We examined whether the use of crevices to avoid predators places Iceland scallops Chlamys islandica in flow conditions which result in reduced growth. Field experiments in the Mingan Islands, northern Gulf of St. Lawrence, demonstrated that refuge use enhanced growth rates of small scallops (15–30 mm in shell height) but had no detectable effect for larger individuals (30–60 mm). Thus, use of refuges does not appear to force scallops to trade-off survival and growth opportunities as generally assumed in predation risk theory. Current velocity, as estimated from erosion rates of plaster blocks, was markedly less in refuges (≈ 0.9 cm · s −1) than on exposed surfaces (≈ 1.9 cm · s −1). Feeding efficiency of scallops generally decreases with increasing current velocity. As the velocity threshold which inhibits filtration is generally lower for small individuals, the reduced current velocity could contribute to the higher growth of small individuals in crevices.