Saving Seafood

Announcing Scoping for Potential Permit Stacking in the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery

November 3, 2026 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Comment Period open through January 4, 2027

NOAA is committed to addressing the recent decline in fisheries landings and revenue, boosting sustainable aquaculture, reducing the seafood trade deficit, and strengthening supply chain resilience. After considering input from regional fishery management councils, the fishing industry, and the public, NOAA Fisheries sent Regional Priorities guidance in July 2026, providing the councils a clear roadmap of actions to support the goals of the Executive Order on Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness. To complement that guidance, NOAA Fisheries applied the same standard of accountability and results to its own work and announced agency-level actions in support of the EO.

Based on comments received in response to Executive Order 14276, the Secretary of Commerce is considering whether to develop an amendment to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan to allow permit stacking in the limited access scallop fishery. This is an important step in fulfilling the EO’s mandate to reduce burdens on domestic fishing and enhance economic profitability. The Secretary is considering addressing excess capacity in the limited access scallop fishery by allowing two Limited Access scallop permits within the same category and under common ownership or control  to be combined on a single vessel. The vessel would be permitted to fish the allocations for both permits, which would reduce business expenses associated with maintaining multiple vessels with low days-at-sea allocations.

NOAA Fisheries will hold five public hearings in November and December 2026 to solicit public comment on this potential Secretarial amendment to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan. The public hearing schedule is as follows:

Boston, Massachusetts

November 17 *4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Hilton Garden Inn Boston Logan Airport, 100 Boardman St., Boston, MA 02128

(*Note: The time of this Scoping Meeting is approximate and will begin 30 minutes after the conclusion of the Joint Scallop Committee and Advisory Panel Meeting)

Please register here.

Webinar

November 23, 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Join the webinar here. 

Please register here.

Barnegat, New Jersey

December 3, 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Barnegat Light Volunteer Fire Department, 907 Central Ave, Barnegat Light, NJ 08006

Please register here.

Webinar

December 7, 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Join the webinar here. 

Please register here.

New Bedford, Massachusetts

December 14, 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

University of Massachusetts Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology East
836 South Rodney French Blvd., New Bedford, MA 02744

Please register here. 

NOAA Fisheries is also soliciting written scoping comments on this topic through January 4, 2027.

To access the scoping document and meeting details, please visit the scallop stacking page. 

MASSACHUSETTS: What’s in your logbook? New Bedford wants to preserve fishing history

October 27, 2026 — The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center is asking fishermen and fishing families to dig through old file boxes, basements, and kitchen drawers for records that could help preserve the history of one of the nation’s most prominent commercial fishing communities.

The center has launched a new collection and digitization effort focused on fishermen’s documents, including logbooks, settlement sheets, vessel trip reports, charts and other records from the New Bedford fishing industry.

For generations, fishermen have kept handwritten logs documenting their time at sea, recording everything from fishing locations and catches to weather, sea conditions, and tow duration. Settlement sheets offer another piece of the story, detailing trip expenses, wages, and crew shares.

Together, those records can provide a window into both the economic and environmental changes fishermen have experienced over time.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Kevin Stokesbury named inaugural Donna M. and Robert J. Manning Dean of SMAST

October 1, 2026 — UMass Dartmouth announced that Kevin D. E. Stokesbury, Dean of the School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) and Commonwealth Professor, has been named the inaugural Donna M. and Robert J. Manning Dean of the School for Marine Science and Technology.

The endowed deanship was established through the generosity of Donna and Robert Manning as part of their historic $50 million gift to the University of Massachusetts system announced in 2021. A $2 million gift supporting the deanship has been matched with an additional $1 million, providing enduring support for the leadership of SMAST and its research, teaching, and contributions to a healthier and more sustainable marine environment.

“Under Dean Stokesbury’s leadership, the School for Marine Science and Technology at UMass Dartmouth is the premier institution—in New England and beyond—for marine and applied sciences,” said Rob Manning, who serves as Chair of the Board of Directors at the UMass Foundation. “From attracting a world-class research faculty to building strong, trusted relationships across government, advocacy, and fisheries, Dean Stokesbury has positioned SMAST at the forefront of scientific discovery, and Donna and I are proud to support and advance his work.”

Read the full article at UMass Dartmouth

MASSACHUSETTS: Slow progress on dilapidated State Pier causes waterfront squeeze

September 30, 2026 — Tucked along a corner of the New Bedford State Pier’s East Wharf is a small ferry, the lifeline for a windswept island in Buzzards Bay.

The Cuttyhunk Ferry not only delivers passengers to and from the island of the same name throughout the year, but supplies too.

“We were there for 20-plus years … everybody knew to go right there,” Jono Billings, the ferry’s longtime operator, told The Light, pointing to the State Pier’s now-empty South Wharf.

Then, late last year, state officials found the century-old wooden pier had major structural issues and closed sections of it. The ferry, along with other businesses, had to leave parts of the pier’s East and South wharves.

It’s only the most recent closure along the dilapidated State Pier, built in 1913. A portion of the North Wharf has been closed since 2019. While the multimillion dollar repairs there could start later this year, only a portion of the dock is left available for use.

The mostly-closed state asset sits in an otherwise heavily-invested-in port. City officials have facilitated over $1 billion in funds to build, repair and expand maritime infrastructure since 2014, Mayor Jon Mitchell told The Light.

“The biggest thing going here is what we’re doing on the water,” Mitchell said of the city.

Read the full article at The New Bedford Light

MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford Harbor turns red for wastewater dye study

September 24, 2026 — New Bedford sailors did a double-take on a Saturday morning in mid-September when plumes of the normally blue harbor water turned a deep, wine-dark red.

The unusual color wasn’t a rust tide or environmental disaster, but a dye study conducted by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries. Management officials hope the study, which involves dying New Bedford’s wastewater with 100 gallons of EPA-approved red dye, will help them better understand how the city’s treated sewage moves throughout Buzzards Bay.

Dale Leavitt, a shellfisherman and aquaculture industry advocate, is particularly invested in their results. Since 2021, Leavitt has operated a 47-acre oyster farm in Nasketucket Bay in Fairhaven. In 2024, he and seven other area oyster farmers received word that the bay would be subject to more stringent food-safety regulations, due to the high volume of wastewater flowing out of New Bedford’s wastewater treatment facility.

These new rules were based on a mathematical model from University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s School of Marine Science and Technology, or SMAST. Leavitt hopes that the dye study will tell regulators something different.

Read the full article at The New Bedford Light

MASSACHUSETTS: ICE detains four seafood workers in New Bedford following raids

September 23, 2026 — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arrested multiple individuals on 21 September in New Bedford, Massachusetts, U.S.A., four of whom work in seafood facilities.

According to a report from The New Bedford Light, reporters witnessed the arrests taking place along the waterfront around 10 a.m., with officers concealed in clothing pushing individuals into SUVs parked at the Dartmouth Mall.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

MASSACHUSETTS: Massachusetts using dye to study how New Bedford wastewater impacts shellfish

September 10, 2026 — Local, state, and federal authorities are collaborating on a new hydrographic dye study to learn how wastewater flowing from the New Bedford Wastewater Treatment Plant into Buzzards Bay impacts shellfish.

“Here in Massachusetts, we pride ourselves on our nation-leading seafood industry, including culturally and economically important traditions of shellfishing in Buzzards Bay,” Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game (DFG) Commissioner Tom O’Shea said in a release. “We look forward to the results of this important study and are grateful for the partnership of researchers and our shellfish industry to make this possible.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

MASSACHUSETTS: Who’s the toughest shucker in New Bedford?

August 19, 2026 — Captain Eddie Dellecese, of the fishing vessel Buckeye, won the Fishing Heritage Center’s second annual Scallopalooza contest, shucking 100 scallops in under five minutes

New Bedford crowned a champion last week at its annual scallop shucking contest, which celebrates the intricate flick of the wrist that helps generate over $300 million in annual seafood revenue for the city.

Eddie Dellecese, captain of the fishing vessel Buckeye, shucked 50 scallops in under two and a half minutes in both rounds of last Thursday’s Scallopalooza contest.

With two thrusts of his knife, Dellecese can pop open a scallop and separate its white circular meat from the colorful guts and shell, which he flings forward into a trash pile. On average, the whole motion takes under 3 seconds.

Read the full article at NENC

MASSACHUSETTS: Scallopalooza Returns to New Bedford With Bigger Crowds and a High-Stakes Shucking Contest

August 10, 2026 — Scallopalooza is back. The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center is celebrating the fishing industry on Thursday, August 13 with the second annual Scallopalooza. The event is a three-hour party that features vendors, food, and music, plus the much-anticipated scallop-shucking contest to determine the best shucker in the area.

Joe Ritter, Programs Director at the FHC, visited Townsquare Sunday to promote the event. “It will be a smashing success,” Ritter said. “I’m calling it now.”

Last year’s Scallopalooza drew about 500 people to downtown New Bedford, but bigger crowds are anticipated this year, prompting organizers to make a small change in the event’s layout.

New Layout and Jumbotron Added for Bigger Crowds

This year’s shucking contest will move slightly from the FHC parking lot to Bethel and Elm Streets, with the downward slope of the street providing a type of amphitheater for spectators. There will also be a large Jumbotron screen located behind the stage to provide a closer look at the stage.

Read the full artilcle at WBSM

MASSACHUSETTS: Scallopalooza shucking contest returns to New Bedford

July 28, 2026 — The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center will once again celebrate the city’s iconic scallop fleet with the return of its annual Scallopalooza Scallop Shucking Contest during August AHA! Night on Thursday, Aug. 13.

The free community event will run from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Bethel Street in front of the Fishing Heritage Center, bringing together commercial fishermen, seafood lovers, local businesses, and families for an evening centered on New Bedford’s scallop industry.

The highlight of the evening begins at 6:30 p.m., when 15 local scallop fishermen will compete for the title of New Bedford’s best scallop shucker and a championship trophy.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman