November 30, 2022 — The 2022-23 harvest season of the lucrative sea scallop – among Maine’s and the nation’s top-selling seafoods – has kicked off in Zone 2.
Zone 2 stretches from eastern Penobscot Bay to Quoddy Head in Lubec, where diving for the sought-after bivalves began Nov. 17 and ends April 22. Scallop-dragging gets underway Thursday, Dec. 1, and closes March 30.
November 15, 2022 — Usually during November, veteran scalloper Chris Tehan would be on the Peconics — his boat dredging for the prized mollusk living in the pair of bays squeezed between Long Island’s North Fork and South Fork.
But in 2022, Tehan is hardly finding any because the Peconic scallop population is crashing. Scientists blame the climate crisis, but they’re also hopeful the marine animal could be saved before the fishing community goes bust.
This year represents the fourth in a row of record die-offs for Peconic Bay scallops. Their population density has dropped more than 90% since 2018, according to new survey data from the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County that is yet to be published.
“We monitor 21 different sites. And in total, we found only 19 adult scallops in those 21 surveys,” said Harrison Tobi, an aquaculture specialist who helped lead the study. Recent counts have been so low that the federal government issued a disaster declaration in 2021 promising federal relief to the fishery.
Tobi said climate change-induced warmer waters are causing better conditions for a parasite that harms the scallops and impedes their reproduction. He added that Peconic scallops are essential to the bay’s ecosystem, given their position in the food web and their ability to filter algae and bacteria from the water.
November 4, 2022 — Following the release of new research, the Fisheries Survival Fund (FSF) is encouraging the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) to open currently closed scallop areas.
September 30, 2022 — Capping six months of intense debate among fishermen, the New England Fishery Management Council voted this week against considering changes to allow scallop leasing within the fleet.
Fishermen crowded the council’s Sept. 27 meeting at Gloucester, Mass., for a debate on whether to develop an amendment to the scallop plant that would allow limited access scallop leasing for both access area trips and days-at-sea allocations.
Proponents of leasing, organized as the Scallopers Campaign, contended it would increase efficiency, cut costs and help operators when they face a major problem that takes a vessel out of action.
Opponents saw leasing as another avenue for consolidation of the fishery under fewer owners – as has happened in the Northeast groundfish fleet – with crew members and smaller independent operators at a disadvantage compared to fleet owners.
September 30, 2022 — A Scallop Survey Report presented at the New England Fishery Management Council meeting Tuesday showed the Atlantic sea scallop fishery is facing its lowest biomass in over 20 years.
From a peak of more than 250,000 metric tons in 2017, to under 100,000 in 2022.
“There has been a decline since 2018 due to a large harvest and natural mortality,” Jonathon Peros, an NEFMC staffer, told the Council. “Biomass in 2022 is the lowest since 1999.”
Throughout NEFMC jurisdiction, the survey estimated a biomass decrease of almost 30%. The Georges Bank region saw the largest drop, around 36%.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Division, scallop catch had been on an upward trajectory following its 1998 nadir of 5,564 metric tons.
September 29, 2022 — Fisheries regulators denied a controversial proposal to develop a leasing program in New England’s scallop industry this week, but backers of the plan suggested they might appeal the decision to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.
In a letter submitted to the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) before its vote on Tuesday, Jeffrey Pike, previously a registered lobbyist with the Scallopers Campaign, wrote that should the council not approve a leasing or internal transfer program, “we will be left with no recourse but to appeal to the Secretary of Commerce to use her authority to develop a secretarial amendment.”
Pete Janhunen, a representative with the campaign, said Wednesday that whether they will proceed with an appeal is not decided. He said those involved with the campaign will gather next week to consider next steps, but that he could not speak to what those will be at this time.
During last week’s scallop committee meeting, Pike had said they would look for “other options” should leasing not move forward.
Supporters of leasing, some with ownership interest in larger fleets, have said leasing of fishing allocations will improve efficiency, cut operational costs, minimize emissions amid climate change, ameliorate port congestion and increase flexibility in the event a vessel fails. Opponents have said it’s a means of furthering consolidation, with crew and independent shoreside businesses likely to bear the cost.
Pike’s letter was addressed to NEFMC Executive Director Thomas Nies two days before the council ultimately failed to pass three motions — ranging from narrow to broad — that would have initiated a process to develop a leasing program in the limited access fishery.
Nies, who was attending ongoing council meetings Wednesday, provided a written statement to The Light, saying the council “thoroughly” debated the leasing issue before voting not to proceed.
September 28, 2022 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:
The New England Fishery Management Council will not be developing an amendment to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan to analyze alternatives for scallop leasing.
The Council went out to scoping this spring and early summer to gauge support for limited access scallop leasing for both access area trips and days-at-sea allocations. From the start, the Council said it would review scoping comments and determine how to proceed at its September 2022 meeting in Gloucester.
Before beginning its debate, the Council received a presentation that summarized input provided by stakeholders during the scoping period. The Council also was provided with several documents prior to the meeting, including: (1) a combined summary of all scoping meetings; (2) all written comments submitted to the Council; and (3) a summary report.
The Council then considered three motions, two of which were extensively debated. Council Chair Eric Reid allowed all members of the public who were attending the meeting in person, as well as those on the webinar, to provide public comments.
September 28, 2022 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:
The New England Fishery Management Council received its first overview of 2022 scallop survey results when it met in Gloucester for its late September hybrid meeting. It also received the final report from the Scallop Survey Working Group (SSWG).
The most recent round of scallop surveys will help the Council develop 2023 fishing year specifications, which will be part of Framework Adjustment 36 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan. The framework also will contain default specifications for 2024.
The Council was fortunate to have extensive scallop survey coverage in 2022 through the Scallop Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program and the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s survey on the R/V Hugh R. Sharp
The surveys found several areas with new sets of seed scallops, as well as beds with concentrations of smaller scallops that are continuing to grow. These are positive signs that bode well for the future.
However, the surveys also revealed that biomass overall was at its lowest observed level since 1999, largely due to minimal recruitment over the past several years. As a result, access area trip allocations for 2023 are expected to be reduced from 2022 levels.
September 26, 2022 — The New England Fishery Management Council said it plans to discuss a controversial limited access scallop fisher license allocation leasing plan at its September Council Meeting in Gloucester Tuesday.
“The leasing discussion is not going to come up before lunch,” NEFMC spokeswoman Janice Plante said. “So if they’re only there for the leasing discussion, that’s in the afternoon.”
Scallop allocation leasing — the practice of boat owners selling days and tonnage from a fishing license to other vessel owners to harvest in restricted zones — has been at the center of debate in the Port of New Bedford since the NEFMC held two scoping meetings at the New Bedford Whaling Museum on May 11 and May 25 respectively.
During its three month-long scoping process, the NEFMC invited stakeholders to attend nine meetings in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, North Carolina, Virginia, and two webinars.
The only state that saw multiple meetings was Massachusetts, with one in Gloucester on April 27, and the two New Bedford meetings.
The meetings in New Bedford were the most well attended by far, with 160 and 80 participants respectively, 60% of the total 397 attendees at all meetings recorded by the Council.
77 of the 305 comments submitted to the NEFMC were presented orally. 58% of those were given at the New Bedford meetings.
August 5, 2022 — The Biden administration fast-tracked the permitting process for offshore wind, with Vineyard Wind slated to become the first large-scale project in regional waters. The joint venture secured all necessary permitting in 2021 and aims to complete construction by 2024.
Details of the meeting are vague, as it was not made open to the public. But Hansen said that Coit was receptive to the concerns. “She understood the reasoning behind it and thought it was a good idea,” he said.
Briefly discussed was the controversial, industry-backed scallop leasing proposal, said three in attendance. The proposal has split local fishermen and owners of scallop vessels. Many fishermen have voiced opposition in a series of public hearings held through the summer, fearing that it will lead to further consolidation and outsized influence of Wall Street over the port and their livelihoods. Some of the largest commercial fishing companies have stated their support, saying it will improve efficiency and allow companies to trim operational costs.