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Foodborne illness, scallops


HowardLi

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Going back to the first post. Raw scallops are great... when they've just come over the rail of the boat and shucked out and eaten immediately. Nothing like 'em.

PS. What SeanDirty refers to as "dredging" is generally called "dragging" here in Maine. Over the years I've made a few scallop drags, and repaired and rebuilt even more. All the fishermen dragging for scallops like to claim it's better for the bottom. It stirs things up and makes the ground more productive. I'm not so sure about that, but we still seem to have plenty of scallops in the Gulf of Maine.

The worst time came ten or fifteen years ago when a really big bed had been found and shrimping was bad in the Carolinas. They re-rigged for scallops, came up here, and wiped things out in short order. Same thing happened to the Newfoundland cod 20-25 years ago. The big boats came and wiped out the cod. The fishery still hasn't recovered.

Edited by Country (log)
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As for diver, well that's a term thrown around like organic. You really think some guy is out there underwater for hours and hours... I couldent imagine how many scallops each diver could even provide. I'd imagine if he supplied at least 3 restaurants daily that would be amazing.

Actually, it's like hunting for anything. I've swam for a whole tank (about 1 hour) and managed to pick up half a bag (a couple dozen) but the next tank I'll hit a little canyon where they all hide from the current and spend the rest of the tank shoveling them into net bags. A day like that will yield 80 - 100lbs. A diver can't safely do more than three tanks in a day (although it's done, easily) because scallops aren't found above 35 or 40 feet. You have to stay out of the water at increasingly longer intervals between dives.

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The worst time came ten or fifteen years ago when a really big bed had been found and shrimping was bad in the Carolinas. They re-rigged for scallops, came up here, and wiped things out in short order. Same thing happened to the Newfoundland cod 20-25 years ago. The big boats came and wiped out the cod. The fishery still hasn't recovered.

Country, who the hell let that happen? WTF?! :angry:

Edited by johnnyd (log)

"I took the habit of asking Pierre to bring me whatever looks good today and he would bring out the most wonderful things," - bleudauvergne

foodblogs: Dining Downeast I - Dining Downeast II

Portland Food Map.com

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Johnny, You mean the scallops or the cod? Nothing could be done about the Carolina boats coming for the scallops.

More on the Newfoundland cod can be found here. I just happened to be listening to CBC radio the day the fishery was closed. It was really a shock. About halfway down the page at the link, you'll see the name of Sam Lee, who was an inshore fisherman that tried to get something done about the decimation of the cod by the big boats, but couldn't. All the local guys were handlining or, like Lee, using traps. You don't stand a chance with those big boats, especially when they start pair trawling. A year or two after the closing a really good radio program was done on it, and Sam Lee was featured. In the end, 25,000 people lost their living because of the closure. I taped the program and some day I'll have to dig it out and listen again.

As far as who's to blame? Here's what's written on the page after the opening link.

GOVERNMENT POLICY IS AT THE core of Newfoundland's fisheries problem. Canada's bureaucracy supported and even subsidized high-tech fish hunts because federal and provincial leaders wanted a modern domestic seafood industry to supply cod to international markets all year.
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Johnny, You mean the scallops or the cod? Nothing could be done about the Carolina boats coming for the scallops.

More on the Newfoundland cod can be found here.

As far as who's to blame? Here's what's written on the page after the opening link.

GOVERNMENT POLICY IS AT THE core of Newfoundland's fisheries problem. Canada's bureaucracy supported and even subsidized high-tech fish hunts because federal and provincial leaders wanted a modern domestic seafood industry to supply cod to international markets all year.

I knew about the cod travesty, not the big scallop bed rape. They had to have had federal permits allowing them to do that, but no state permits needed or enforced? Was Maine asleep at the wheel again? We are veering off-topic - My pals in the biz could fill pages of discussion about fishing regs. Thankfully, they aren't members! :unsure:

"I took the habit of asking Pierre to bring me whatever looks good today and he would bring out the most wonderful things," - bleudauvergne

foodblogs: Dining Downeast I - Dining Downeast II

Portland Food Map.com

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