August 10, 2023 — A decline in scallop stocks combined inexplicably with low wholesale prices have made this a tough year for small-boat scallop fishermen. But what Outer Cape scallopers say they’re most worried about is how these conditions exacerbate a bigger problem: the quota system that regulates the small-boat fleet.
Every year, regulators set a maximum number of pounds of scallops the entire small-boat fleet is allowed to catch. Each vessel owns or leases a share of that total, which determines how many pounds of scallops it can land that year. That share is called quota. Owning or leasing one percent in quota, for example, allows a vessel to take one percent of the total regulators set.
Each vessel must first purchase a permit — there are about 300 available for small-boat scalloping — before leasing or buying quota to attach to it. The permits and quota are generally bought and sold through marine brokerage firms.