Fishermen complain almost every time a new regulation comes down the pike, usually to no avail. But this time their protests broke through the noise and won widespread political support, and now the New England Fishery Management Council will review and "possibly" reconsider the decision to place further limits on scalloping.
That is good news.
A growing number of supporters agree that the council should take into account recent scientific surveys that reportedly show scallops are abundant and in no danger of being overfished.
It's not as if a wait-and-see approach would do no harm. Scallop boats — the vessels credited with making New Bedford the top-earning fishing port in the country for years — are projected to lose $250,000 to $300,000 each in 2010.