April 18, 2024 — New Bedford’s mayor testified in front of the New England Fisheries Management Council on Wednesday with the hope of re-opening one of the richest fishing grounds in the world.
New Bedford is already home to the largest commercial fishing port in the country, and Mayor Jon Mitchell said he is now working to give the city’s fishermen more resources to gather scallops, which he described as the prime drivers of economic activity.
“The basic policy that people have to understand is that the scallop industry is regulated by the federal government in a rotational method,” Mitchell said. “Kind of like what farmers do.”
“There are areas that are growing well with lots of scallops that are open up for fishermen,” Mitchell continued. “And places that are already fished with not many scallops to be caught are closed for a period of time.”
Mitchell testified before the council about reopening one specific area for scallops.