October 15, 2020 — The New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) noted the value of the industry-funded Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program, calling it the “sole source” of scallop survey data during the coronavirus pandemic.
The typical survey run by NOAA Fisheries was canceled thanks to COVID-19 and it would leave key information about the status of the fishery for the year. However, the RSA program has worked as a complementary data set for about two decades.