Aquaculture 2025

March 6 - 10, 2025

New Orleans, Louisiana USA

Add To Calendar 09/03/2025 09:15:0009/03/2025 09:35:00America/ChicagoAquaculture 2025DO DISCARDED SEA SCALLOP SHELLS SEQUESTER ATMOSPHERIC CO2?  HOW GREEN IS THE UNITED STATES SEA SCALLOP FLEET?Balcony JThe World Aquaculture Societyjohnc@was.orgfalseDD/MM/YYYYanrl65yqlzh3g1q0dme13067

DO DISCARDED SEA SCALLOP SHELLS SEQUESTER ATMOSPHERIC CO2?  HOW GREEN IS THE UNITED STATES SEA SCALLOP FLEET?

Max D. Zavell*, Adam J. Delargy, Sandra E. Shumway, and Kevin D.E. Stokesbury

 

School for Marine Science and Technology

University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

New Bedford, MA 02744

mzavell@umassd.edu

 



The Atlantic Sea Scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) is one of the most important commercially harvested species in the United States, with annual landings over $400 million USD. Within the US fleet, most vessels are based out of New Bedford, MA where vessels primarily fish on Georges Bank and neighboring areas, requiring the combustion of fossil fuels which increases atmospheric greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, unlike other extractive fisheries, the U.S. scallop fleet shucks all scallops at sea, which returns the shells to the seafloor. In turn, these shells are composed of calcium carbonate, which can increase oceanic total alkalinity and subsequently sequester atmospheric CO2, as they dissolve. At present, no studies have examined the fuel efficiency or amount of atmospheric CO2 theoretically sequestered by shells discarded by the scallop fleet. Thus, this presentation will present analyses of the fleets greenhouse gas emissions and incorporate our initial estimates of the quantity of discarded shell material and its contribution to increasing oceanic total alkalinity and subsequent drawdown of atmospheric CO2.