September 28, 2022 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:
The New England Fishery Management Council will not be developing an amendment to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan to analyze alternatives for scallop leasing.
The Council went out to scoping this spring and early summer to gauge support for limited access scallop leasing for both access area trips and days-at-sea allocations. From the start, the Council said it would review scoping comments and determine how to proceed at its September 2022 meeting in Gloucester.
Before beginning its debate, the Council received a presentation that summarized input provided by stakeholders during the scoping period. The Council also was provided with several documents prior to the meeting, including: (1) a combined summary of all scoping meetings; (2) all written comments submitted to the Council; and (3) a summary report.
The Council then considered three motions, two of which were extensively debated. Council Chair Eric Reid allowed all members of the public who were attending the meeting in person, as well as those on the webinar, to provide public comments.