Scallop Spawning

Summer Scallop spawning is popping up in certain harvest areas, which is when female scallops are in reproduction. The North Atlantic sea scallop spawn takes place every year late summer to early fall when water temperatures are warmest. The result of a spawning female scallop is the change in pigment, texture of the meat, and release of water “milk” after harvest. This release of water from a female scallop in spawn is a natural occurrence, and has no impact on taste or quality of the scallop. Some scallops in spawn release water after harvest and some don’t, depending what stage of reproduction they are in. In the fresh scallop world, spawning season is the #1 challenge every year as we are aware that chefs don’t like to see any moisture, but it’s all part of wild fishery at this time of year when dealing with fresh dry North Atlantic sea scallops. We are doing our best to monitor the quality with our scallops, and within the next week or two, we anticipate this years spawn cycle to be behind us.