SEAFOODNEWS.COM [The Editor’s View] by John Sackton — December 14, 2015 — The New England Fishery Management Council voted to recommend a slight increase in Days at Sea for the 2016 scallop fishery, from 31 days to 34.5 days.
At the same time, they left the allocation in the limited access areas to 51,000 lbs per vessel, the same as in 2015.
On paper this would lead to landings of about 47 million pounds, which is close to what was forecast initially for 2015 as well. However, 2015 landings are falling far short of that number.
The primary reason is the smaller size of scallops. In the past five years, the average count sold on the New Bedford auction has mostly been in the 15 to 16 count per lb. range. This year, industry sources say it is closer to 22 per lb.
The smaller scallops drastically cut into the fleet’s productivity because they are limited by number of fishing days, and by limits on crew size. As a result, landings are down as much as 1/3 from preseason expectations.
Most observers do not expect a quick turnaround, and think 2016 landings will be similar or just slightly above those of 2015.
Graphic from New England Council Meeting showing Mean estimate of Scallop landings in Coming years. (tons of meats)
However, the council’s biologists expect a bumper year crop the recruit to the fishery on both Georges Bank and the Mid-Atlantic, which will lead to sharply higher landings in a few years.
Models suggest that landings will surpass 60,000 tons (132 million lbs of meats) by 2019, if these young scallops survive. That is 3 to 4 times current landings.
The council is also considering a change in the scallop fishing year to begin April 1st rather than March 1st. There is a seasonal factor in scallops size, with the largest scallops caught more frequently in the April-July period.
The days at sea and allocations have to be formally approved by NMFS to go into effect for 2016.
This opinion piece originally appeared on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It has been reprinted with permission.