Scallop Harvest Forecast Is Bleak

For the fourth year in a row, researchers who monitor the bay scallop population in the Peconic Estuary say there are clear signs of a massive die-off of the valuable shellfish unfolding on local bay bottoms. Biologists from the Cornell Cooperative Extension Marine Program say that they have seen almost 100 percent mortality of adult bay scallops at monitoring sites in Northwest Harbor and Orient Harbor. A parasite is likely contributing to the scallops' demise, but record-high water temperatures in the bays caused by climate change are also adding to the stresses the dwindling population faces. Senior reporter Michael Wright joins the editors on the podcast this week to discuss the plight of Peconic bay scallops and what's being done in an effort to reverse the trend.