Lubec-to-Cutler area opened for remaining scallop season

While the Department of Marine Resources (DMR) has decided to open the area from Lubec to Cutler for scallop fishing during the second half of the season, Cobscook Bay fishermen are upset that the bay will remain closed while other areas of the coast are open for fishing.

After initially deciding to close the entire coast for the remainder of the scallop season, which runs from February 25 through March 31, because of the risk of imminent depletion of the resource, the DMR established six conservation closures. The department then held a public hearing on the emergency closure and heard recommendations on the boundaries for the closed areas from the Scallop Advisory Council. On February 19, the commissioner of marine resources then modified four of the six emergency closures. The eastern closure, which includes Cobscook Bay, was amended so that the area south of the Lubec/Campobello bridge will remain open. The Mount Desert closure was split, with the upper portion of Blue Hill Bay closed and the eastern portion of Frenchman's Bay opened; the western Penobscot closure was shifted slightly to the west; in Casco Bay, the closure was split into a western and eastern closed area, leaving an open area in the center.

While pleased that the area from Lubec to Cutler has been opened, Perry fisherman Tom Pottle believes that the state should have stayed with the plan for a 70-day split season for the entire coast that was adopted by the DMR in November. "The problem with keeping it closed in Cobscook is that people had planned their winter work on that. It will put a hardship on some in this area."

Scott Emery, acting chair of the Cobscook Bay Fishermen's Association, says, "The boys up here are upset that it's not opened up here. They should have closed the whole state if they shut Cobscook down." He adds, "If you're going to be fair, be fair to everybody."

Another Perry fisherman, Angus McPhail, agrees, commenting that he doesn't believe the Cobscook Bay closure is needed. "I think we should have had our 70 days." Since the bay will be closed for a longer period than many other parts of the state, he says, "There will be more boats come up here next year. Then they'll take all the scallops here." After the first part of the season ended, McPhail had been cutting wood, but he's done now. "There's no market for that. It's getting pretty tough around here."

Over 25 fishermen attending a February 12 public hearing in Augusta on the emergency closures expressed their opposition to the closures. The following day, approximately 50 fishermen attended the Scallop Advisory Council meeting in Ellsworth. Later, the DMR ended up accepting the SAC's recommendations on changes to the closed areas.

At the Ellsworth meeting, Pottle says he was upset that a member of the SAC stated that fishermen around Cobscook Bay were trying to exclude other fishermen from scalloping in the bay. He says the Cobscook Bay Fishermen's Association has never excluded anyone, but the rules that the association got enacted by the state apply to everyone. He observes, though, that the state's moratorium on new scallop licenses does exclude people from the fishery.

The Perry fisherman says the DMR ended up "going back to what they wanted," with areas that the agency proposed for closure in October but that were not approved by the DMR Advisory Council. "How can they say they have the best interest of the resource? They've not done anything with scallops for years. Now they're gung ho and pushing hard. You don't come up with the right solutions this quickly."

Responding to comments made at the hearing questioning whether the DMR had sufficient data supporting the need for an emergency closure, the agency writes in a statement supporting its action that it based its decision "on statewide survey data, port sampling data, landings data and industry input indicating that the resource had declined precipitously and was at risk of unusual damage or imminent depletion." The DMR also responded to comments that it should not take away people's livelihood by stating that "the future of the resource cannot be sacrificed for short-term industry gains. The goal of this closure is to facilitate the recovery of Maine's scallop resource, a feat that will ultimately result in long-term economic benefits." Fishermen also argued that if an area is closed, a derby fishery will result when it is reopened. The DMR believes that "a 35-day difference between open and closed areas will not create a derby fishery when the closed areas are reopened."

In an effort to prevent fishermen from scalloping in areas that have been closed, legislation is being considered to increase the penalties for harvesting scallops in a closed area. The bill, which has been recommended by the Marine Resources Committee, would impose a $1,000 penalty and require the seizure of scallops on board the vessel for the first offense. For the second and subsequent offenses, the legislation would require a mandatory minimum fine of $1,000, seizure of the scallops and a one-year suspension of the scallop license.

While the DMR has made its decision on the scallop season this year, the agency is moving toward area management for the fishery next year. Togue Brawn, a resource management coordinator with the DMR, says in an e-mail, "Area management has strong support in industry, and we will work together in the coming year to generate something meaningful, equitable, effective and enforceable." She says that the DMR and the SAC will hold meetings during April in Eastport, Machias, Jonesport, Ellsworth, Rockland and Portland to discuss with fishermen options for area management of the fishery. Also, area management will be a topic during the scallop round-table discussion at this year's Maine Fishermen's Forum on Friday, March 6. The forum is held March 5B7 at the Samoset Resort in Rockport.

Although he maintains that the DMR has not been listening to fishermen, Tom Pottle says the department's plans for talks about area management with fishermen are "a step in the right direction." He adds, "The guys in an area have a better idea on what's happening there. It will help bring it [the fishery] back more quickly."