Pectinid stock assessment surveys are recurrent surveys requested by fisheries managers (administration and professional organizations). They contribute here to the management of the main King scallop fishery of the Bay of Seine. The data collected is also used to feed other research topics than simple stock management. This request is therefore identical to those of previous years.

For many years, following its institutional missions Ifremer participates in the monitoring of the King scallop resource of the Bay of Seine. The requested campaign contributes to feeding a chronological series of nearly 40 years of recurring surveys. Obtained results could give to the industry (Regional Fishermen committee of Normandy) and the French fisheries administration an exhaustive picture of the state of the resource before the start of the fishing season. they serve as a reference to professional regulation, enforced by the Administration. Indeed, the results obtained make it possible to determine on the one hand an area of the Bay of the Seine that will remain closed throughout the season (set-aside zone set up 5 years ago), and on the other hand since 2020 the proposal for a target TAC in the Bay of the Seine.

The main objective of the survey is to collect data for estimating indices of abundance by age class, growth parameters, geographic distribution and estimation of exploitable biomass in the Bay of Seine. The applied methodology is the same for all Ifremer's King scallop surveys. Since the beginning of the 90's, the survey takes place in July. This period is to experience the best compromise between a sufficient growth of the shells of group 1, faster in bay of Seine than bay of St-Brieuc and allowing their capture by dredges, and the development of expertise allowing managers to take the best suited measures to the reality perceived through the results of the survey. With the fishing season starting on October 1st, the scientific results of the survey must reach the Fisheries Administration in early September, which requires an early survey in July.