Wild caught scallops are hot for the pan – but you had better be quick

NEW season wild caught Tasmanian scallops have finally landed in Hobart stores and ­restaurants.

Waitress Ruby Keady with Fish Frenzy's pan-seared fresh Tasmanian scallops with salad.

NEW season wild caught Tasmanian scallops have finally landed in Hobart stores and ­restaurants.

Scallop Fisherman’s Association of Tasmania president John Hammond said four local boats and two Victorian-owned boats were finding an abundance of good quality scallops in grounds off Maria Island and south of Great ­Oyster Bay.

Mr Hammond said headaches associated with a complicated rules system designed decades ago for 50 boats, ­rather than a handful, had contributed to a two-month delay in the allocation catch limits.

He said the labour-­intensive fishery was a bonanza for Triabunna, but he expected it to be over by the end of the month because oper­ators were only permitted to catch 15 per cent of their quotas. But by then scallops are also expected to be rolling in from the commonwealth fishery in Bass Strait.

Fish Frenzy manager ­Andrew Wood said he and his clientele would take the scallops “whenever we can get them”.

“Local scallops are a big deal. A sweet wild fish, not cultivated,” Mr Wood said.

He said the scallops he ­imported from Peru, when local product was not available, were not bad.

“But there is something about a Tassie scallop,” he said.

Scallops that landed yesterday at North Hobart fishmonger Mako Fresh Fish are selling for $34.90 a kilogram.

Owner Ann-Marie Johnson said supplies could become tight as the quota ran out.

“Get in and enjoy the spoils while you can,” Ms Johnson said.

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