Atlantic Calico Scallop species is a medium- sized edible saltwater scallop Part of the Pectinidae family

Atlantic Calico Scallop can grow up to a maximum of 3 inches (it does have similar shape and sculpting of an Atlantic Bay Scallop) The shell has about twenty radial ribs, which can be roughened by growth lines The beautiful shell coloring contributes to the scallop’s name “calico” (a fabric printed with small flower patterns) The Calico extends from Maryland to as far as Brazil; can be in depths up to 1200 feet Life expectancy is about 24 months

Plant first opened in the 1970’s; where it harvested scallops until the late 1980’s stopping due to over-harvesting After an 18 year lag, in 2011 a good amount of scallop beds were found in Fort Pierce But due to trucking costs, wide scale production did not begin until 2012 when huge amounts of scallops were found in North Florida Waters When this happened the Darion Plant went into full production making it possible for effective sales

Boats go out for 24 hour trips They go out 50 miles and trawl in feet of water It can take an average of 6 hours to catch a full boat load

The Boats can bring in an average of 80,000lbs Using a pick crane, unloading can take about 45min to an hour

The crane dumps live scallops into the hopper The hopper sorts through live scallops and broken product gets rejected After sorting, the hopper unloads the live scallops onto a refrigerated tractor trailer

Once trailer arrives to the plant, a bobcat bucket unloads the product onto a hopper A conveyor belt then runs product into a steamer, where live scallop is heat blasted at 160°F. This process is done to release abductor muscle from shell It then goes into a tumbler the separates shell from the meat

The removed scallop from the shell, travels along a conveyor belt into the plant Where it is shaken three times to release all visceral product from scallop

After third shake the scallop is sent down the final line The workers then inspect final product for any shell or visceral that may have not been shaken off After final inspection, this chemical free scallop is then packed in an 8lb tub

Once visceral is shaken off the scallop, it is unloaded into separate vats Visceral product is then processed into chum

Consumers who purchase local Florida Shrimp can be assured that they are supporting local industries and that the stocks are healthy, sustainable, and well- managed.¹ Another significant reason to buy local is to keep food miles to a minimum. “Food miles” refer to the distance a food item travels from the farm to your home. The food miles for items in the grocery store are, on average, 27 times higher than the food miles for goods bought from local sources.² When food dollars stay in the community, through buying local, they are transformed local jobs and infrastructure for the community. ²

“A calico’s past can be a little murky. Whether it’s depleted numbers were due to over fishing or maybe even a parasite; we do know that it is considered widely available now. But because of it’s past, the need to keep the calico ‘sustainable’ might require government regulation. Until then, this is a wonderful domestic product that supports it’s local community from the boats to the plant. One could say ‘one bite and you’re hooked!’. ” -Atillio Cerqueira President Mayport C&C Fisheries

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