Scallop aquaculture is growing globally. Like other bivalves, scallops have limited evidence for sentience, but welfare consideration in aquaculture and harvesting practices remains appropriate.
Scallop welfare presents similar considerations to other bivalves, with limited evidence for conscious pain experience but precautionary consideration warranted. Scallop escape responses - rapid shell clapping and swimming - indicate sensory capability for predator detection. Whether these responses involve any conscious experience is unknown. The primary welfare-relevant consideration in scallop production is harvest method: bottom dredging for wild scallops causes severe benthic habitat destruction and high bycatch mortality affecting many clearly sentient species. Aquaculture methods including rope and cage culture are superior on both welfare and environmental grounds. Harvesting methods including rapid chilling before processing may reduce any potential suffering.