For all fresh seafood items, please call us 800-944-7848 for availability and the latest market prices.

MANY MENUS CLAIM TO HAVE DIVER SCALLOPS, but few understand the meaning of the term. True "Diver" Scallops are those that are hand harvested from the ocean floor by professional fishermen who are licensed scuba divers. More often than not, Chefs and customers are told they are purchasing a "Diver" Scallop without knowledge of how to actually to verify what they are really buying. The truth of the matter is that less than 1% of all the scallops harvested are really those hand harvested by a diver. And we believe the very best come from our own local inshore Maine coast.

Since owner Rod Mitchell first pioneered this practice in the late 1980's for the late legendary chef Jean-Louis Palladin, Maine Diver Sea Scallops have become an industry standard for the ultimate in fresh, pristine sea scallop. A few ways to identify a true Diver Scallop are that the scallop meat (actually the shucked abductor muscle) should be firm and stand up solid when laid on a surface. The scallop meat itself should react with a pulse when snapped by a finger to show that the mussel is still full of oxygen, which occurs when harvested by hand without the stress of being dragged in a scallop dredge. There should be no white liquid present in the container or liquid from the scallop when seared, the telltale of soaking" in preservatives. These are simply the sweetest, best sushi quality scallops available anywhere.

This season, Browne Trading has contracted with several local certified divers who we feel are most qualified to provide our customers with the best available products. Every container of Maine Diver Scallops that ship to our customers now will have the actual name of the harvesting scuba diver written on them so you and your clientele can trust they are the real thing - meet some of our Divers below!

The Scallop fishery here in Maine is a protected resource, open only from December until April, with days of harvest limited to Tuesday through Saturday. When you purchase Maine Diver Scallops, you support an ultimate practice of ecologically friendly harvesting that allows selective harvest of mature scallops. There is no impact on the bottom environment that traditionally occurs with conventional ocean floor scallop drags.

As the season in Maine is limited to the winter months, there is a very short window of supply and a high level of demand for such an extraordinary quality of scallop. With the limitations of hand harvesting and catches limited with the harsh Maine winter ocean water conditions, we recommend that you place orders as far in advance as possible.

Maine Diver Scallops are available by the gallon or pound as "Jumbos" (U-10 count) or "Larges" ( U 11-15 count).

MEET OUR LOCAL MAINE SCALLOP DIVERS!

Edna & Ed Monat - Bar Harbor, Maine

Jeremy & Jim Card - Ellsworth, Maine

Paul Farmer - Cushing, Maine