EASTPORT, Maine — A petition that surfaced this week throughout Washington County asking the Maine Department of Marine Resources to reconsider last week’s decision to immediately close much of Cobscook Bay to scallop fishing is an exercise in futility, according to DMR Acting Commissioner Pat Keliher.
“It’s not going to happen,” Keliher said Thursday. “I met with the governor earlier this week, and he continues to be supportive of this emergency closure, looking at it from a long-term perspective.”
The Cobscook Bay closure took effect Jan. 2 and prohibits dragging or diving for scallops in the east and south bay regions. With that closure there are now 13 noncontiguous areas along the Down East coast that are off limits to scallop fishermen, representing more than 10 percent of the state’s scallop fishery.
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