Saving Seafood

Trump administration aims to cut regulations on US commercial fishing

July 2, 2026 — The Trump administration moved to slash commercial fishing regulations from coast to coast on Thursday, including reopening New ‌England waters to scallop fishing that was banned after overfishing.

“We’re opening the Atlantic and the Pacific, and the American consumers are going to benefit from what we’re doing now,” White House adviser Peter Navarro said in a briefing with reporters.

The Commerce Department and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced regional ​priorities that the government said were designed to revitalize the seafood sector.

It was not clear how NOAA planned to ​implement these priorities or how long it would take, given their scope.

Read the full article at Reuters

Trump administration seeking to reopen Northern Edge scallop grounds

July 2, 2026 — President Donald Trump on Thursday declared July 2 National Scallops Day. To mark the inaugural holiday, he announced his administration’s plan to open fishing grounds that have been closed since 1994: the Northern Edge.

The area is about an 18- to 20-hour steam from the nation’s scallop capital, New Bedford, and it’s been closed so long that younger generations of fishermen have never fished its bottom.

“Are you here to wish me a ‘Happy Scalloper Day?’” Tony Alvernaz, one of the older-generation scallopers who has fished that small tip of Georges Bank, quipped when he answered the phone.

“Everybody is like amen, about time, holy Jesus,” he said of the plans to reopen the area.

In recent years, fisheries regulators raised the possibility of reopening the sliver of ocean bottom, but ultimately voted not to take it up. Regulators, informed by research scientists, weigh the sustainability of the resource and the needs of the fishing industry when determining where fishermen can go, for how many days, and how many pounds they may catch.

Read the full article at The New Bedford Light

Trump celebrates expanded scallop fishing with ‘National Scallops Day’ declaration

July 2, 2026 — President Donald Trump on Thursday declared a “National Scallops Day” in celebration of a federal decision to expand commercial scallop fishing on the Georges Bank, saying it will boost seafood production, create jobs, and reverse restrictions imposed under previous administrations.

Trump announced the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will open the Northern Edge of Georges Bank to scallop fishing, a move he said would result in “millions more pounds” of wild scallops for American consumers each year. He also said it will benefit fishing communities along the East Coast.

Read the full article at KMPH

CFF Receives New Funding to Expand Electronic Monitoring in the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery

July 1, 2026 — The following was released by the Coonamessett Farm Foundation:

The Coonamessett Farm Foundation (CFF) recently received additional funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s competitive Electronic Monitoring and Reporting Grant Program to further expand the use of electronic monitoring (EM) technologies in the Atlantic sea scallop fishery.

In addition to the $449,000 award from NFWF to support project objectives, fishing partners have pledged a combined cost-share of $756,000 underscoring their commitment to these efforts during the project period.

Stock assessment biologists with NOAA Fisheries have identified a decline in scallop biomass over consecutive years, likely influenced by environmental factors including rising ocean temperatures in addition to a predator population surge in species like sea stars and crabs that prey heavily upon juvenile scallops. Fishing practices such as prolonged tow-times, deck loading, and high grading are also known to negatively impact scallop beds and the survivability of discarded animals.

The use of EM is widely considered a successful tool for reducing monitoring costs while improving data collection, vessel trip coordination and safety. This project seeks to develop a better understanding of implementation costs while also evaluating an incentive-based approach that could provide a broader range of data to support management decisions.

Read the full story on: Electronic Monitoring in the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery

 

 

MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford Scallop Boss Takes His Fight To Trump Over Georges Bank Access

June 23, 2026 — Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell on June 22, 2026, rolled out final consumer-protection regulations for assisted living residences, targeting misleading fees, murky billing and shaky eviction practices. The rules cap a multi-year public process that AG staff say is designed to give residents clearer service agreements and formal channels to complain when things go sideways. The regulations are scheduled to kick in when they are published in the Massachusetts Register on July 17, 2026.

In a press release on Mass.gov, Campbell said, “I am proud to announce the AGO’s first‑ever regulations for assisted living residences, which will strengthen accountability and protect older adults from unfair and deceptive practices under the state’s consumer protection law.” The Attorney General’s Elder Justice Unit led the project, with Assistant Attorney General Andrew Musgrave at the helm alongside Director Mary Freeley and Deputy Director Valerie Frias. The release also names Allie Zuliani as the deputy press secretary and media contact for the rollout.

Read the full article at Hoodline

MASSCHUSETTS: A way of life on the wane: Nantucket’s scallop fleet faces uncertain future

June 11, 2026 — Nantucket’s commercial scalloping industry has become a shell of its former self.

Fewer commercial scallopers, especially younger ones, are combing eelgrass beds each winter for Nantucket bay scallops, arguably New England’s most coveted shellfish.

The harbor’s adult scallop population has been on the rise in recent years, but the number of people willing to spend a morning on the water in wintery conditions has, for the most part, been steadily decreasing.

Close to 20,000 bushels were hauled out of Nantucket and Madaket harbors in 2012, one of the highest-yield seasons in recent memory, according to town shellfish and aquatic resource manager Tara Riley. In the 1980s, it was not unusual for the harvest to exceed 70,000 bushels.

This past commercial season, which wrapped up at the end of March, about 7,800 bushels were harvested. The season before 2024-2025, was the first time more than 10,000 bushels had been caught in nearly a decade.

Read the full article at The Inquirer and Mirror

MASSACHUSETTS: The Last Scallopers?

May 26, 2026 — As the sun rises on a crisp early fall morning on Nantucket, many islanders are still sound asleep in their beds, but scallopers are already waist-deep in the harbor, dragging their dredges across the harbor floor in hopes of a first good haul. The harbor is still, the air sharp with salt, and the faint diesel hum of working boats carries across the water. For Captain Bob DeCosta, the quiet ritual is more than a livelihood. It’s a family tradition that has spanned three generations. His father taught him how to fish in the ’70s, just as DeCosta now takes his own son out on the water.

“I can’t imagine not scalloping,” said DeCosta, who operates a charter fishing boat in the summer. “I enjoy getting up early in the morning, being on the water, watching the sun rise and the tranquility that comes with it. After a full summer charter, it’s very peaceful. It’s almost like I’m not even really working.”

But the fishery DeCosta inherited doesn’t look like the one his father knew. Two decades ago, 250 fishermen worked on a fleet of 100 boats. Today, the fleet has shrunk to 50-70 fishermen on 25-30 boats. It’s an expensive job with low returns: Rigging a boat is costly, while wholesale scallop prices remain stagnant at $12 to $14 a pound. “The winter scallop fishery is the last real struggle for commercial fishing on Nantucket,” DeCosta said. “We don’t have the market we used to have. It’s become more of a niche item, a specialty item than a more robust market.”

Scalloping is one of the island’s last ties to its working waterfront. Whaling has long vanished, but scalloping preserves a piece of the island’s maritime culture. “Once scalloping is gone, we’ll just be known as a destination for tourists. It won’t be known as a water-related community anymore,” DeCosta said. Nantucket’s bay scalloping industry is one of the last of its kind. Similar fisheries on Martha’s Vineyard and Long Island have dwindled to nearly nothing.

Read the full article at N Magazine

Scientists share work to understand struggling sea scallop populations

May 15, 2026 — The Coonamessett Farm Foundation hosted Scallop Research Share Day, on Tuesday, in cooperation with the New England Fishery Management Council.

Melissa Sanderson, chief operating officer of the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance, was one of the presenters. Sanderson said the annual event is a chance to share research progress and results between scientists, fishermen, and fishery managers.

“And it really makes sure that we’re all on the same page,” Sanderson said. “That we’re aware of other projects that we might be able to build upon or learn from. And sometimes it provides new opportunities to collaborate.”

Read the full article at Connecticut Public

NEFMC Meeting Reminder: RSA Share Day – Tue, May 12

May 11, 2026 — The following was released by the Coonamessett Farm Foundation:

Coonamessett Farm Foundation and the NEFMC are hosting the RSA Share Day 2026, on Tuesday, May 12.

This is a meeting for researchers to share findings and discuss ongoing scallop research.

Time & Location

May 12, 2026

9:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Coonamessett Farm Foundation

277 Hatchville Rd

East Falmouth, MA 02536, USA

Format: In-person + virtual attendance available

For more information or to reserve a free spot click here.

 Program info: Scallop Researchers will provide a summary of their research to interested parties. This is an opportunity for scallop researchers to share findings with fishery managers, and to hear from other researchers who are conducting studies on topics that have been identified as RSA research priorities. One objective of this meeting is to better inform scallop managers of the status of current research and help identify future research priority recommendations.

Coonamessett Farm Foundation Releases Final Report on Scallop Dredge Configurations and Catch Efficiency

May 6, 2026 — The following was released by the Coonamessett Farm Foundation:

The Coonamessett Farm Foundation has released the final report for its project
entitled: Tension in the Air: Using a Tensiometer to Assess Dredge Fullness and Loss During
Haul-back Comparing Different Dredge Configurations. This report was submitted to NOAA
Fisheries in March 2026 and was prepared under the 2024 Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside
Program continuing more than a decade of collaborative, industry-based research. The report
evaluates the performance of three dredge configurations, 5-row apron, traditional 7-row apron,
and extended-link apron, under commercially representative conditions using paired dredge
deployments across four research trips conducted between September 2024 and July 2025 on
Georges Bank and adjacent areas.

A key innovation of this work was the integration of a tensiometer to measure warp tension in
real time, providing a novel approach to assessing dredge loading, performance, and catch loss
throughout both towing and haul-back phases.

This research demonstrated that while the 5-row apron configuration-maintained scallop catch
rates comparable to the 7-row configuration, the reduction in windowpane flounder bycatch was
modest  relative to an extended link apron. The 5-row apron configuration as required by
Framework Adjustment 25 represents an incremental improvement rather than an impactful
solution for reducing windowpane flounder bycatch in the sea scallop fishery. Additionally, the
application of tensiometer technology provides a powerful new tool for understanding dredge
dynamics and optimizing fishing practices.

More information about the project and the full report is available here:
https://www.coonamessettfarmfoundation.org/news-1/tension-in-the-air