February 2017 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 13. M C F N
boats were fi shing the area that day. For a video of the opening in action, check out the “Opening Scallop Dragging in Moosabec Reach” video on YouTube by harvester Billy Milliken. This week 44 boats were back fi shing
the area while some vessels have left to fi nish out their season in Cobscook Bay. The Reach will have at least one more day of fi shing, then the Department will evaluate the area to determine if a closure may be justifi ed to ensure another healthy harvest in the future. Finally, there will be no emergency
actions for next week and the fi shery will operate under the current rules. Please check the DMR website for emergency rulemaking notices, or contact Trisha Cheney to get on an email notifi cation list to be notifi ed in ad- vance of any in-season management actions. *Clarifi cation: In last week’s report,
the Department noted that the calendars refl ecting the open days for fi shing in Zone 1 increased from 3 days per week to 4, as well as going from 4 days to 5 in Zone 2 for both January and February. This was reported in the press as a decision made mid-season. However the additional days were added during regular rulemaking that established the season calendar in the late summer/early fall. The change this year was based on industry feedback, as fi shermen
preferred to have the longer work week to help them be able to work around the foul weather that is typical for this time of year. Therefore, days were scheduled to increase in January and February and will decrease in March. This also helps the diver and dragger calendars to better complement one another, as overlapping days where both groups are fi shing at the same time are minimized. Maine Scallop Season Update January 20, 2017
January 20, 2017 - Three scallop areas along the Maine coast are scheduled for closure or limited closure based on DMR survey data. Two of the areas, Muscle Ridge and Inner Cranberry Isle, will remain open on a limited basis for divers, while the Chandler Bay/Head Harbor area will be closed to all harvesting. The eff ective date of the closures will be Monday, January 22, 2017. The Muscle Ridge Area, located near Spruce Head, has been open this season two days per week (Monday and Tuesday) for draggers and two days a week (Wednesday and Fri- day) for divers. Recent DMR survey work has revealed high concentrations of suble- gals (smaller than the legal 4 inch diameter size) in the Muscle Ridge area. Survey work has also shown recovery in the area from last season, prompting the Department to continue this rebuilding trend in the Muscle
Ridge area as overall densities in this area of the coast are low, making it vital to aff ord protection to remaining productive areas. The area will remain open to hand harvest by divers when they are able to resume their fi shing season on March 1. Fishermen reports and DMR survey work have revealed high concentrations of seed scallops in or near the Cranberry Isle ro- tational area, which was closed the past two seasons as part of the department’s rotational management plan. The area includes the MDI Limited Access Area, which encompasses Somes Sound. After 7 weeks of fi shing primarily in the inner portion of the rotational area, the majority of drag boats have moved out of the area, indicating that a signifi cant proportion of the harvestable product has been landed from the inner Cranberry Isle area. Therefore, an immediate closure of the inner portion of the Cranberry Isle Area, including the Mount Desert Island Limited Access Area is being implemented for the remainder of the 2016-17 season. The area will remain open to hand harvest. Because very little fi shing has occurred in the off shore portion of the rotational area, and the area south of the Cranberry Isles shall remain open to both draggers and divers. Since the closure on January 1, 2017 of the upper part of the Chandler Bay near
Commercial Fishing News
Jonesport, the lower part of the Bay and the Moosabec Reach Limited Access Area have been the target of increased fi shing pressure. DMR survey work has revealed a 50 percent decrease in harvestable biomass in the area, prompting a closure which, along with the others, will take eff ect Monday, January 22, 2017. Mud Hole Channel and off shore areas southeast of Mark Island will remain open.
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