December 12, 2022 — Mayor Jon Mitchell advocated for the opening of Georges Bank’s Northern Edge to scallop fishermen in 2023 during New England Fishery Management Council meetings this week in Newport, RI.
“Recent research by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and others demonstrates that the Northern Edge can sustain scallop fishing. Given this research, I do not see a pressing need to conduct additional research before opening the Northern Edge,” Mitchell stated in written testimony submitted to the NEFMC.
While New Bedford fishing vessels harvest multiple species, he said, “scallops are the prime drivers” of the Port of New Bedford’s economy, the most valuable commercial fishing port in the United States.