Maine Dayboat Scallops is hoping the idea will promote New England scallops.
In this photo made Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011, scallop meat is shucked at sea on opening day off Harpswell, Maine. Strong global demand for sea scallops, the weak U.S. dollar and a diminished supply from Japan and other overseas markets have boosted prices for U.S. fishermen. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)Scallops are a perennially popular item on restaurant menus locally. Baked, broiled, or deep-fried, they're almost always a top seller.
However, most of those scallops aren't locally harvested but instead shipped in. The commercial scallop haul from New England waters is typically small and has been decreasing in quantity over the last several years.
According to the Bangor Daily News, one Maine woman has developed an idea she things might do much to revitalize the Maine scalloping industry -- "shell-on" scallops.
Scallops are an edible bivalve similar to the oyster. Unlike Europeans, who often eat the whole organism, we here in the United States only consider the large adductor muscle that holds the halves of the scallop shell together to be edible.
Scallop fisherman who fish (or "dredge") for scallops thus shuck them right on board the their boat, retaining only the muscle and dumping everything else over the side.
Togue Brawn, who formerly worked for the Maine Department of Marine Resources, had the idea of marketing scallops with the shell still attached.
She's hoping the attractive combination of pearly shell and tender muscle will be something the restaurant industry will pay extra for, since the combination can be used to create dramatic-looking seafood presentations.
Brawn, who operates as Maine Dayboat Scallops, wholesales her scallops in the shell to restaurants for between $2 and $3 each, a price that allows her to offer the scallop fishermen with which she deals more for their catch.
The total market for the product is currently small, though Maine Dayboat Scallops hopes to build volume by stressing the shell-on product's uniqueness.
Brawn's company, which can be reached at (207) 838-1490, also specializes in traditionally shucked scallops, which she markets on a "next-day" basis to restaurants.
Maine Dayboat Scallops maintains a web presence at www.mainedayboatscallops.com.