November 15, 2024 — Over the past five-plus years, Peconic Bay scallops have suffered mass die-offs blamed on an infectious parasite, but researchers at the Cornell Cooperate Extension have found a source of scientifically informed hope: genetic diversity.

Harrison Tobi, an aquaculture educator with the extension’s Bay Scallop Restoration Program, put it plainly for nonscientists: “Basically, they’re inbred in the Peconic.”

To understand the findings, Mr. Tobi discussed when the parasite was first identified in Argopecten irradians, or Peconic Bay scallops, in 2019: The “fishery collapsed by almost 99 percent,” resulting in losses of over $1 million annually since then.

“First off, it’s what we call a novel parasite, which means it was literally never discovered before,” Mr. Tobi said at the Southold laboratory. “Its genetics are brand-new to the scientific world.”

After the collapse, the Cornell Cooperative laboratory sent samples to Stony Brook University’s marine animal disease laboratory, led by Bassem Allam. “That is when we first discovered the parasite,” Mr. Tobi said.

There is no way to know how long it might have been present. “It’s like Schrodinger’s cat: We can’t really say it was or it wasn’t there because we didn’t test for it,” he said. Most likely, it had been present for some time, as it was also found in Maine, Massachusetts, and New Jersey.

Read the full article at The East Hampton Star