Skip to content
LiveCriée
FR

Species

King scallop:professional buying guide, season, roe, fishing areas, pitfalls

King scallops for the trade: October to May season, French fish auctions, minimum size, roe-on or roe-off, imported scallop meat, yield, substitutes.

Updated 8 min readLiveCriée editorial team

Contents
  1. Buying sheet
  2. When to buy king scallops?
  3. Roe-on or roe-off?
  4. How to judge freshness?
  5. What pitfalls to avoid?
  6. What to replace king scallops with?
  7. What makes the price move?
  8. Frequently asked questions

The king scallop (Pecten maximus), "coquille Saint-Jacques" in French, is a bivalve mollusc dredged in the English Channel and the Atlantic, from 1 October to 14 May; the leading species at French fish auctions by volume and by value, it is sold live in the shell, or shucked as scallop meat, roe-on or roe-off. The name "coquille Saint-Jacques" designates Pecten maximus (and its Mediterranean cousin Pecten jacobaeus); scallops of other species may be sold as "noix de Saint-Jacques" (scallop meat) provided that the label gives their scientific name and their origin, for example "noix de Saint-Jacques du Canada" (Placopecten magellanicus) (DGCCRF).

Buying sheet

King scallop
Scientific namePecten maximus
Peak seasonOctober to May; heaviest landings from October to December
Closed seasonFishing closed from 15 May to 30 September inclusive (French order of 12 May 2003), for spawning. Opening and fishing days set bed by bed (Bay of the Seine, Bay of Saint-Brieuc, eastern Channel, western Channel, Brest roadstead)
Minimum size100 mm shell width; 110 mm in the eastern Channel (ICES division 7d). For French vessels, stricter sizes apply on several beds: 10.2 cm in the western Channel (division 7e) and in South Brittany, 10.5 cm in the Brest roadstead and in the Charente straits (pertuis charentais) (French order of 28 January 2013)
Size gradesWhole: sold by the kilo, sometimes by number of pieces per kilo. Scallop meat: by number of pieces per kilo, from 25 to 70 per kilo for the standard product according to the Label Rouge LA 11/02 specification
Main French fish auctions (2024)26,204 t sold at auction. Dieppe 20%, Saint-Quay-Portrieux 13%, Granville 13%, Port-en-Bessin 12%, Erquy 11%, Boulogne-sur-Mer 8%, Saint-Malo 6%
OriginsFAO area 27: English Channel (ICES divisions 7d and 7e), Atlantic. Other scallop species are sold as "noix de Saint-Jacques" with their origin, for example from Canada, Chile or China (DGCCRF)
Fishing methodDredge
YieldRoe-on scallop meat: about 15% of the whole weight; roe-off scallop meat: about 6% (FAO, provisional values), to be measured on your own deliveries
StorageLive, chilled, flat, rounded side down (flat valve on top) to keep its water. Fresh scallop meat: 0 to 2 °C, to be used quickly

National rhythm of auction sales (FranceAgriMer, 2024); it varies from one port to another. Tonnage and shares calculated by the editorial team from the sales declared at French fish auctions in 2024 (FranceAgriMer, workbook published on 2 July 2026). Sizes: Regulation (EU) 2019/1241, Annex VI.

  • 26,204 tsold at French fish auctions in 2024
  • No. 1species at French fish auctions, by volume and by value
  • 20%of sales made at Dieppe

Source: FranceAgriMer, sales declared at fish auctions in 2024, workbook published on 2 July 2026.

When to buy king scallops?

From October to May, with staggered openings: each bed has its own calendar, fishing days and fishing hours, set each season. In 2024, auction sales peaked in December and stayed strong until March, before collapsing in May. From June to September, there are no fresh French-caught king scallops: supply is frozen or imported.

For the 2026-2027 season, three beds opened on Thursday 1 October 2026: the eastern Channel, offshore zone (order No 171/2026 of the Prefect of the Normandy region, 30 September 2026), the Bay of Saint-Brieuc for dredgers (decision of the CRPMEM of Brittany No 144-2026 of 22 September 2026) and Saint-Malo for dredgers (decision No 139-2026 of 21 September 2026). For the Bay of the Seine and South Brittany, no text had been published as of 22 October 2026: in the Bay of the Seine, the opening is set each year by order of the Prefect of the Normandy region.

Roe-on or roe-off?

The roe ("corail", coral) is the scallop's gonad: half orange (female part), half cream (male part), because the king scallop is a hermaphrodite. It develops over the season and grows as spawning approaches, in late winter and spring. Depending on the bed and the period, it may be absent or poorly developed (Label Rouge LA 11/02 specification).

For the buyer, what is at stake is weight: roe-on scallop meat weighs about 15% of the whole scallop, roe-off scallop meat about 6% (FAO). One kilo of scallops in the shell therefore gives in the order of 60 g of roe-off scallop meat. If your menu serves scallops without roe, this is the figure that counts in the recipe costing sheet. The Label Rouge LA 11/02 specification requires at least 1 kg of roe-on scallop meat for 6.5 kg of scallops in the shell, the same order of magnitude: to be measured on your own deliveries.

How to judge freshness?

  • In the shell: heavy, closed or closing when touched; smell of iodine; no broken shell.
  • Shucked: white to slightly pearly, firm, shiny, with no milky liquid at the bottom of the tray; a mild smell of the sea.

What pitfalls to avoid?

  • The species. "Noix de Saint-Jacques" on a frozen bag may designate a scallop of another species. Read the scientific name: Pecten maximus is the king scallop of the French coasts.
  • The area. The catch area must be stated. "Saint-Jacques de Normandie" or "des Côtes-d'Armor" must match the area indicated; the official quality signs (PGI Coquille Saint-Jacques des Côtes-d'Armor, Label Rouge LA 11/02 for king scallops in the shell and shucked, from inshore fishing) can be checked on the label.
  • Thawed sold as fresh. Thawed scallop meat must carry the mention "décongelé" (defrosted). In summer, "fresh" French-caught scallop meat is impossible.
  • Added water. Some scallop meat preparations contain added water and additives, usually polyphosphates: when cooked, they release liquid and shrink. The name must say so and the list of ingredients gives the percentage of added water (DGCCRF).
  • Scallop meat and roe at the same price. Compare scallop meat offers on the same presentation.

What to replace king scallops with?

SituationSubstitute
Out of season (June to September)Pecten maximus scallop meat frozen in season, or imported scallop meat with the species known
Price too high at the holidaysOther scallops (queen scallop "vanneau", variegated scallop "pétoncle noir") for cooked dishes
Festive dish on a controlled budgetScallop meat of a smaller size grade, or roe-on rather than roe-off

What makes the price move?

Average first-sale price at auction, France, 2024King scallop (whole)
Yearly averageabout €2.50/kg
Cheapest monthMay: about €2.00/kg
Most expensive monthDecember: about €2.90/kg
Spread between auctionsfrom €2.00/kg (Saint-Malo) to €3.00/kg (Boulogne-sur-Mer)

Year 2024, all French fish auctions: average first-sale price at the auction hall, live whole scallops in the shell (FranceAgriMer, sales declared at fish auctions, workbook published on 2 July 2026). No sales from June to September, fishing closed. Spread between auctions: among those handling at least 5% of volumes. The auction price is not the price paid to the fish merchant: processing, transport and margin are added to it.

About €2.50/kg is the price of the whole scallop in the shell, and that is why it looks so low: the shell and the viscera make up most of the weight. With the FAO yields (about 15% roe-on scallop meat, 6% roe-off scallop meat), this €2.50/kg already represents nearly €17/kg of roe-on scallop meat, and over €40/kg of roe-off scallop meat, for the raw material alone, before shucking, transport and margin. Scallop meat should therefore never be compared with the price of a whole scallop.

The price of king scallops, for its part, does not fall when landings rise. In 2024, December was both the busiest month (4,564 t) and the most expensive, when holiday demand comes in; then the price slid over the season until May (838 t), the cheapest month. 2025 repeats this profile. Monthly prices stay within €1/kg of each other, from €2.00 to €2.90/kg, which is still a 45% spread. Note: in February and in March 2024, more than a quarter and then more than a third of the volumes put up for sale were withdrawn from sale by producer organisations, for failing to reach their floor price (withdrawals), according to the same workbook. From one auction to another, the spread of about €1/kg does not, on its own, tell whether it comes from size, the bed or the outlets.

  • The holidays: in 2024, the average auction price rose in December, while landings were at their highest.
  • The weather: in heavy weather, dredgers stay in port.
  • The presentation: whole in the shell, roe-on scallop meat, roe-off scallop meat; each processing step has a cost.
  • The origin and the quality signs (PGI, Label Rouge).

Frequently asked questions

When are king scallops in season?

From 1 October to 14 May in France, with opening dates specific to each bed. Landings are heaviest from October to December. Fishing is closed from 15 May to 30 September inclusive (French order of 12 May 2003).

What is the difference between king scallops and smaller scallops (pétoncles)?

The king scallop is the species Pecten maximus, which is larger. Pétoncles (queen scallop, variegated scallop) are related species, smaller and cheaper. Some imported scallop meat, sold as "noix de Saint-Jacques", belongs to other species: the scientific name says so.

What is the auction price of king scallops in France?

In 2024, about €2.50/kg on average at first sale in French fish auctions, for whole scallops in the shell, from about €2.00/kg in May to about €2.90/kg in December (FranceAgriMer). Converted to scallop meat with the FAO yields, this already comes to nearly €17/kg of roe-on scallop meat and over €40/kg of roe-off scallop meat, before shucking; the price paid to the fish merchant adds processing, transport and margin.

How much scallop meat is there in a kilo of king scallops?

By weight, about 150 g of roe-on scallop meat, or 60 g of roe-off scallop meat, per kilo of whole scallops (FAO, provisional values). The number of pieces depends on the size grade.

Where are king scallops fished in France?

Mostly in the English Channel: in 2024, Dieppe made 20% of auction sales, ahead of Saint-Quay-Portrieux, Granville, Port-en-Bessin and Erquy.

Sources

Read next