Council adopts 70-day, split scallop season

Scallop fishermen in the Cobscook Bay area are relieved that the cut in the number of days they can fish this season will not be as drastic as had been proposed. The Department of Marine Resources (DMR) had proposed cutting the season from 136 to 52 days, but after listening to comments at a series of public hearings the department decided, after meeting with the Scallop Advisory Council, to increase the number of days to 70 and to split the season. On November 19, the DMR Advisory Council approved the 70-day split season for this year. The two open periods will run from December 1 through January 4 and from February 25 through March 31. The season length will be looked at again after this season is over.

DMR Deputy Commissioner David Etnier says the 70 days is "more than the scientific folks" believe should be allowed to help bring the resource back, but the department agreed to bridge the gap between the 52-day proposal and the Scallop Advisory Council's original proposal for a 79-day season. The splitting of the season may help address concerns by Cobscook Bay fishermen that the bay will be overharvested by an influx of draggers, since boats from other ports may not come back for the second half of the season.

Leo Murray of Lubec, president of the Cobscook Bay Fishermen's Association, believes the decision is a reasonable compromise. He also favors the splitting of the season, as the scallops may "bunch up some" while the fishery is closed.

Will Hopkins, director of the Cobscook Bay Resource Center, notes that, by not allowing fishing during most of January and February, the decision "takes out the two worst months" for weather but also "the two hardest months for money" for fishermen. He believes the action will help the scallop resource in Cobscook Bay. "The split will make a huge difference for what's left in the water at the end of the season," he says. "With the number of boats we expect, they could wipe out Cobscook in short order. The split will protect against that happening." He adds that not as many scallops will be frozen on the sorting table, with the closure during the middle of the winter.

The DMR Advisory Council also approved an increase in the minimum drag ring size from 3 1/2" to 4" and a 200-pound daily catch limit statewide. However, in a 4-4 vote, the council turned down the proposal to close six areas in the state to scallop harvesting. Some members raised concerns that the closures would not be fair to fishermen who happened to live in an area that was closed. Murray believes the closing of the proposed areas would not have helped the fishery, since many of the areas are not "scallop bottom." He believes it would make sense for fishermen to decide which areas to close and then carried out scallop enhancement projects in those locations. Hopkins agrees, noting that fishermen have proposed areas for closure. "I think it's important for the DMR to work with fishermen who have proposed those closed areas."

Both Murray and Hopkins are advocating for area management of the scallop fishery. "Some are recognizing that it's time to begin moving toward area management for scallops," says Hopkins. "Maybe it's time for fishermen to move toward what Cobscook fishermen have done and take more responsibility for their resource."

Murray observes, "I look forward to the day when a local area can have local fishermen take care of it like they would a garden. That is the whole hope of the future of the fishery."

Etnier says the DMR has been working to institute area management for the fishery. In June 2007 the department began looking at the sea urchin and scallop fisheries to try to turn around the decline in the resources. During the last legislative session the DMR, working with the Scallop Advisory Council, sought limited entry in the fishery and the 4" minimum ring size. One suggestion for area management has been to use lines similar to those for the lobster zones to split up the areas of the coast.

Another management option that the Cobscook Bay Fishermen's Association has proposed is a Cobscook endorsement, which would cost a proposed $200 and would be required for anyone fishing for scallops in the bay. The fishermen would have to abide by Cobscook rules when fishing in other locations in the state. Those rules include a 15-gallon daily catch limit and a meat count. Concerning the proposal, Etnier says, "I think endorsements are an idea worth considering." The department has been studying how to reopen areas that are closed to fishing so that a gold rush can be prevented. An endorsement is one idea could help limit the harvest in those areas.

As for the opening of the season this year in Cobscook Bay, Murray fears that there may be a large influx of boats from other ports. "I hope the DMR keeps an eye on it."

Etnier says, "We're going to be watching this very closely." The DMR will have a plane surveying the bay early in the season, and if there are too many boats in the bay the commissioner can use his emergency rule-making authority to close the fishery there. "We don't want that area wiped out," says Etnier.

The Cobscook Bay Fishermen's Association has proposed to the DMR that the St. Croix River above Liberty Point in Robbinston be closed to scallop dragging, because lobster fishermen have been reporting an abundance of small scallops in that area. The DMR is expected to hold a hearing on the proposal sometime this winter.

Lobster and mussel action

In other action, the DMR Advisory Council approved a change in determining the exit-to-entry ratio for Lobster Zone A, extending from the Canadian border to Schoodic Point. The three-to-one ratio will now be based upon the number of trap tags instead of the number of licenses. It's expected that the change will limit any increase in effort in the fishery, as license holders leaving the fishery often do not fish 800 traps, the maximum number allowed, while new entrants may end up fishing that many traps.

The council also approved rules to establish intertidal mussel harvesting areas and the permit process for dragging for mussels in those areas. Municipalities with approved shellfish conservation programs may now specify intertidal areas in which mussel dragging is limited.