January 24, 2023 — Fishermen have seen sea scallops stacked on top of one another in flush beds on the ocean floor and then vanish time and again throughout the decades of commercial fishing. In 2009, when stocks and landings fell concerningly low in what had been hot spots, fishermen agreed to a Department of Marine Resources (DMR) request to close some areas for three years. Then, after more than 60 meetings with fishermen, led by the Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries, in Stonington, a 10-year state management plan was adopted in 2012.
State waters were divided into three scallop fishing zones, with Zones 1 and 3 operated under limited access areas and designated open fishing days for divers and draggers, while a three-year rotation of fishing sites was used in Zone 2. As a whole, scallopers were on board, even though it meant operating under rules that limited when and where draggers and divers could fish.
With that plan at an end, Melissa Smith, the DMR’s resource coordinator for scallops, met with scallopers in January in all three zones to get input to tweak the plan. However, changes to the Zone 2 rotational plan were the main discussion.
“I think we’ve got a hard-fought battle ahead of us,” said Machiasport fisherman Mike Murphy, who has fished under the Zone 2 rotation for a decade. He said he had been willing to try the rotational management plan when it was floated over 10 years ago. But scallop areas change with time all along the Maine coast and so does the fishermen’s catch. Now Murphy is not so sure, after experiencing crowded fishing spots in the open areas, something that also depletes the stock.
“You put 70 boats [in one spot] and we’re going to clear it,” he said. “A lot of us want to see the whole rotational management thing go away. That’s going to be our battle.”