February 10, 2026 — The Northeast Atlantic sea scallop fishery, one of the most valuable fisheries in the world at more than $500 million per year, faces serious threats from ecosystem changes, according to the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation.
Although the catch hasn’t dropped yet, climate change poses a serious threat to the scallop fishery in decades to come.
“It’s a huge fishery with hundreds of boats and thousands of crew members,” said Fred Mattera, president of the Commercial Fisheries Research Center, which is based in South Kingstown. “The crews are used to making hundreds of thousands of dollars. If that’s reduced by 30, 40 or 50%, that’s going to have a devastating impact.”
Due to global warming and an increase in atmospheric temperature, the ocean’s potential of hydrogen, or pH, will decrease, leading to ocean acidification, according to Rebecca Smoak, a research biologist at the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation. The process happens when carbon dioxide is absorbed by the ocean, causing the CO2 levels in the water to increase.