Restoring Virginia's Scallops

Scallops have always been an important foodsource up and down the eastern United States. And, around 1930, the State of Virginia was perhaps the largest producer of bay scallops in the United States. Just as there were oystermen/women and crabbers plying the waters around the Delmarva, there were also scallop fishermen (and women) who plied the brackish waters between the barrier islands and the eastern shore, harvesting scallops for the local market and beyond. 

A healthy scallop fishery depends upon a few things. Perhaps the most important of which is eelgrass. This seagrass provides the habitat for young scallops to develop, as well as protection from predators, like blue crabs. Another important thing is salinity. Scallops thrive in environments with a higher salinity. Both of these factors were present along the eastern Shore of Virginia, from Chincoteague Island to South Bay, from the coast to the barrier islands, which served as a buffer to the Atlantic Ocean.

Things began to change in the early 1930s. A wasting disease began taking its toll on the eelgrass in the region. Then, in 1933, the Chesapeake-Potomac Hurricane wiped out all of the remaining eel-grass by literally moving the barrier islands to smother the seagrass beds. The entire habitat of the scallops was gone; and, with that, scallops went locally extinct in the Chesapeake Bay area. 

I was completely unaware of this history until our most recent summer vacation. I planned a family trip to Virginia's eastern shore. As I prepared our itinerary, I looked for "foodie" things to do, especially things that had a learning or experiential component. I found the website for the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), which has an eastern shore facility in Wachapreague, Virginia. As I read the VIMS website, I realized that this would be an interesting place to visit. I reached out to arrange a tour of the Wachapreague facility. I was particularly interested in the Castagna Shellfish Hatchery, which houses the aquaculture research programs. I thought that it would be great to learn more about the overall life cycle of shellfish. This education would pair well with a tour of the Lambert Shellfish oyster farm that I had scheduled for later that day. 

What was to be a tour about how shellfish are cultivated from seed to sprat turned into so much more. It became a lesson about how we can overcome a local extinction event through commitment and hard work. And, while many have spoken on this subject (just Google "scallops" and "Virginia"), I felt compelled to add whatever I can to this important discussion.  

Part One: Restore the Habitat

VIMS actually has two facilities: one on the eastern shore in Wachapreague and another on the middle neck in Glouchester Point. This latter facility is where the lesson begins. 

VIMS's Glouchester Point facility has served as the center of research and action to restore eelgrass habits in the Chesapeake Bay and along the eastern shore. The research was led by Robert Orth, who has earned the title, "Johnny Appleseed of Seagrass." Working with researchers and staff, Robert Orth developed a program that began with transplanting eelgrass from one part of the bay to another part. Once the eelgrass took root (both figuratively and literally), then the program evolved to focus on spreading eelgrass seeds, focusing primarily on four particular areas: South Bay, Cobb Bay, Spider Crab Bay and Hog Island.

Restoring eelgrass is not like planting grass in someone's yard. Generally speaking, one has to account for a wide range of variables. Eelgrass thrives within a certain salinity range. If the salinity is too low or too high, then it won't grow. It is also particularly vulnerable to human development, with runoff and deforestation taking tolls on eelgrass meadows. In sum, for eelgrass to thrive, it requires a very healthy, balanced environment. 

VIMS has restored eelgrass in approximately nine-thousand, five huundred (9,500) acres of the Chesapeake Bay, including the four bays and lagoons that I mentioned above. It believes these efforts have led to "the most successful seagrass recovery effort in history" and it is hard to doubt that statement. (VIMS has also shown its work, which can be seen here.)  

Part Two: Restoring the Scallops

While VIMS Glouchester worked to restore the eelgras, VIMS Wachaprague worked to restore the scallop population. This work begins at the Castagna Shellfish Hatchery, which is named after Michael Castagna, the first Executive Director of VIMS's Eastern Shore Laboratory. Castagna wrote the pioneering work that serves as the foundation of hard-shell clam aquaculture. 

The hatchery's researchers and staff started the restoration process with scallop brood stock from North Carolina, specifically the Bogue and Core Sounds. They had mixed success with their initial efforts. It was only after the researchers widened their vision, introducing brood stocks from New York and Florida, that things really began to change. 

To understand the process, which as a layperson I can only describe in very general terms, researchers start with adult scallops. They adjust the environmental conditions for the scallops to prompt the reproduction cycle. Once they have achieved that objective, the researchers remove the fertilized eggs and place them in a large tank, where they oversee the scallops during their initial stages of development.  

Dedicated VIMS staff, like Hatchery Manager Reba Smith, watch over the nascent scallops, feeding them different forms of algae to help them grow. They use four different types of algae, which are maintained in a multi-colored array of carboys. The specific algae used depends on where the scallops are in their metamorphosis. 

As the scallops develop, they are moved to the nursery. Other VIMS staff, including Nursery Manager Darien Kelly, continue to oversee the scallops' metamorphosis. Kelly watches them as they develop, providing them with local creek water that contains natural plankton, while also monitoring the sediment loads in that water. As the scallops develop, their little swimmers turn into feet, which they use to affix themselves to surfaces (like eelgrass). This is how scallops differentiate themselves from other mollusks. Scallops can move around, where as oysters and mussels affix themselves to a spot permanently. Likewise, while clams have some ability to move, that is mostly digging themselves into the mud and sand for protection. Scallops can swim, a trait that helps in their development and their protection.  

While in the nursery, the scallops grow in long raceway tables. The staff continue to feed algae as they monitor the scallops until they reach their juvenile stage, which takes about 60 days to 120 days. At that point, the scallops are ready to be introduced into the "wild." The scallops are moved to ground cages in areas like the South Bay, where they can continue to grow and develop. They are also released into other areas  where VIMS has successfully re-established eelgrass habitats The young scallops use their "feet" to attach themselves to the eelgrass, which enables them to develop out of reach of many predators. 

The work of VIMS' Wachepreague facility does not end with the reintroduction of the scallops to the bay. Staff conduct annual surveys of the scallops stocks in areas like South Bay, Cobb Bay and Hogs Island, to see how the scallops are faring on their own. This survey is extensive and hard work, as staff survey large stretches of the seafloor by hand. They record their findings, as well as collect new potential broodstock that could be used to continue the process so that the scallop populations can be further increased.

Based on its studies, VIMS has determined that, since 2018, their work -- as well as the environmetnal conditions -- have enabled scallop populations to increase in certain areas along the eastern shore of Virginia. The above chart shows the general increase in scallop populations, but the rates differ by specific area. For example, scallop populations have generallly increased in both Cobb Bay and South Bay. However, in South South Bay, the scallop populations have increased at an even greater rate.

Source: Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences

And, just recently, VIMS conducted its annual survey for 2025. The survey produced more amazing results, showing that the scallop population had increased substantially over the past year. The results showed that the surveyed areas generally went from .0652 scallops per square meter to .114 scallops per square meter.  This new number bodes well for two reasons: one is known as propagule pressure, which is the point where spawning may be taking place in nature; and the second involves the potential of restoring a recreational scallop fishery. 

Overall, the important work of VIMS has done something that is truly rare: they have countered a local extinction event, bringing back an animal that had been wiped out nearly 100 years ago. This work demonstrates that we can play an important role in repairing the damage done, whether by Mother Nature or by our own hands. 

I am incredibly thankful for the staff of VIMS's Wachapreague facility, especially Managers Smith and Kelly, for taking the time out of their busy day to tell us about their work. I know that both my family and myself left the facility truly impressed with their commitment and their hard work. I hope that they continue to find success to the point that there is not only a recreational scallop activity, but a potetnial scallop fishery once again. 

PEACE.

P.S.: To learn more about VIMS, as well as the work of Managers Smith and Kelly, check out the latest from W&M News.