MATTAPOISETT —The town is among eight seaside communities asked to participate in a state-funded project aimed at restoring bay scallops in areas impacted by the 2003 Bouchard barge oil spill in Buzzards Bay.
Michael Gagne said the Buzzards Bay Cooperative Bay Scallop Restoration Project is a four-year, $1.8 million project managed by Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries that hopes to seed 15 million juvenile hatchery-raised bay scallops in the hospitable coastal waters of Mattapoisett, Marion, Wareham, Fairhaven, Dartmouth, Westport, Falmouth and Bourne.
The state Division of Marine Fisheries proposes to purchase the scallop seed required for the project from Taylor Seafood in Fairhaven, Aquaculture Research Corp in Dennis, and possibly the nonprofit shellfish hatchery operated by the Martha’s Vineyard Shellfish Group.
During the spring and early summer of the first year, Marine Fisheries biologists will consult with shellfish officers in the eight communities to identify suitable 5-acre restoration sites within recreational fishing areas in each town, Gagne said. Seeding sites will be selected based on past history of recreational scallop fishery, presence of low numbers of indigenous scallops, suitability of habitat to support scallop growth and survival, abundance of scallop predators, including crabs, star fish and conch, and exposure to meteorological and hydrographic impacts, including wind and waves, ice conditions and inordinate storm water run off, according to the state Division of Marine Fisheries.
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