What is clear is that Rye’s scallops are crucial to the town and the old adage that one fisherman at sea creates 10 jobs holds true. Despite its rich history and easy accessibility to London, Rye has none of the social cachet of the South West. There is a melancholy feel about it in winter and there’s no escaping the tattiness about its edges, despite the renovation of its fine Georgian hotel and the work of its very good chefs.
The deep, clean and high-salinity waters of Rye Bay, rich in minerals washed from the Wealden soil, have become the main source of winter income for the 10 or so scallop boats that head three miles out before lowering up to five ''rakes’’ on either side, designed to flip the shells up and into nets. Retailing at around £23 a kilo, it is a profitable catch, but it is hard graft: the heavy gear cannot be used in windy weather and any shell under 10 cm is thrown back.
Ronnie Simmons is adamant that “without scalloping we wouldn’t be able to carry on”. On a good day, four or five hundred dozen are bagged, 75 per cent of them destined for the continent, much like south coast mussels (which go mostly to Belgium and Holland) and Shoreham whelks (snapped up by South Korea).
Despite past concerns over bottom-trawling the sea bed (especially around Lyme and Cardigan bays), the Sustainable Development Fisheries Officer confirms that the Rye catch has a negligible environmental impact. Indeed, some believe that scallop numbers are increasing owing to rises in water temperature associated with climate change.
Read the complete story from The Telegraph.