Next week, Maryland will expand the definition of shellfish in the state, and one particular mollusk could benefit the most by the change.

Currently, shellfish as defined by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) are ‘live oysters, seed oysters, oyster shells, live hard-shell clams, live soft-shell clams, and clam shells’. But thanks to SB303, passed by the General Assembly and signed by Gov. Wes Moore, the definition will expand on July 1 to all ‘live bivalves and bivalve shells’.

That brings scallops under the shellfish umbrella. DNR Secretary Josh Kurtz testified to two legislative committees that the change will not only allow the department to better protect the species from disease and non-native versions from being introduced in Maryland, but also promote the growth of bay scallops similar to how Chesapeake Bay oysters have rebounded in recent decades.

DNR says a blight on grass beds in the 1930’s caused the bay scallop population to almost disappear. That drop is still felt today almost a century later, to the point that the DNR asks people who find scallops while fishing to return them to the bay due to their scarcity.