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Table of Contents
Editorial:
Freedom In the Future....2
Urchin Turf Battle.............6
SCEC Calls Meeting on
Salmon Listing..................7
Good News for
Swordfish.........................8
New Federal Lobster Rules
Give Expanded Authority
to States............................9
Testimony on Limited
Entry Lobster Regs........10
Letters...............................11
Fishing the Deep.............12
Damn Kat..........................13
Vessel Sinks off Schoodic
Island................................13
When is Enough
Enough?...........................14
Decreasing Shorefront
Property Taxes................15
Ralph Stanley Recalls.....16
Urchin Die-Off Resolving
Itself..................................18
Daylight Savings Dinner
Party..................................20
Music Review...................20
DMR Report: Elver Regs
Stay in Place.....................21
Chill Out.............................22
Meeting Notices...............23
Classifieds.........................26
MANAGING EDITOR
Bill Crowe
LAYOUT & DESIGN
Lance Lobo
TYPESETTING
Roberta Lobo
STAFF WRITERS
Bernice Johnson
Paul Molyneaux
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Kittridge Johnson
Mike Crowe
Lee S. Wilbur
SALES MANAGER
Bill Crowe
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Scallop Stocks Down
Scallop Options Up
by Nancy Beal
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Although scallop landings have declined drastically in the past decade, fishermen, scientists, and managers are coming up with some 11th hour remedies that may improve the outlook for the industry in Maine and the rest of New England. Resource enhancement in Maine's inshore waters and rotational closures on Georges Bank could provide scallopers with a sustainable resource and higher returns for their efforts.
Offshore scallopers have already seen the benefits of opening closed areas, but for general category and inshore scallopers the tide has yet to turn and it may be several years before it does. Those years will require sacrifices on the part of fishermen that may lead to claims on the benefits, and allocation debates that could be more heated than ever.
As Maine's inshore scallop season enters its second month, most buyers and harvesters are reporting a diminished supply of product, with accompanying lower prices in spite of a one-month delay in the opening of inshore areas.
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At his Jonesport shop December 23, Danny Rogde called the season "pretty much over." The big catches of 1,000-plus pounds are down to 100 and below, he says of the loads he buys from 15 to 20 draggers at his shop and with trucks on the road downeast. He said that scallopers tell him that what's left in Cobscook Bay is so close to being below the 3-1/4-inch legal limit it's often not worth going after, since the take is low and the chance of getting cited for small scallops high. They report that the Coast Guard and DMR wardens are vigilant in the state's easternmost bay.
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For the first time in several years, fishermen along the whole coast of Maine began harvesting scallops on December 1. Previously, inshore areas such as Gouldsboro and Cobscook Bays opened November 1, causing large fleets of scallop draggers to converge on these early-season gold mines.
The December 1 opening day partially succeeded in spreading out effort, but did not discourage some boats from returning to the traditionally lucrative fishing grounds in Cobscook Bay. While most buyers reported catches lower than last year, all said that the initial week of scalloping
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