Commercial Scallopers Granted Another Bushel Increase

The Harbor and Shellfish Advisory Board (HSAB) and shellfish and aquatic resources manager Tara Riley have agreed to raise the bushel limit for commercial scallopers from six to seven for the remainder of the season, the second increase of the year.

“I honestly think it's up to the people who are fishing at this point,” Riley said. “I don't think seven is going to be different from six from a resource standpoint.”

HSAB chair Andy Lowell said that most scallopers are still returning to the dock by 10:30 a.m. in the morning even with the increase to six bushels, and noted that relatively few scallopers are still out on the water at this time of year.

“I think with the seven bushel limit, scallopers are going to regulate themselves in a way,” Lowell said.

Late last month, the Select Board voted to increase the bushel limit from five to six, and gave Riley the authority to further increase the limit to seven. The increases have come on the heels of a strong year for scallops and an exceptionally cold winter, which has cost scallopers many work days.

The town's shellfish regulations prohibit commercial scalloping when the temperature drops below 28F, a rule intended to protect seed scallops from dying in frigid temperatures. The regulations also cap the number of bushels each licensed scalloper may catch per day at five during the season, which runs from Nov. 1 through March 31 each year. The Select Board has the discretion to increase the limit, and previously raised it to six bushels during the 2024-25 commercial scalloping season.

The scallop harvest has been trending sharply up in recent years, despite fewer scallopers on the water. The limit was raised to six bushels early in the season last year, and HSAB is now eyeing a more permanent change.

“I hope that in the future, maybe at the start of the season [the Select Board] can give us the leeway to go up [from five bushels],” Riley said.