WACHAPREAGUE, Va. — Bay scallops were once "locally extinct" in the Eastern Shore — however, restoration work from local research groups has resulted in the population "multiplying exponentially."
William & Mary's Batten School of Coastal & Marine Sciences along with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science's Eastern Shore Labratory (VIMS ESL) led the initiative to bring back the bay scallop population.
The research institutions cited their efforts to restore seagrass in the area as the reason for this bounce back. Back in the 1930s, an eelgrass wasting disease ruined the bay scallops' natural habitat in Virginia waters.
“The restoration of bay scallops to their former range along the Virginian Eastern Shore represents a significant societal and ecological achievement,” said VIMS ESL Director Richard Snyder.
VIMS ESL researchers recorded an average of 0.114 bay scallops per square meter during their 2025 survey. In some instances, scientists found several scallops in a single square meter, something they called "unimaginable just a few years ago." The population could double within the next year and a half, according to researchers.
Bay scallop harvesting was temporarily suspended in Virginia because of the species' fragile population on the Eastern Shore. Although VIMS ESL says the bay scallops' current population matches Florida's minimum requirement — for context, licensed fishers there are still allowed to harvest scallops.
“The next step for us is to review management and regulatory frameworks being used for harvest elsewhere and provide advice to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission to establish rules for Virginia, so that we don't decimate the population we just restored,” said VIMS ESL Assistant Director Stacy Krueger-Hadfield.
