I've caught a few thousands of scallops over the years and have spent some time commercial diving for them. All of this is done with scuba, although I've caught some small numbers snorkelling. First thing is to find the area with scollies in it, If they've never been fished they'll live in 30 ft provided there not much swell. Even in deeper water swell is a no no . Anywhere with west atlantic swells mean no scallops live there. They don't mind tide and in fact they need it as they are filter feeders. So bays are not too good. Empty shells can mean scallops but it might just be that some one shucked their catch there. Local knowledge is a good start but where they're fished (as with my local beds) then you gotta go deep. Local commercial scallop divers work 50m (160ft), 3 tanks every day,using air but also using nitrox and decompressing on oxy - heavy stuff. Good news is they reproduce quickly and grow fast, so keep looking. I found a little corner in 35 ft at low tide that gives 6 doz a tank - don't tell anyone. Watch out for dredgers they kill the seabed and wipe out scallops for years.
Scallops can sometimes be easy to see and sometimes be invisible. It mainly depends on the bottom. Mostly they bury and if they're feeding the top shell is slightly open. On sand they stand out well but on mixy shingle and weed they are harder to see especially when closed. You sight fish and don't poke around like you do for flatfish. It's chicken and egg syndrome, the more you catch the more you see then the more you catch etc. It's getting the first few that's difficult.
So try to get some local knowledge and good luck.
Dave
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