More than 1,000 members of the Atlantic sea scallop industry are petitioning the country's top fisheries regulator to increase the scallop harvest for the 2010 fishing season.
In a letter addressed to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief Dr. Jane Lubchenco, the Fisheries Survival Fund, a Fairhaven-based advocacy group, expressed disapproval with new scallop catch limits passed in November by the New England Fishery Management Council.
The rules, which await approval by NOAA Fisheries Service, would cut nine fishing days and eliminate one closed area fishing trip during the 2010 scallop season, which begins March 1. Council staff have said catch limits are necessary to ensure that scallop stocks remain at sustainable levels and do not become subject to overfishing.
In the letter signed by Herman Bruce and Malvin Kvilhaug, the Fisheries Survival Fund argues that fishermen should be able to harvest an additional 6 million pounds of scallops, worth $40 million, without harming the resource.