An action by the Department of Marine Resources regarding scallop harvesting season will be revisited for a third time in less than two weeks following a directive issued Jan. 30 by Gov. John Baldacci.
Baldacci has asked that a compromise inked as an alternative to closing the second half of the scallop season be altered with input from the fishing fleet about which areas should be closed and which should be left open.
The department, in response to data that showed a dwindling scallop stock, canceled the second half of the season on Jan. 23. Four days later, on Jan. 27, the department decided that instead of a total cancellation, it would create a map of alternating areas to be closed. Now, Baldacci has asked that the Scallop Advisory Council consider another set of closure boundaries.
“We’re trying to walk a very fine line,” said Baldacci during an interview Feb. 2. “We have a resource that’s depleted … and we want to make sure we do everything we can to mitigate the loss of (scallop harvesters’) at-sea days. Getting them engaged in research and review efforts is critical.”
Department of Marine Resources Commissioner George Lapointe forwarded Baldacci’s directive to the Scallop Advisory Council on Monday, though Lapointe noted that the current boundaries were the result of careful consideration.
“The outcome of Friday’s meeting (Jan. 30) is that I am asking you, as Scallop Advisory Council members, to consider alternative boundaries,” Lapointe wrote. “As you know, the closures under consideration are those proposed by the SAC and the department last fall, with the addition of Cobscook Bay. The department supports the proposed closures, which were developed after several months of work and active debate… Should you wish to consider alternatives, bear in mind they must achieve an equivalent benefit to the scallop resource.”
The time and location of the Scallop Advisory Committee’s Feb. 13 meeting have not yet been determined.
David Etnier, deputy commissioner of marine resources, said Baldacci’s directive to institute an “area management” technique is something the department has been considering anyway.
“It’s been very successful at the federal level,” said Etnier. “We recognized (the closure plan) was not perfect … but it’s a complicated coast.”
Sen. Kevin Raye, R-Perry, attended Friday’s meeting along with Sen. Christopher Rector, R-Thomaston, Rep. Dianne Tilton, R-Harrington, and six scallop harvesters.
“The fishermen know the areas that are important to the fishery,” said Raye. “Rather than one size fits all, they’d rather the coast be broken down with regard to local areas. The fishermen left feeling good about it. The governor was responsive and obviously wants to be proactive in finding a solution.”
Raye is working on a bill, which hasn’t been printed yet, that would alter the way scallop fishing closures are ordered. The bill would require input from the Cobscook Bay Resource Center and the Penobscot East Resource Center, two organizations that study fisheries.
Rocky Alley, a scallop fisherman from Jonesport, said Friday’s meeting represented a major turning point in the relationship between the state and fishermen.
“To finally have the state working with us, it feels so good,” said Alley, who said he was chosen by a group of area fishermen for the trip to Augusta. “It was the best feeling I’ve ever come out of that State House with. If we can continue working with the state, it’ll make matters a lot easier.”
Baldacci said that in addition to protecting scallops, the intent of his directive was to bolster the scalloping industry.
“What people don’t understand is that (scallop harvesters) don’t stand by themselves,” said Baldacci. “They’re tied to local businesses. They tend to have a network established that depends on each other. There’s a bigger ripple impact in coastal areas.”
(Statehouse News Service)
