--- title: "Much Like Hipsters, Scallops Can Be Lured to Their Death by Disco Lights" description: "Just like your average EDM fan, scallops can, as it turns out, be captured more easily when you turn on the pretty lights for them." date: "2022-05-18" modified: "2022-05-18" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/disco-lights-scallops" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "aquatic" - "fishing" - "marine life" - "marine science" - "the digest" --- # Much Like Hipsters, Scallops Can Be Lured to Their Death by Disco Lights ![Just like your average EDM fan, scallops can, as it turns out, be captured more easily when you turn on the pretty lights for them.]() *\Image: Getty Images/Futurism\* ## Clam-iroquai Just like your average EDM fan, scallops can, as it turns out, be captured more easily when you turn on the pretty lights for them. As [*The Guardian* reports](), a group of fishing consultants (yes, that's a thing) have devised a devious plot to lure unsuspecting scallops — by flashing "disco" lights inside trap baskets, which apparently attracts them. This technique was actually created by the British Fishtek Marine consultancy to lure in crabs, but to their surprise, it was scallops — which, apparently, each have more than 200 eyes — that were more into the pretty lights. "It’s like a scallop disco – illuminate the trap and they come in," Dr. Rob Enver, Fishtek's chief marine scientist, told *The Guardian*. "It’s astonishing that no one else has discovered this before. It’s quite an exciting find." ## Marine Dream While it's kind of heartbreaking to watch these cute shelled creatures jump to their doom after seeing the same kinds of lights we enjoy in bars and on dancefloors, this technique can apparently help the global over-fishing problem as well. Most of the scallops caught for human consumption today are captured via dredging, a harmful means of fishing that harms marine life when done at large scale. The more environmentally conscious alternative, the report notes, is done by scuba divers handpicking scallops, but this is obviously much more expensive and time-consuming. With this new technique, however, fishers can catch scallops much more easily, and in a way much less likely to harm the marine floor, Fishtek told *The Guardian*. The experiment has made waves in the academic and ecological communities as well, with a new paper [published in the *Journal of Fisheries Research*]() this week lauding the "low-impact" potted light scallop-fishing method. This could be huge for scallop fishing — and maybe we'll give them some music to jam to before they're taken to their dooms, too. **READ MORE:** [Accidental discovery that scallops love ‘disco’ lights leads to new fishing technique]() \[*The Guardian*\] **More on fishing ethics:** [*Critics Horrified by World’s First Octopus Farm*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()