For Scallop Lovers, Christmas Comes Early

Charlie Manwaring, owner of the , said that the first few days of scallop season, which officially opened in Southold Town on Monday, "is like Christmas to a lot of people."

Since then, Manwaring has been putting in lots of overtime trying to meet the demands of those who have patiently waited seven months for another taste of Peconic Bay scallops.

"We've been here every night until midnight," said Charlie.  "I guess its Christmas for me too."

 The opening of scallop season is always met with excitement, particularly among locals who not only buy fresh Peconic Bay scallops to prepare at home, but love to patronize their favorite seafood joints. Billy's by the Bay, in Greenport, for example, began offering scallop dinner specials on Monday night and will continue to do so throughout the season. For 18.95 patrons can get Peconic Bay scallops, fries and a choice of local vegetable.

"We started opening day and it was pretty good; everybody was excited," said owner Bill Gremler. "We do the scallops any way you like and we always use local (produce and seafood); we're three generations out here, so we don't know any other way."

Billy's by the Bay isn't the only eatery cashing in on scallop season, however. Southold Fish Market has added Peconic Bay scallops to its take-out menu and on opening day did nearly 25 scallop dinners for patrons.

According to Charlie, the opening retail price for a pound of scallops was $17, but he expected that price to go up by at least a dollar by week's end. On the South Fork, a pound of scallops is going for as much as $22, he said.

The scallop industry on the East End took a hard blow in the mid-1980s, when brown tide killed off scallops and destroyed scallop habitats throughout the Peconic Bays. The scallop populations only began to rebound in 2005. Since then, everyone patiently awaits the start of scallop season wondering if the next one will be better than the last.

Both Charlie and Bill agree that this scallop season will be a good one.

"I think we're on track with last year and it might even be a little bit better," said Charlie. "They're finding scallops in more areas, so it should be steady and constant. We'll have them for a while."

Bill is even more optimistic.

"I think it's going to better than last year," he said. "I think it's going to be better than it's been in while."

Stay tuned for a video adventure on a local scallop boat on North Fork Patch.