Northwest coast Indigenous Peoples including the Twana of Puget Sound, Haida, Haihais, Bella Bella (Hieltsuk), Oowekeeno (Hieltsuk) and Aleut are reported to have gathered and consumed scallops [1-5]. Traditionally, the Wampanoag did not use scallops to a great extent, however by the 1940s deep sea scallops became popular [6]. Southeast Alaskan cultures rarely ate scallops since they were challenging to obtain from deep waters [7]. Given this difficulty, scallops were often collected only when washed up on shore following a storm [1, 7]. The Tlingit ate scallops between August and March [8].
The Wampanoag living at Grey Head held a yearly festival called the Cranberry Festival where shellfish (including scallops) from Menemsha pond were collected [6]. The Wampanoag would sometimes eat scallops raw [6]. Scallop shells were used by northwest coast cultures such as Tlingit to make rattles also known as tamahnous [2, 9].
Giant rock scallops, also known as purple-hinged rock scallops, were eaten by the Nootka (Nuu-chah-nulth) of Vancouver Island, either boiled or steamed [10, 11]. The Coast Salish also consumed some giant rock scallops [12-14], typically roasted or steamed in a pit, sometimes with clams [13, 14].
Weathervane scallops were occasionally found by the Manhousat; they boiled or steamed the adductor muscle [15]. The Nootka (Nuu-chah-nulth) of Vancouver Island ate boiled or steamed weathervane scallops [10, 11].
The Atlantic sea scallop and the Iceland scallop were among the most important shellfish consumed by the Micmac (Mi'kmaq) of Richibucto [16].
References
1. Blackman MB: Haida: Traditional Culture. In: The Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 7: Northwest Coast. edn. Edited by Suttles W. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institute; 1990: 240-245.
2. Eells M: The Indians of Puget Sound: The Notebooks of Myron Eells. Seattle: University of Washington Press; 1985.
3. Hilton SF: Haihais, Bella Bella, and Oowekeeno. In: Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 7: Northwest Coast. edn. Edited by Suttles W. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution; 1990: 312-316.
4. McCartney AP: Prehistory of the Aleutian Region. In: Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 5: Arctic. edn. Edited by Damas D. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution; 1984: 119-135.
5. Olsen SL: Animals in American Indian Life: An Overview. In: Stars Above, Earth Below American Indians and Nature. edn. Edited by Bol MC. Dublin: Roberts Rinehart Publishers; 1998: 95-118.
6. Speck FG, Dexter RW: Utilization of marine life by the Wampanoag Indians of Massachusetts. Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences 1948, 38(8):257-265.
7. Jacobs M, Jr., Jacobs M, Sr.: Southeast Alaska Native Foods. In: Raveu's Bones. edn. Edited by Hope A; 1982: 112-130.
8. Emmons GT: Food and Its preparation. In: The Tlingit Indians. edn. Edited by de Laguna F. New York: American Museum of Natural History; 1991: 140-153.
9. Moss ML: Shellfish, Gender, and Status on the Northwest Coast: Reconciling Archeological, Ethnographic, and Ethnohistorical Records of the Tlingit. American Anthropologist 1993, 95(3):631-652.
10. Arima EY: The West Coast People: The Nootka of Vancouver Island and Cape Flattery, vol. Special Publication No. 6. Victoria, B.C.: British Columbia Provincial Musem; 1983.
11. Arima E, Dewhirst J: Nootkans of Vancouver Island. In: Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 7: Northwest Coast. edn. Edited by Suttles W. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution; 1990: 391-397.
12. Ashwell R: Food, Fishing & Hunting; Cooking Methods. In: Coast Salish: Their Art, Culture and Legends. Volume 1st edition, edn. British Columbia: Hancock House Publishers Inc.; 1978: 28-55.
13. Batdorf C: Northwest Native Harvest. Surrey, B.C: Hancock House Publishers Ltd.; 1990.
14. Bouchard R, Kennedy DID: Utilization of fishes, beach foods, and marine mammals by the Tl'uhus Indian People of British Columbia. In.: British Columbia Indian Language Project; 1974.
15. Ellis DW, Swan L: Teachings of The Tides: Uses of Marine Invertebrates By The Manhousat People, vol. 1st edition. Nanaimo, B.C.: Theytus Books Ltd.; 1981.
16. Speck FG, Dexter RW: Utilization of animals and plants by the Micmac Indians of New Brunswick. Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences 1951, 41(8):250-259.
Scallops are a type of bivalve mollusks with the most extensive distribution and occurring in marine waters around North America. On the Pacific side, species of scallops include the giant rock scallop (Crassadoma gigantea), occurring from British Columbia to Mexico, and the weathervane scallop (Patinopecten caurinus) with a more northern distribution, occurring up to the Bering Sea. On the Atlantic side, species of scallops include the Atlantic sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus), occurring from the Newfoundland to the Gulf of Mexico, and the Iceland scallop (Chlamys islandica) with a more northern distribution, occurring from the Arctic Ocean to the Maritime Provinces. Scallops are called pétoncles in French.
In scallops, unlike in clams, cockles, and mussels, the two valves are not the same shape and size, one being flat and slightly smaller and the other being cupped and slightly larger, and adductor muscles are centrally attached to each valve. Their shell is off-white to light-brown, very round, and has a large rectangular hinge, distinct concentric annual growth rings, and pronounced grooves radiating from the hinge. Some species of scallops can grow quite big, like the Atlantic Sea Scallop reaching around 20 cm, while other species rarely grow larger than 10 cm, like the Iceland Scallop.
Most scallop species are found in sheltered bays and open coast at depth ranging between 10 and 100 m. Early in their life, all scallops use attachments threads to secure themselves on the bottom substrate, but most species detach themselves as they grow and recess slightly in the bottom. Scallops can flap their valves to swim around, which is unique among bivalves. Sea star is the most important scallop predator, but crabs, lobsters, sea snails, sea anemones, octopuses, and fish can also feed on scallops.
Reference
Gosling EM: Bivalve molluscs: biology, ecology and culture. Malden, MA, USA: Fishing News Books; 2003.