October 5, 2018 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:
During its late-September meeting in Plymouth, MA, the New England Fishery Management Council was presented with positive news about both the status of the Atlantic sea scallop resource and the outlook for the 2019 scallop fishing year. The Council:
- (1) Reviewed results from the 2018 benchmark stock assessment for scallops;
- (2) Received a summary of this year’s scallop surveys, which were conducted by five different research groups
- (3) Reviewed the list of management measures under development in Framework Adjustment 30 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan; and
- (4) Discussed the Limited Access General Category (LAGC) Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) trip limit.
2018 Benchmark Stock Assessment
The latest stock assessment for Atlantic sea scallops was conducted through the 65th Stock Assessment Workshop/Stock Assessment Review Committee (SAW/SARC). In short, assessment scientists concluded that in 2017:
- The stock was not overfished and overfishing was not occurring;
- Spawning stock biomass was at its highest level ever in the 1975 to 2017 time series;
- Spawning stock biomass was (1) well above its “threshold” level, which is the lowest point allowed before the stock is deemed to be overfished, and (2) well above its biomass “target” level, which is the more desirable stock condition;