26 June 2003
MEDIA RELEASE
GENUINE, NEW SEASON TASSIE SCALLOPS
They’re back!
Genuine, New Season Tassie Scallops are once again back on the restaurant menus and are now available at seafood retail outlets throughout Tasmania.
Delectable, delicious, magnificent, brilliant – whichever way you describe them they are indeed a special and unique Tasmanian seafood delicacy.
"Following a four year closure the State wild catch commercial scallop fishery has reopened off the east coast of Flinders Island" said the Chief Executive of TFIC Bob Lister.
Bob Lister also said "After catching, landing and splitting, fresh Tassie Scallops are now available in quantity to the great delight of most Tasmanians.
The scallops are of excellent quality, rich in flavour with a creamy flesh and orange roe and they taste just great – just like the good old days!
About 25 commercial fishing vessels will be participating in this year’s scallop season possibly up until the end of October and the expected catch is around 4,000 tonnes of shell weight fish. The catch will be worth approximately $6-$7m. at the wholesale level.
Rich in healthy and beneficial omega-3 oils Tassie Scallops are retailing locally for about $30 per kilo and demand is already extremely high.
As a result of high annual variability in settlement and recruitment of juveniles into the fishery new sustainable fishery management arrangements for this year have been put in place by DPIWE with the support of the Tasmanian commercial fishing industry.
This should enable the fishery to rebuild with proposed open commercial fisheries in new areas off Flinders Island for at least the next two to three years" Bob Lister said.
"Limited commercial scallop licences under a transferrable quota management scheme with size and landing limits coupled with vessel satellite monitoring systems will ensure that this and all future scallop fisheries are maximised whilst encouraging recruitment for future fishing opportunities.
We are indeed fortunate in Tasmania as the scallops can be landed quickly at a number of ports and locally processed almost immediately with the product available at retail outlets in the shortest possible time thereby ensuring that freshness and quality are maintained" Bob Lister said.
Yes – Genuine, New Season Tassie Scallops are once again available for your enjoyment!
Bob Lister can be contacted on 0408 146 960.