April 19, 2022 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:
The New England Fishery Management Council will hold seven in-person scoping meetings and two webinars over the next two months to solicit public input on whether a leasing program is needed in the limited access component of the Atlantic sea scallop fishery.
The Council approved the scoping document during its April 12-14, 2022 hybrid meeting, which was held in Mystic, CT. In addition, the Council received short updates on:
- Next steps related to the final report titled “Evaluation of the Atlantic Sea Scallop Rotational Management Program”; and
- Work being conducted by the Scallop Survey Working Group.
Scoping Meetings Kick Off April 27th in Gloucester
The first scoping meeting for limited access leasing will be held on Wednesday, April 27, 2022 in Gloucester, Massachusetts at the Cruiseport beginning at 5:00 p.m.
Other in-person meeting locations run from New Bedford down to New Bern, North Carolina. The in-person meetings will not have a remote participation option, but two separate webinar scoping meetings are scheduled for June 17 and June 24, 2022.