Scalloping returns to waters of Outer Banks

Connie Sage

Correspondent

For watermen struggling with a mediocre fishing season, harvesting bay scallops from the shallow waters of the Outer Banks has been almost as good as striking gold.

For the first time in three years, the state has allowed both commercial and recreational scalloping on the coast.

It's been a blessing, said Mikey Daniels, an owner of Wanchese Fish Co. "It's been putting food on the table for everybody," he said.

Capt. Ernie Foster, owner of the Hatteras Island charter fishing Albatross Fleet, said allowing watermen to harvest scallops has "put a smile on everybody's face."

"Everyone is eating really well," Foster said. "It's allowed guys to generate some income in what was otherwise a bleak time. It's kept the wolf away from the door."

The state Division of Marine Fisheries opened the bay scallop season on Jan. 26. Scalloping had not been allowed since extremely low harvests in 2004 and 2005.

Commercial watermen can bring in five bushels of the sweet scallops a day on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Others can dig for scallops on Saturdays and Sundays, using hands, rakes, tongs, dip nets or scoops. The season is open until April 1.

Scalloping is allowed in Core Sound and in eastern Pamlico Sound, said Patricia Smith, public information officer for Marine Fisheries, but not in Bogue and Back sounds.

"It's really been a good little boost to a lot of people who couldn't make money this time of year," said Steve Bailey, owner of Risky Business Seafood in Hatteras Village and Avon.

Bailey said there are millions of scallops so thick that they're on top of one another. There will be few scallops next year, he predicted, because the cycle of good harvests seems to run every five to seven years.

"Send word to Yankee land to please come down and bring some of the stimulus" money to help out the island economy, Bailey joked.

Foster said uncommonly poor weather and inconsistent winds have made fishing terrible in the Outer Banks this winter. Harvesting scallops "generates a couple hundred dollars a week, which beats the heck out of nothing," he said.

"There's no way to overstate the positive psychological impact" of being able to harvest the scallops, he said, "for the fishermen and for those of us who are enjoying having a neighbor give you a mess of scallops."

"People were getting a little bit sorrowful," said his wife, Lynne Foster. "This provided income for those who needed it, and food. Fishermen can at least eat. Times are tight."

David Gaskins, who works for Wanchese Fish Co. in Hatteras Village, said that at the beginning of the season, watermen were bringing in 115 to 125 bushels on the days when harvesting was allowed. Now Wanchese Fish is packing 180 bushels on those same days, he said.

"On my list right now are 45 people to buy from. There's probably only maybe six or seven people that are not commercially licensed," he said.

Commercial watermen are being paid $16 a bushel or $6 a pound for shucked scallops, Daniels said. "We wrote 50 checks last month, so it's a real blessing."

Most watermen search for their catch by boat in shallow waters. The crop is so plentiful that others are "coming in all kinds of boats and cars, bringing them in any way you can get them," Daniels said.

Wanchese Fish is selling some to local restaurants and shipping others to Texas and New England.

Folks on the Outer Banks are savoring the scallops, too.

"We're simply searing them with butter and olive oil and a little salt and pepper," said Lynne Foster. To not only harvest them, she said, but to be able to enjoy them "is a real bonus."