SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
New Bedford, Massachusetts, calls itself the scallop capital of the world, and on Thursday, the city celebrated Scallopalooza. It's an event close to the city's working waterfront that celebrates the Atlantic sea scallop and the people who work on the boats. Caroline Losneck has this audio postcard.
UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER #1: So while we're setting up for our scallop shucking contest, which is...
CAROLINE LOSNECK: Like most festivals, Scallopalooza's fun, but scallops are serious business here. They're central to the city's identity and culture. The highlight is a raucous shucking contest where over a dozen local scallopers face off in heats, all up on a stage, to see who can remove the meat from the shell the cleanest and fastest. And spectators in the front rows probably even get some scallop parts on them as a memento.
JOE RITTER: We certainly hope people are going to have a shucking good time at this event.
LOSNECK: Joe Ritter works at the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center and helped organize Scallopalooza.
RITTER: And the top fisherman from each round is going to go up in the finals, and they're going to compete for the title of New Bedford's best shucker. They're going to get a trophy, and they're going to get bragging rights, too.
LOSNECK: The impact of the species here is massive. About 80% of the seafood by value that arrives on the docks are from scallops.
RITTER: I would say scallops are to New Bedford like corn and soybeans are to Illinois or Indiana.
LOSNECK: Ritter says the idea is to showcase the people doing the hard work behind it all - something that usually happens out at sea, not on dry land.
Any predictions on who might win?
RITTER: There is a lot of steep competition here, and a lot of young guys here. So a lot of young guns looking to prove their worth.
UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER #2: Knife up, step back, right? Everybody remember that - knife up and step back. Timers - are you ready, timers?
LOSNECK: A good knife is key to shucking. It's a steel blade with a rubber handle that scrapes out the scallop meat. It's usually wrapped in grip tape. And when it gets wet, it gets grippy and sticks to your hand better.
UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER #2: Three, two, one, shuck.
(CHEERING)
LOSNECK: The industry isn't without challenges. Scientists say climate change, warming waters and ocean acidification impact the scallops. But all this is left aside. There's even a booth to don a tiara - a jeweled crown - and feel like a scallop queen. Twenty-five-year-old Elmer Barrientos is a local scalloper. He's here to cheer on his friends. He says whaling was once key here.
ELMER BARRIENTOS: I mean, if you see the tradition, we used to be whalers - now scallop. You say scallop, people think about New Bedford.
LOSNECK: Barrientos says there's pride in his job. There's also good eating.
BARRIENTOS: I mean, you can eat it with butter. I mean, there is many ways. I like raw. You just cut it open and (imitates swallowing). That's the best way.
LOSNECK: Local scalloper Bryan Despres won the contest.
UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER #2: The Scallopalooza 2025 scallop shucking champion - Bryan from the F/V Lady Dee. And here's your trophy. Hold it up.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Woo.
BRYAN DESPRES: It's the last chance for us. It's for New Bedford.
(CHEERING)
UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER #2: Way to go. Couldn't do it better.
LOSNECK: But Despres says he never imagined he could be a scalloper. That's because, unlike many people here, he had no family tradition in the industry. But for him, scalloping is about more than glory.
DESPRES: But actually, I grew up in a foster home in New Bedford. And I got a opportunity for fishing. You know, it's life-changing for people.
LOSNECK: And with his trophy in hand, Despres is now part of New Bedford's rich scalloping culture.
For NPR News, I'm Caroline Losneck in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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