January 24, 2014 — The following was released by the Maine Department of Marine Resources:
After listening to input from local scallop harvesters, Maine Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher today announced scallop management measures for the Cobscook Bay area that will allow harvesters to continue fishing three days a week.
The measures, implemented through emergency rule making, go into effect Friday, January 24, 2014.
“After careful consideration of the comments I received at a meeting with industry last week in Whiting, I have amended an original proposal in order to accommodate the industry’s desire to fish three days a week,” said Commissioner Keliher. “This measure provides a balance between conserving the resource and protecting economic opportunity for commercial harvesters.”
The conservation closures of Cobscook Bay and the St. Croix River on alternating days aims to provide for 3 days of fishing in three different areas of Zone 3.
Draggers will be able to fish Mondays in Whiting & Denny's Bay, Tuesdays in Cobscook Bay’s East, South and Johnson's Bays as well as Friars Roads off Eastport, and on Wednesdays in the St. Croix River north of line from Kendall’s Head to Cummings Cove on Deer Island, Canada.
Divers will be able to fish Wednesdays in Whiting & Denny's Bay only, Thursdays in Cobscook Bay only and on Fridays in the St. Croix River only.
In addition to the input received during the meeting with industry, the Commissioner weighed information from Resource Management Coordinator Trisha DeGraaf who oversees resource monitoring and management for the fishery. “What we have removed from Cobscook this year is 73 percent of the starting harvestable biomass,” said DeGraaf.
“Our monitoring program determined that the estimated harvestable biomass for Cobscook Bay this season is 380,100 pounds,” said DeGraaf. “After nearly two months of fishing, 278,100 pounds have been harvested in the Cobscook Bay area, which is nearly as much as was landed in the entire state during 2012.” Those landings, according to DeGraaf, are due in part to increased available biomass, the result of intensive management efforts during the past five years and favorable environmental conditions that allowed sublegal scallops to grow to harvestable size.
“The scallop fishery experienced an all-time low in 2005, landing just over 33,000 pounds of scallop meats (276,000 pounds of whole scallops including the shell and viscera) from Maine waters,” said DeGraaf. Management measures begun in 2009, which included a combination of targeted closures and limited access areas, resulted in landings in 2012 of over 280,000 pounds of scallop meats (2.4 million pounds of whole scallops).
The increased available biomass has also led to more pressure on the fishery. “There have been more than twice as many boats fishing Cobscook Bay this season than last season,” said DeGraaf. This increased fishing pressure and its potential impact on the future of the resource led DeGraaf to recommend conservation closures. “We are now over-fishing the remaining spawning stock biomass which is needed to replenish what was removed this year, as well as to continue rebuilding the resource for the future,” said DeGraaf.
“This measure is a good compromise between preserving short term and long term economic opportunity for industry,” said Commissioner Keliher. “I appreciate the commitment of scallop harvesters to participate in these discussions and help us make the most informed management decisions.”