Spiny Scallop

At a glance

Spiny Scallop (Chlamys hastata) is a scallops regulated in 2 of 66 jurisdictions tracked by CatchRules across the U.S. and Canada.

The strictest bag limit is 40 (Washington); the most generous is 75 (British Columbia).

Confirmed by 765 research-grade iNaturalist observations, with British Columbia, Washington, and Alaska the top jurisdictions by observation count.

Notable details

• Has dozens of eyes along its mantle edge that can detect light and movement.
• Escapes predators by rapidly clapping its shells, jetting itself through the water.
• Typically grows to 2–3 inches across its ribbed, spiny shell.
• Found on rocky reefs from Alaska to Baja California.
• Can anchor itself with byssal threads or swim freely depending on conditions.

Where Spiny Scallop are seen

• British Columbia341 iNat obs
• Washington238 iNat obs
• Alaska154 iNat obs
• California17 iNat obs
• Oregon15 iNat obs

Jurisdictions with rules for Spiny Scallop

• British ColumbiaCanada · official source

Background

Chlamys hastata, the spear scallop, spiny scallop or swimming scallop, is a species of bivalve mollusc in the family Pectinidae found on the west coast of North America from the Gulf of Alaska to San Diego, California. A limited number of these scallops are harvested by divers or by narrow trawls off the west coast of Canada.

Background excerpt adapted from Wikipedia's Spiny Scallop article (CC BY-SA). Visit Wikipedia for the full entry.

Other scallops on CatchRules

• Sea ScallopPlacopecten magellanicus
• Pink ScallopChlamys rubida