Scallops

I don't know how far you'd have to swim, they're fairly deep. You'd probably be better off hooking up with a charter boat. A buddy of mine was out on one last week and ended up with 7 lbs. of shucked scallops (and another guy had almost double that). For ~$75, you'll have a far better chance of finding a good/great scallop bed. Fran Marcox on Daybreaker has scallop charters every so often and you can check Cape Ann Divers too.

Good luck!

I agree with the previous posts in that a boat dive is the best way to get them. I went out with Boston Harbor Diving Co. and it was a lot of fun. They are easy to catch too! Check out this link for more info on scalloping (by Matt Silvia):

Scallop Hunting for Massachusetts Divers

Lursxt:

Scallop Hunting for Massachusetts Divers

In fact, if the salinity drops below 16.5%, it can be deadly to sea scallops.

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I think Matt meant "below 1.65%"

Or "below 16.5‰"

I was surprised to see a few scallops when diving off Old Garden before. We're not talking a lot of them (1/2 a dozen). I didn't have a catch bag with me. I've even encountered them off Norman's Woe. They are out there. It's not really practical to shore dive for them. Even if you hit the mother load and come across a bed, you'll use up your air dragging them back with you. Better off doing from boat.

jeff01201:

Does Anybody Know If You Can Get Scallops From Old Garden And How Far Do You Have To Go Out .

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reefseal:

I was surprised to see a few scallops when diving off Old Garden before. We're not talking a lot of them (1/2 a dozen). I didn't have a catch bag with me. I've even encountered them off Norman's Woe. They are out there. It's not really practical to shore dive for them. Even if you hit the mother load and come across a bed, you'll use up your air dragging them back with you. Better off doing from boat.

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Reefseal is right; it's not practical to shore dive for them, at least not in the Old Garden area. There may be shore entries near scallop beds, but I don't know of any.

I've done about 50 scallop dives in Sandy Bay from my own boat. Beds change and move a bit over time, but I can tell you that Old Garden Beach is a long way from where we used to find good beds. Those were over a mile out from Old Garden.

If you look at a chart, you'll see GC3 (Green Can 3, aka Twelvefoot Rock) about a half-mile north from Old Garden (about 15 deg true, 30 magnetic from Old Garden). Years ago, just to explore a bit after a couple spotty dives, we moved the boat to GC3 and I dropped in on the rock and swam around the base at about 60'. If I remember correctly, I saw one scallop and an unproductive looking bottom. I can't remember if it was rocky kelp or mud, but it wasn't gravel.

Other exploratory dives demonstrated how narrow the productive gravel areas can be, perhaps a couple hundred yards sometimes bordered by mud on one side and kelp and rocks on the other side.

Reefseal also makes a good point about getting a bag of scallops back to shore. Even with flotation, dragging a bag gets arduous.

One other thing is that scallop beds are often in areas where tidal current is strong enough to keep a gravel bottom free of silt. That same current is not likely to be in your favor.

I'm gettin' worn out just thinking about scalloping from shore!

Now, a kayak or canoe or small inflatable boat might be a solution, but charters are really nice for scalloping....

Dave C