Scallop Dredging Welfare: Physical Trauma and Mortality

Dredge fishing for scallops causes significant physical trauma to both target and non-target species. Welfare considerations for scallops and bycatch are increasingly part of sustainable fisheries assessment.

Key Facts

Bottom-dredging for scallops captures 15-30% of target scallops while causing widespread seabed destruction
Scallops subjected to dredge capture experience physical shell damage, mantle trauma and stress responses
Non-target species bycatch in scallop dredging is extensive and includes many benthic invertebrates
Dive-caught scallops experience significantly less physical trauma than dredge-caught individuals
The welfare status of scallops is uncertain but they do show nociceptive responses to tissue damage

Welfare Considerations

Scallop dredging subjects target animals to intense physical trauma including shell damage, mantle injury and tissue damage from contact with the dredge frame and contents. Non-target bycatch species captured in dredges include many benthic invertebrates that are crushed, suffocated or injured before discard. The mortality of discarded bycatch represents a welfare cost that extends far beyond the scallop welfare question. Dive-caught scallops experience a qualitatively different level of physical disruption, being individually selected and handled rather than dredged en masse. Precautionary welfare considerations support preferring dive-caught over dredge-caught scallops, particularly given the broader ecological cost of dredging.

What You Can Do

Choose dive-caught scallops over dredge-caught when available
Support sustainable seafood certification that excludes bottom-dredged scallops
Advocate for marine protected areas that prevent dredging in sensitive benthic habitats
Support research into scallop sentience to reduce uncertainty in welfare decision-making
Engage with seafood retailers about the welfare and ecological case for preferring dive-caught scallops