ELLSWORTH, Maine — November 27, 2012 — After more than a year of sometimes bitter debate over how the Department of Marine Resources (DMR) should protect a stressed resource, Maine’s 2012-2013 scallop fishing season will open just before 7 Sunday morning.
By the time the season closes at sunset next March 20, scallopers will have been allowed to spend up to 70 days, weather and markets permitting, fishing for the tasty bivalve. In Cobscook Bay, the season will be limited to just 44 days between Dec. 2 and March 20.
Last season, according to the most recent figures released by DMR, Maine scallop fishermen landed just over 175,000 pounds of scallops. Unlike other species of shellfish, scallop landings are reported in meat weight excluding the shell.
The landed value of last season’s harvest was just under $1.75 million. The average price paid to fishermen was $9.98 per pound.