On December 2, 2009, Paul Diodati, the Director of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries wrote to NOAA Fisheries Northeast Regional Administrator Patricia Kurkul regarding "the furor created by the New England Fishery Management Council's recent decision to allocate far fewer days to the limited access sea scallop fishery…"
Director Diodati observed that the Council unintentionally failed to use Plan Development Team and Science and Statistical Committee advice. He asked Regional Administrator Kurkul to "take appropriate steps to account for the PDT and SSC analyses of uncertainty" and asked that the decision of the Council be adjusted to F = 0.24, placing the probability of overfishing at less than 20%.
Read Director Diodati's letter to Regional Administrator Kurkul.