The scallops are caught by classic drag, also known as "heavy" or "Brittany" (without depressant component on the Atlantic coast and in the harbor of Brest, with part in the Bay of Saint -Brieuc) on the majority of French fields while the Eastern Channel is distinguished by the use of springs dredges (called "English").

The dredge is a classic kind of rake provided, at the rear, with a bag of steel rings to collect animals. This gear has been developed in the harbor of Brest in the 1950s. At that time, the blades dredges were not fitted teeth. These were first introduced in Normandy and in Briochine fishery until the mid of 1960s. Moreover, in the bay of Saint -Brieuc, dredges were equipped in 1968 with a flap for better penetration into the sediment. This factor increasing catches requires more engine power. Dredges component were banned in 1972 in Eastern Channel. In 1980, the Norman fishermen adopted springs dredges (observed locally in France in previous years, including Saint-Malo in 1977) which allow the passage on rough bottoms.

Fishing gears are regulated according to the mesh, the size, their quantity, or possibly their weight. The mesh, maintained at 72 mm for long, was raised to 85 mm in the Bay of Saint -Brieuc in 1985, and to 92 mm in 1996 in both the bay of Saint Brieuc and Brest harbor. The dimensions are variable, but in general, the maximum width is 2 m for conventional dredges and 80 cm per spring dredges element.

The number of dredges is limited to two in the bay of Saint -Brieuc, while in Brest harbor only one gear is allowed. In Normandy, a maximum of 16 "English" dredges is allowed per vessel. The weight is only regulated in Brest (170 kg maximum) with a maximum length of the teeth of 10 cm.

The springs dredges are also known as the "English" dredges.

Each springs dredge measures 0.80 m wide and 0.30 m high. The ventral side and the back end portion of the bag are made with an assembly of rings of 92 mm diameter, and the first part of the bag (to the frame) is formed by a thread netting (mesh size of 104 mm). The ring size is now 92 mm to improve the selectivity.
The main characteristic of this type of drag is the presence of springs located on the side rails of the frame. These springs act on the blade supporting the teeth. When it meets an obstacle, the blade swings back and compressing the springs facilitates the passage of the obstacle. Once the obstacle is overpassed, the springs expand and the teeth return to the vertical.

Springs dredges are not used individually but gathered on a metal bar. Each bar, according to its length, can carry 2 to 8 dredges. The total number of dredges varies, depending on the power of the ship, 4 to 24. The number of sticks, usually 2, up to 4. The boats saw (fall) on the side or the back.