Virginia Scallop Fishermen Facing Huge Fines

103.5 FM (WTOP) in Washington is reporting on how Scallop fishermen are facing huge fines for exceeding the weight limits allowed by law. Most of these violators are from the Eastern Shore of Virginia.

WTOP further states:

"The largest fine sought by the government is $500,000 from Andrew J. Willey Jr. of Hallwood, a town on Virginia's Eastern Shore. Willey's Gold Nugget II allegedly violated a 400-pound-per-trip limit more than 20 times in 2004."

Now the reason I am bringing this to your attention is because I have lived on the Eastern Shore. Most of the families that run fishing industries have done it from generations. They are a very tight knit group that can trace their roots back to some of the first English settlers.

Even many of the locals have a hard understanding the fishermen, because of their decidedly cockney accent, and rough life style. On the Eastern shore, there is a cultural break between them and the farmers.

Now let me get back to the scallops, they are known to also fake scallops. It was not uncommon to see a hole saw used in shark meat to immediately get a higher price. There is little taste difference, but the profit return is greatly enhanced.

So how do you tell a fake scallop from a real scallop? Well, hole sawed scallops don't have the little flap of meat that connects real scallops to the shell. You might want to look carefully before you make that next scallop purchase.