Saving Seafood

Fisheries Survival Fund Urges Northern Edge Scallop Access at Upcoming New England Fishery Management Council Meeting

June 26, 2024 — The following was released by the Fisheries Survival Fund:

Recent Advisory Panel and Joint Scallop and Habitat Committee meetings have underscored the need to align the access season with periods of high scallop meat yields while ensuring the safety of our fishermen.

The upcoming Council meeting in Freeport, Maine on Thursday, June 27, at the Hilton Garden Inn in Freeport, will be pivotal for the future of Northern Edge scallop access. Key decisions could be made that will impact scallop yields and crew safety.

Opponents of Northern Edge access may propose motions to terminate or severely restrict the Northern Edge scallop access area management initiative. The Fisheries Survival Fund (FSF) would oppose any such motions and advocates for maintaining a viable Northern Edge access area program.

The Northern Edge is roughly defined as the area encompassed within the Closed Area II Habitat Management Area (HMA) and the adjacent portion of the Northern Flank of Georges Bank. Photo and caption credit: New England Fishery Management Council.

Scallop issues are on the agenda starting at 9:00 a.m. Thursday morning. 

  • Motion to Reject Seasonal Closure Option A
    • FSF strongly opposes the anticipated motion to reject the seasonal closure option A (July 15 through October 15) and replace it with a new closure option from April 1 through October 31. This motion would substitute a 9-month open season, which aligns with periods of high scallop meat yields and favorable weather, for a less optimal season from November 1 through March 31. This proposal directly contradicts the Scallop Advisory Panel’s recommendation for spring/summer access from April 1 to August 31.
       
    • Reasons for FSF’s Opposition:
      • Optimal scallop yields and reduced habitat impacts are achieved when access matches periods of highest meat yield, as proposed in Closure Option A.
      • Ensuring scallop access during spring and summer months enhances safety, which the new proposed closure option fails to do.
      • A sufficient access period is essential for the entire fleet to operate safely.
      • The proposed access plan already adequately protects juvenile cod, egg-bearing lobsters, and avoids disrupting spawning seasons for cod and herring. 
         
  • Motion to Abandon the Northern Edge Access Program
    • FSF opposes any motion to abandon the Northern Edge access program.
       
    • Reasons for FSF’s Opposition:
      • The current alternatives are conservative, having already excluded sensitive bottom areas and considered mitigation.
      • The access area program already provides protection for juvenile cod, cod spawning, herring spawning, and egg-bearing lobsters, alongside existing lobster fishing activities.
      • The scallop fishery must retain access to this crucial resource, particularly given the declining productivity of southern areas.
      • Minimal overlap exists between proposed access areas and spawning grounds for cod and herring.
      • Harvesting in the access area program will not interfere with scallop spawning on Georges Bank.
      • Extensive efforts have been made to develop this measure, with effective solutions from the Scallop and Habitat PDTs.
      • The benefits of access are substantial, as demonstrated by the original Georges Bank access program in 2001.

About the Fisheries Survival Fund
Established in 1998, the Fisheries Survival Fund (FSF) is dedicated to ensuring the long-term sustainability of the Atlantic sea scallop fishery. FSF represents the majority of full-time Atlantic scallop fishermen from Maine to North Carolina. FSF collaborates with academic institutions and independent scientific experts to support cooperative research and sustain this fully rebuilt fishery. Additionally, FSF works with the federal government to ensure responsible management of the fishery.

For more information, please contact:
John Quinn
jquinnfish@gmail.com
https://atlanticscallops.org

MARYLAND: Scallops, The next big shellfish in the Chesapeake Bay?

June 26, 2024 — Next week, Maryland will expand the definition of shellfish in the state, and one particular mollusk could benefit the most by the change.

Currently, shellfish as defined by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) are ‘live oysters, seed oysters, oyster shells, live hard-shell clams, live soft-shell clams, and clam shells’. But thanks to SB303, passed by the General Assembly and signed by Gov. Wes Moore, the definition will expand on July 1 to all ‘live bivalves and bivalve shells’.

Read the full article at WYPR

SMAST faculty receive $4.9 million through sea scallop research program

May 12, 2024 — Faculty at the UMass Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) have received a combined total of $4,898,059 in this year’s NOAA Fisheries Atlantic Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program.

Through the Scallop RSA Program, the New England Fishery Management Council “sets aside” scallop poundage to generate funds for scallop research projects. RSA awards provide funding for research and compensation for fishing industry partners who harvest the scallops. These programs support research that informs fishery management decisions, and foster collaboration between the fishing industry and scientific community, leading to more informed and effective management of scallop resources.

Research projects are selected by NOAA on a competitive basis. For the 2024-2025 Scallop RSA Program, 3 of the 14 selected projects belong to SMAST researchers.

Commonwealth Professor Changsheng Chen is the principal investigator on a 2-year project titled, “Assessing Cumulative Impact of Offshore Wind Energy Development on Sea Scallop Laval Transport and Settlement in Southern New England Waters.” The project aims to further evaluate the cumulative impacts of wind turbine generators on scallop larval dispersion, transport, and recruitment.

Assistant Research Professor Adam J. Delargy and SMAST Dean Kevin D.E. Stokesbury are the principal investigators on a project titled “Intensive drop camera surveys of sea scallops in two key areas of Georges Bank,” which consists of drop camera surveys in two Nantucket Lightship SAMS zones and part of the Northern Edge Habitat Area of Particular Concern. Results will be used to estimate scallop biomass in support of the scallop harvest specification process.

Read the full article at UMass Dartmouth

NOAA Fisheries closes Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area

April 23, 2024 — NOAA Fisheries announced on Friday, April 20, that no scallop vessel fishing under federal scallop regulations may fish for, possess or land scallops in or from the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area.

The scallop regulations require that this area be closed once it is projected that 100 percent of the 2024 Northern Gulf of Maine Set-Aside will be taken. The closure will be in effect until the end of the fishing year, March 31, 2025.

Read the full article at The Ellsworth American

Major offshore wind projects in New York canceled, scallop industry likely to benefit

April 20, 2024 —  Politico reported today that three New York offshore wind projects are being scrapped. NYSERDA, the state authority in charge of offshore wind deals, announced Friday that no final agreements could be reached with the three projects that received provisional awards in October 2023. 

This decision has nothing to do with concerns raised by fishing interests, but it is good news, particularly for the scallop industry. 

  • The Attentive Energy One project area is in the New York Bight scallop access area, which is an important scallop ground. 
  • The Community Offshore Wind project has some scallop grounds in it, but it’s also adjacent to highly productive traditional grounds, so it could impact seeding of larvae. 
  • Excelsior Wind by Vineyard Offshore has an open bottom scallop fishing area in it. 

The three bids, Attentive Energy One, Community Offshore Wind, and Excelsior Wind, were all linked to major supply chain investments by General Electric and a larger turbine it planned to build. In February, GE decided not to move forward with an 18-megawatt turbine. NYSERDA confirmed that was the main reason no final awards were made. 

There has also been a limit to the degree to which state utility regulators are willing to let the rates go up, which means there’s a cap on how much the companies can earn per megawatt. The overriding question is: Could they produce this power from wind and make money at current rates, given the cost to install these turbines? Apparently, the answer was no. 

MASSACHUSETTS: MAYOR MITCHELL ADVOCATES FOR SCALLOP INDUSTRY

April 17, 2024 — Mayor Jon Mitchell testified before the New England Fishery Management Council Tuesday in Mystic, Conn., urging the board to open the Northern Edge scallop grounds to New Bedford commercial fishermen.

Prior to his public comments on Tuesday afternoon, Mayor Mitchell submitted a letter to Chairman Eric Reid and the other members of the Council calling for the opening of the “key new source of scallops.”

“While there are multiple species that are harvested by New Bedford fishing vessels, scallops are the prime drivers of economic activity within the Port of New Bedford,” Mayor Mitchell wrote. “The fishermen of New Bedford know this, and they take great care in maintaining the resource and recognize the strategic long-term importance of managing the biomass.”

Read the full release at the City of New Bedford

MAINE: Maine researchers, students are sorting through muck and slugs to study baby scallops

April 15, 2024 — Baby scallops are easy to miss in a pile of muck or a large netted spat bag. At around one to six months old, they are less than 5 millimeters long – dwarfed by a fingernail.

It takes a discerning eye to find the juvenile scallops. But researchers, fishermen, farmers and students have learned how to spot them.

People from each of these groups are collaborating with the Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries, Hurricane Island Center for Science and Leadership and Colby College in the second year of a study meant to help identify how many young scallops there are off Maine’s coast, and where they’re living. The work is funded by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

The tiny, two-shelled juveniles, or spat, are uniquely important to fishermen who scoop wild scallops from the ocean floor and aquaculture farmers who raise them in contained areas.

Read the full article at the Press Herald

MAINE: Maine delegation traveling to France to explore culinary world of scallops

April 14, 2024 — A group of chefs, seafood professionals, writers, economic development specialists and educators will travel to France from April 14-22 to explore French techniques for handling and preparing scallops in support of the scallop farming and commercial fishing sectors in Maine.

The project is made possible by a grant from the NOAA National Sea Grant Office to the Maine Sea Grant College Program. Among the Maine delegation of culinary professionals and other specialists traveling across France are Dana Morse, senior extension program manager and aquaculture lead at Maine Sea Grant and University of Maine Cooperative Extension, and Rob Dumas, UMaine food science innovation coordinator and manager of the Dr. Matthew Highlands Pilot Plant.

The group will be in Paris, Normandy and Brittany. The trip will wrap up with a scallop festival in Paimpol April 20-21. The week of travel will be followed by educational programming led by Dumas to share what the group learned from its travels with other chefs and other culinary professionals.

The project is spurred by the unparalleled quality of Maine dayboat scallops, both the traditional product from the fishery and whole live product from Maine sea farmers.

“The quality of dayboat scallops from Maine is finally getting the long overdue recognition it deserves. Scallops from different areas have different flavors (merroirs) and Maine is the only state in the country offering whole cultivated scallops. I look forward to learning from the masters of place-based gastronomy how to get the word out about our amazing scallops,” said delegation member Togue Brawn, owner and founder of Downeast Dayboat.

Read the full article at the Penbay Pilot 

ANALYSIS: 2024 Scallop Season Expectations

April 11, 2024 — The 2024/2025 Atlantic sea scallop fishery season began on April 1, 2024. This fishery extends from the Mid-Atlantic region to the U.S.-Canadian border. The New England Fishery Management Council approved Framework Adjustment 38 in December, forecasting a catch of 27.4 million pounds of Atlantic sea scallops for the season. On March 22, 2024, NOAA issued the final rule in the Federal Register, effective from the season’s start. Per NOAA Fisheries, for the initial 60 days of the fishing year, vessels with limited access can utilize their remaining 2023 scallop allocation from the access area. These fishing trips must start by May 30, 2024. After this date, any unutilized 2023 access area allocations will become void.

Harvest projections of 27.4 million pounds marked a 2.4 million pound increase from the previous year. Contributing to the management actions of the first quota increase since 2019, the increase is a result, in part, of findings reported by the NEFMC that the scallop resource is not overfished and overfishing is not occurring, with most of the biomass currently concentrated on Georges Bank. Despite the increase, NEFMC also reported the Mid-Atlantic has experienced below average recruitment of incoming scallops since 2013.  Scientists have also expressed concern that warmer water temperatures and other environmental changes are contributing to scallop mortality, especially at the southern extent of the range near Virginia/North Carolina.

Read the full article at Seafoodnews.com

MASSACHUSETTS: Mixed Results as Commercial Bay Scallop Season Ends

April 6, 2024 — After a banner year for Vineyard commercial scallopers in the 2022-23 season, this winter’s bay scallop season was something of a cool-down for the notoriously fickle fishery.

Island fishermen harvested around 2,500 fewer bushels this year, though local scallopers and fishmongers say it wasn’t all bad news for the fishery, as a lower harvest on- and off-Island prevented the precipitous drop in scallop prices that occurred last year.

“It was good this year,” said Matteus Scheffer, who drags from the Anita Penny out of Cape Pogue. “This year, we were all getting our [daily bushel] limits pretty well, for the most part.”

Edgartown shellfish constable Rob Morrison described the harvest as “not bad by modern standards.”

“Scallops are one of those things where their abundance does seem to be cyclical,” he added.

Read the full article at the Vineyard Gazette