MACHIAS, Maine — February 13, 2014 — A small group of fishermen from the Cobscook Bay region gathered Thursday to air complaints about the recent decision of state officials to prematurely close the scallop season.
There are “plenty of scallops around,” said Danny Jodway of Lubec, one of seven fisherman who gathered for breakfast at Helen’s Restaurant and invited reporters to listen to their grievances. Most fishermen can get their limit in roughly an hour, he said.
Department of Marine Resources officials declined to comment on the complaints of the fishermen on Thursday, simply referring to the information the department released last week when announcing the emergency closure that took effect on Feb. 8.
Besides closing Zone 3, which comprises Cobscook Bay and the Saint Croix River, DMR also shut down five other small areas spread out along the coast.
The closures were necessary in order to protect scallop stocks in the affected areas, according to DMR officials, who enacted other emergency conservation measures for the Cobscook Bay region in January.
But the zone to the immediate west remains open for scalloping, noted Joshua Lyons of Lubec, one of the most vocal critics in the group, and scallops may be harvested there five days a week. “How’s that fair?” he asked.
Fishermen who live in the Cobscook Bay region compete during the scallop season with other fisherman to the west in communities like Cutler, Machiasport and Bucks Harbor, the fishermen argued. The Cobscook Bay fishery draws about 70 more boats from outside the region, they said.
Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News