With More Scallops But Fewer Fishermen, Select Board Raises Bushel Limit For Commercial Fleet

There are more adult scallops in Nantucket Harbor than at any time since 2012, according to the town's Natural Resources Department. That year, the island's commercial fleet harvested more than 18,000 bushels, far beyond what fishermen have caught in recent years.

That should be good news. But the problem is that today, there are approximately 75 percent fewer fishermen out on the water scalloping.

So on Wednesday, acting on a recommendation from the Harbor & Shellfish Advisory Board, the members of the Select Board voted unanimously to increase the bay scallop bushel limit for commercial scallopers from five bushels to six bushels per commercial license for the remainder of the 2024-2025 bay scallop season.

"The amount of adults in the harbor this year from our surveys is equivalent to what we had in 2012," said Tara Riley, the town's shellfish and aquatic resource manager. "In 2012, we had around 200 permits with around 97 people actively fishing, and we pulled out around 18,000 bushels. Right now, we have 25 boats going. The fishery can definitely sustain a one-bushel increase."

The proposal had been vetted by the Harbor & Shellfish Advisory Board - better known as SHAB - along with the Natural Resources Department since the opening day of the commercial scalloping season on Friday, Nov. 1. 

"There are a large amount of adult harvestable scallops in the harbor and very few fishermen fishing for them," SHAB chair Andy Lowell said. "About 20 boats fishing for them, about 25 to 30 fishermen out there, which keeps the bushel count low. But we don’t base decisions on monetary considerations.  With the fragility of the fishery, not having too many fishermen involved, some aging out, more aging out than new fishermen coming in, we at SHAB, our goal is to see the fishery remain vibrant...These adult scallops, if not fished by the end of the season, will rot and die in the harbor."

Several commercial scallopers, including Bob DeCosta and Carl Sjolund, spoke out in favor of increasing the bushel limit for the season.

"After January, the market does dry up, and so do the fishermen," DeCosta said. "If we don’t catch as much as we can in the next six weeks, a lot will die in the winter."