Scallop-lovers may go unrequited

New Zealand's scallop harvest is likely to be down on last year.

The recreational scallop fishing season opened yesterday, on the heels of a quantity survey at the top of the South Island, where most of the catch is dredged.

The Challenger Scallop Enhancement Company, which manages the fishery, expects the catch to be less than 471 tonnes and well below the total allowable catch of 747 tonnes.

Chief executive Russell Mincher blamed a decline in nutrients caused by a lack of wind and rain.

Recreational scallopers started dredging yesterday, but commercial fishing will not start until next month or September, when the scallops are bigger.

Early season scallops are often poorer quality than those gathered later on, and many divers wait for the roe to reach a deep orange against creamy flesh before they hit the water.

But in the Marlborough Sounds yesterday, nine keen divers who took to the water at midnight to celebrate the season opening were rewarded with catch bags full of fat shellfish.

The scallops were reportedly plentiful and a good size.

Each person is limited to 50 scallops in the Challenger Fisheries Management Area northwest of Nelson, and 10 per person in the Southland area.

The season runs until February for all but the Southland area, which runs from October 1 to March 15.

- NZPA