January 26, 2021 — Scallop season remains in full swing until the end of March for much of the waters of Maine. Despite a recent area closure affecting the Casco Passage and western Toothacker Bay off Swan’s Island, imposed by the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR), both draggers and divers from Mount Desert Island have caught a fair share.
In 2019, scallopers harvested 3.5 million pounds of scallops statewide, bringing in more than $4.3 million.
Diver Ed Monat of Bar Harbor has been swimming along the frigid ocean floor to harvest scallops.
“There’s been a moratorium on [new] scallop licenses for so long, and there are not a whole lot of divers scalloping,” he said.
The fishermen who drag for scallops may do so Monday through Thursday, whereas the permitted days for divers changes from month to month. This month, they can fish on Fridays and Saturdays. Monat has been doing half-hour dives to mine shallow waterbeds for the shellfish.
When asked about the catch, Monat said it’s been hit or miss.
“I’ve gone harbor to harbor, places I’ve never been before to find them … sometimes I find them and sometimes I don’t,” he said. Before the recently implemented closures, Monat went diving off Swan’s Island. He’s also fished Frenchman Bay and Bass Harbor, as well as other areas around MDI this season.