Farmed sea scallops are not only sustainable, they help their habitat. Marsden Brewer started farming scallops in Maine after learning from the Japanese.
I spent time with Marsden and Bobby this week, did some farming with them, awesome people, beautiful Harbor , hope to see you guys again real soon...and thank you for your hospitality.
Farmed Scallops vs Wild Caught Scallops? Let the Market decide, I know for sure which one they'll pick, the shells of the Scallops look different, the meat looks different, and probably the taste & texture is different.
Mussels and oysters are mostly farm raised these days. Without farm raised we would probably not get them at all from over fishing and pollution. Farm raised mussels and oysters are wonderful and available all year long. I doubt anyone could notice the taste and texture difference in farm vs. wild scallops. What you have to watch out for is fake scallops made from surimi paste. Fish that has been macerated and then compressed then cut into scallop size portions. You can tell if you are getting fake scallops because they will all be of uniform size and shape. they will also smell like fish instead of real scallops. I would rather pay $12 a pound for Maine framed salmon than $30 a pound for King Salmon from the west coast.
