Be careful if you are doing any last-minute holiday shopping for Atlantic scallops landed in the US.

Prices have been going in different directions at the docks in the weeks before the Christmas (Dec. 25) and Hanukkah (Dec. 25-Jan. 2) holidays, depending on whether you are buying large or small mollusks, Undercurrent News has found.

The average price paid for 10-20s was $24.17 per pound at the New Bedford, Massachusetts, seafood auction in week 51 (Dec. 16-22), less than the $25.09/lb paid during week 50 (Dec. 9-15) and the $25.40/lb paid during week 49 (Dec. 2-8). Harvesters landed 89,849 lbs of these scallops, accounting for 18% of last week's 506,849 lb total.

Combined, the total value of scallops at last week's auction, more precisely known as the Buyers and Sellers Exchange (BASE), was $9.7 million.

The most common size available last week was 20-30s, as scallopers landed 407,135 lbs (80% of the total). They were paid an average $17.22/lb, down from the $19.83/lb paid during week 50 and $21.33/lb paid during week 49. Just 30 lbs of 30-40s were landed, receiving a price of $11.25/lb, less than the $12.39/lb paid the week before. 

The chart below from the UCN price portal shows average prices for all of the different sizes of scallops landed at BASE over the past year, so you can compare the trends side by side and observe the spread between larger- and mid-sized scallops.

The average price paid for U-10s in week 51 was $50.04/lb, more than the $43.93/lb paid during week 50 and the $40.68/lb paid during week 49. Similarly, U-12s were selling for $50.37/lb during week 51 after going for $43.06/lb during week 50 and $36.85 in week 49.

Of course, that is if you were lucky enough to score any of the largest sizes. U-10s made up just 2,816 lbs last week (less than 1% of the total), while U-12s accounted for 7,019 lbs (a little more than 1%).

Harvesters saw a much bigger haul overall in week 51 than the previous week when they landed just 135,489 lbs worth $2.9m, as reported by Undercurrent News. 

BASE is one of the best places to monitor the US scallop season. It handled about 63% of the 25.0m lbs projected to land during the 2023-2024 season. Scallops are also landed in the US states of New Jersey, Virginia and North Carolina.

Worst month of the year still possible

Again, Closed Area II (CA2) dominated the landings in week 51 at BASE, accounting for 481,388 lbs (95% of the catch), worth $8.9m. Recall that CA2 was closed Aug. 15-Nov. 15 to reduce the bycatch of northern windowpane and Georges Bank yellowtail flounder. 

"Although there was hope that the reopening of [CA2] would relieve pricing pressures, the first landings instead introduced higher costs, particularly for 20/30-count scallops," noted Lorin Castiglione, UCN's head of price reporting for the Americas, in her latest roundup. "With fewer 10/20-count scallops on offer, buyers quickly shifted to 20/23 counts, driving those prices closer to what is typically seen for 10/20 sizes," she added.

Based on her report for the scallop wholesale market in week 51, size 10-20 frozen all-natural scallops with no moisture added are commanding $20.25/lb, while 20-30s are commanding $19.00/lb -- both less than the landings prices noted above. [Check out Castiglione's full wholesale scallop price report here.]

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) updated its overall landings table late last week, showing that more than 13.8m lbs of scallops were landed by the limited access commercial fleet between April 1, the beginning of the 2024-25 season, and Dec. 18. That's 57.46% of the 24.2m annual projected landings (APL).

Harvesters landed 349,741 lbs during the first 11 days of December, keeping it on pace to finish as the least productive month of the season so far.

By contrast, through the first eight months of the 2023-24 season, limited access fleet harvesters had landed 19.4m lbs (89.85% of their 21.6m lb APL).

CA2, overall for the season, has accounted for 6.0m lbs landed during the current season -- 43% of the total -- while the New York Bight, the other limited access area has produced 3.2m lbs (23%) and the open access areas, where the highest volume of scallops have been found in past years, accounted for 4.7m lbs (34%).

BASE records for every size over past 12 months

Here's a more thorough breakdown of scallop landing prices by size.