Measurements of Iceland scallop (Chlamys islandica müller) in the Spitzbergen and Bear Island regions

Abstract

A stratified bottom trawl fish survey was carried out in the Spitzbergen and Bear Island regions from 9 September to 5 October 1985. On 30 out of 108 trawl stations, Chlamys islandica were caught as a by-catch, and samples from 8 stations have been measured for height, length, width, total wet weight, and wet weight of the total content, muscle and gonads. The sex has been determined and the number of zones in the ligament counted. C. islandica were caught on stations with depths from 48m to 525m. The scallops from the deepest stations seemed to be somewhat younger and smaller. The adductor muscle made up 19-24% of the total weight of cleaned shells. The northernmost sampled station (N 79°29') had the oldest scallops, but the zones in the ligaments from this station were difficult to read because of the often bad consistency of the ligament.