The crews are out in our deep cold and often nasty winter weather, not just fishing but also shucking before landing their haul. Most of them head out before sunrise, as I hear from my home.
Are they crazy, as some of them contend, or just dumb, as others jest? Even both? It’s more than honest work, no question.
In our zone, boats are limited to a crew of three and a maximum harvest of two buckets of shucked scallops a day. That’s ten gallons, or nine to ten pounds total. Doesn’t look like much for a day’s haul, especially when you factor in paying for their labor, the boat, gear, fuel, insurance, and the fact it’s seasonal and very cold work, even before the regulations that hold draggers to three days a week. Try making a living on a three-day, limited season, income. Good luck!
Officially, ours is a 50-day run spread over four months, but in reality, an earlier cutoff kicks in on short notice to preserve the stock from depletion. In effect, “It’s over, guys,” arrives in the captain’s email, post haste. Last year, that eliminated 17 fishing days, a third of the season. More than an entire month, actually. By dumb luck, my daughter and I were at the docks just in time to stock up a gallon in our freezers.
At least we’re not managing a restaurant.
As this season? We’re holding our proverbial breath. My, those morsels do taste unbelievable.
(Divers have a different schedule, even more limited.)
Think of that when you wonder about the seemingly high price of heavenly shellfish.
Jnana's Red Barn 
I guess the New Zealand equivalent of your scallops is our Bluff oysters which are dredged from from the Foveaux Straight between the bottom of the South Island and Stewart Island at a depth of 25 to 50 metres (82 to 164 feet). The season is usually from March to end of July (our autumn/winter) but varies by year depending on the the stock and occasionally remains completely closed. They retail in NZ for approximately NZ$3 each and in the US and Japan for up to US$30 per pound
Personally I think they taste discussing, but according to many they are the best oysters in the world.
NZ scallops come mostly from the north of the South Island apart from Queen scallops which are more to the east at a depth of 80 – 120 metres (250 – 400 feet). Scallop harvesting is a relatively new commercial activity here compared to Bluff oysters. The oysters have been harvested commercially since the late nineteenth century whereas commercial scallop harvesting didn’t commence until the 1970s.
Sounds delicious. Shouldn’t you be keeping those items secret?