At issue is an aspect of a larger proposal that would allow vessel owners to "stack" the permits scallopers are required to have that limit annual fishing days to 38. That would enable operators to increase the efficiency of their operation, so that one large boat would be able to fish two, three or more times the number of days as a single boat, with less expense. But there would be no advantage to owners of just one or two boats, Gilbert and others say, and in the end, it would force many of the smaller operators out of business.
"I understand the rationale for wanting stacking, but I do have concerns about impacts on fishing communities," said Alexander of the DEP, who is one of Connecticut's representatives on the fishery council. Connecticut's relatively small scallop fleet, he said, would be at a particular disadvantage against the large operators in New Bedford, Mass., and elsewhere.
Christopher Kellog, deputy director of the council, said the change, if adopted, shouldn't have any effect on the overall harvest level, just on how the harvest quotas are divided up among the various boats. The proposal, he said, is "very controversial" in the fishing community, and it's not clear which way the council will ultimately decide. A final decision isn't expected until this fall, with implementation not coming until June 2011.
Read the complete story from The Day.