I have on many occasions been subjected to fake scallops. How you can tell is
to flake the scallop. A true scallop adductor muscle is composed of little
rods. If you break it apart it will flake perpendicularly.
  The fakes I had were tasty, but flaked like fish, sort of laterally. I have
also had shark on many occasions. It was excellent and had no wierd taste,
metallic or otherwise. It was just good. Shark meat would probably not be
sold as scallops as shark is more expensive. Why would they want to sell it
cheaper?  In years past I have heard of them stamping out ray fins in
circles, but what I have had as scallops that was fake, was a white fish of
some kind.
      Andy, only in America do we eat only the adductor muscle of the
scallop. In most countries the whole scallop is eaten. My favorite scallop
eating story occurred when I was at the COA in San Diego a couple of years
ago. Betty Hammon and I went to the seafood market and they had all kinds of
in the shell, shellfish, including whole Chlamys hastata hericia from
Washington State. Betty cannot eat seafood, she is highly allergic, so I
ordered what they called a Duck's Bucket and we planned to share the shells.
This was a bucket of steamed shellfish from everywhere. New Zealand and
California mussels, the aforementioned scallops, various clams, some from New
Zealand, Mexico etc. Well, that was enough but  Betty ordered a Bucket of
steamed scallops as well.  After I ate  BOTH orders, we repaired to our room
to clean the shells. We each came home with a lot of different shellfish and
I didn't eat for a full day and a half after that meal. P.S. Still have the
shells. ;-) and some funny memories.

          Carole Marshall
           Lake Worth, Fl.