Scallops
Under Construction
King
Scallop
18 July 1999
Fishing and farming for the King Scallop,
Pecten
maximus, and the Queen Scallop, Aequipecten opercularis
is banned off the west coast and islands of Scotland because of a build
up of a naturally occurring toxin in the flesh of the scallop. The ban
covers 8000 square miles from the Outer Hebrides south to the islands of
Jura and Islay. The toxin causes Amnesiac Shellfish Poisoning and the symptoms
when ingested by humans include memory loss, headaches, vomiting, and even
death in serious cases. This toxic bloom was first reported off the Canadian
coast in 1990 (Ref.)
King Scallop, Pecten maximus
Plankton
Blooms 1999 (Times article 31 July 1999 Link)
Mollusc Page
Pelecypoda