Which statement best describes scallop harvesting rules?

• A. Open seasons with no gear restrictions
• B. Strict limits, closed seasons
• C. No limits year-round
• D. Only commercial harvesters may collect

Answer: (B)

Scallop harvesting is regulated to protect the population by controlling how many can be taken and when harvest is allowed. Managers use strict limits on catch and implement closed seasons to prevent overharvesting, especially during spawning or vulnerable times, giving the stock a chance to reproduce and recover. This approach is the clear fit for describing how scallop rules are set to conserve the resource. Open seasons with no restrictions would risk depletion, no limits year-round would almost certainly exhaust the population, and restricting only to commercial harvesters doesn’t capture the standard conservation-focused framework of limits plus closures.