Swampy raises a good point that maybe it's a different skate being used for scallops. We mostly catch clearnose skate but there is a species called the "big skate" which is caught in deeper water that can get to 8 feet. Someone from alaska sent us a pic of one he caught http://www.garbagefish.com/images/pics/jumboskate.jpg If you managed to punch out meat on that fish, I could see it sizing up with a nice fat scallop, but i don't know about the meat itself. Never caught one, myself. All I know is that I clearnose skate meat and scallops are night and day and it would be difficult to not tell them apart.

I used to live in Colorado, in Gunnison County. I fished some amazing trout rivers there, the Taylor and Gunnison being my favorite. I lived with a couple raft guides who did fly/float trips and they made fun of me because I would occasionally keep a trout for the table. I remember one of them saying, you need to make the fish your brother. I've done some messed up things to my brother over the years, but I've never tricked him into biting a baited hook so that I could drag him across a river by his lips. I have no problem with catch and release guys, but I don't think it earns you the animal lover of the year award.