November 9, 2020 — Bobby DeCosta only saw about half a dozen scalloping boats when he loaded his boat into the harbor on Nov. 3.It was the second day of the commercial scalloping season. There were about 40 boats scalloping last November.
It’s a dwindling fleet, DeCosta said. It’s also getting hit by COVID-19. With both island and off-island restaurants – which typically sell Nantucket bay scallops – shutting down for the season or for good, the income you can make selling scallops is on the decline.
“I hear guys say, ‘I’m not scalloping this year, I’m going to take a land job,’” said De-Costa, a commercial scalloper and former Select Board member. “If you didn’t grow up in the fishery, it’s a hard thing to get into.”