I don’t know how we missed this. But scallops like disco.
Maybe not the music. That might not work well underwater. But apparently they are into flashing lights.
It’s not that someone noticed large number of scallops hanging out at dance clubs. This all happened by accident from trying to come up with a new way to attract lobsters and crabs. With lights.
Bait seems to be harder to come by and scientists in the U.K. decided to see what would happen if they had a light show in the traps. So they rigged lobster and crab pots with “pot” lights. They were little battery operated lights that attached to the traps with the hope that the lights might attract crabs and lobsters. Then they could replace bait with lights and the lights would attract lobsters and crabs.
Lobsters and crabs don’t care about lights. There was no increase in the number of lobsters and crabs. But there was an increase of the number of scallops climbing into the traps.
They think maybe it’s the fact that light gives the scallops an idea of safety, thinking fewer predators might hang out in well lit areas. Kind of like walking around a city at night. Or maybe they just like the flashing lights.
Scallops apparently have rows of eyes along the edges of their shells, so they can tell light from dark and seem attracted to it. The experiment didn’t do much to make lobster or crab fishing any easier, but it could scallop fishing from dragging to using traps.
Or maybe just open up a dance club right at the edge of the shore. Get them to check their shells at the door. Those flashing lights will get them every time.