PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — A showdown over scallop limits — one that began building two months ago and turned abruptly in the office of Gov. Deval Patrick more than two weeks ago — careens toward a climax today at a meeting of the New England Fishery Management Council.
In the second day of the three-day session, the scallop catch plan for the New England and Middle Atlantic regions is first on the agenda, at 8:30 a.m.
Looking on is likely to be the largest audience in recent council history — including Scott Lang, mayor of New Bedford, who has led the fight against a conservative scallop catch decision, and in insurgency that's come to include industry and political forces from as far away as Virginia and the Carolinas.