Mr. John Mason of DEC pointed out that a change in the law might allow importing from other states. Mr. Rivara continued that small scallops were being raised now; they cannot be allowed to grow to full size because of considerable winter mortality of scallops, due to inadequate food in their overcrowded nets.