Peter Hughes, the sales manager at Atlantic Cape Fisheries in southern Cape May County, said that in spite of a recent stormy day when a cold, driven rain made a walk on the beach seem like an ordeal, the boats were still heading out. He also told that it is blowing a full-on northeaster, and those guys are heading out into it. Right now, most are after scallops, which are brought to Cape May County ports in enormous numbers, second on the East Coast only to the big fisheries in Gloucester, Mass.
Experts believe that scallops are related to clams and oysters, but unlike clams, which require digging, they sit on the surface of the sea floor. The fishing boats collect sea scallops in a hydraulic dredge. After that the shellfish are shucked and gutted, with only the meat put on ice in the hold. The shell and the guts are tossed overboard.
Nils Stolpe of the Garden State Seafood Association, said that scallops take well to freezing nd it’s one of those fish that can be frozen, thawed and refrozen several times without hurting its quality. The scallop boats are outfitted with a series of holds, which Hughes described as similar to closets, where the seafood is stored en route. Some boats head out for the day, while others take trips of several days to deepwater fishing grounds.
