MACHIAS, Maine — December 31, 2014 — Citing “intense fishing” and a need to protect scallops stocks, state officials have decided to close some scalloping areas in western Washington County.
The targeted closures for Pleasant Bay off Harrington and Addison and for lower Englishman Bay off Roque Bluffs were announced last week and went into effect on Saturday, Dec. 27.
Targeted emergency scallop closures have become common in Maine over the past few years as the state has adopted new management procedures in order to better protect scallop stocks in state waters along the entire coast. Declining scallop landings in the state fishery in 2009 nearly resulted in the Maine Department of Marine Resources canceling the entire second half of the scallop fishing season that year.
The latest emergency closures apply to all of inshore Pleasant Bay east of Strout Point and Foster, Dyer and Flint islands and west of the southeast point of Cape Split. The affected area in Englishman Bay includes waters east of Roque Island, north of Great Spruce Island, north and west of Halifax Island, and between Shoppe and Cow points in Roque Bluffs.
Read the full story from the Bangor Daily News