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The recent history of the Tasmanian scallop fishing industry has seen it closed, or fished at very low levels, because the spawning stock is at such a low level the successful settlement of juveniles is likely to occur at very irregular intervals.

There was a rapid expansion of fishing effort in the late 1970s and early 1980s, which led to a peak landing of about 12,000 tonnes in 1983. By 1987 all the main beds had been depleted and the fishery was closed for 8 years.

In 1999, some 4,500 tonnes of scallops (live weight) was landed with an estimated value of $6.3m.