Bay of Fundy Sea Scallop Meat Weight and Shell Height Data 2011-2023

2011 to 2023 data from the Bay of Fundy Inshore Scallop Survey, collected annually from June to mid-August. It contains individual scallop records with wet meat weight measured to a tenth of a gram and shell height in millimeters. The data was collected by Fisheries and Oceans Canada and corresponds to a 2025 scientific publication.

Use Cases

• Model the length-weight relationship of Placopecten magellanicus using shell height and wet meat weight measurements.
• Analyze spatial patterns in scallop size by joining individual records to geographical coordinates and Scallop Production Area.
• Investigate interannual variability in scallop meat weight using tow date and cruise name to segment data by survey year.
• Compare gear performance by analyzing data from the 2012 comparative survey referenced in the dataset description.

Strengths

• Thirteen years of consistent temporal coverage from 2011 to 2023.
• High-precision measurements with wet meat weight recorded to a tenth of a gram and shell height in millimeters.
• Detailed provenance with survey protocols documented in a 2017 technical report and data linked to a 2025 peer-reviewed publication.
• Includes geospatial context with geographical coordinates (decimal degrees, WGS 84) for each sampling tow.

Limitations

• Data represents a subset of scallops caught, as detailed sampling is conducted from approximately half of the survey tows.
• Sample size and total row count are unknown, limiting assessment of statistical power.
• Data is limited to commercial-size scallops with a shell height ≥ 80 mm, excluding smaller individuals.

Provenance

Source

Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Population Ecology Science Division.

Collection Method

Collected from the Bay of Fundy Inshore Scallop Survey using tow sampling from June to mid-August, with protocols from Glass (2017).

Time Range

2011 to 2023.

Freshness

Data current through 2023, with the dataset last updated in March 2026.

Geography

Bay of Fundy, with geographical coordinates (decimal degrees, WGS 84) and Scallop Production Areas specified.