Tag Archives: Cobscook Bay
Maine fishing regulators are closing the state’s richest scallop fishing grounds
The state is closing Cobscook, Whiting and Dennys bays for the rest of the fishing season starting Sunday to help conserve the scallop population, the Maine Department of Marine Resources said Friday. Cobscook Bay is home to some of the most productive scallop fishing in the state. Maine is also closing a handful of other scallop fishing areas around the state, including instituting a partial closure of western Casco Bay, >click to read< 13:27
Scallop season is underway
The scallop fishing season got underway in eastern Maine earlier this month and is already making news. In the waters between eastern Penobscot Bay and Cobscook Bay, the season for the handful of licensed scallop divers began Nov. 18 but the draggers couldn’t go to work until Dec. 2. In Cobscook Bay, the season for draggers also began Dec. 2 but divers had to wait until Dec. 5 to brave the chilly, turbulent waters way Downeast. >click to read< 20:14
Maine scallop fishery, a conservation success story, to start for the winter
The state’s rebuilt fishery for scallops, which runs from November to April, is getting started for the winter in the coming days. Many in the state’s seafood industry consider Maine scallops a conservation success story, as the fishery collapsed in the mid-2000s and slowly rebuilt to the point where fishermen last year collected the highest total since 1997. >click to read<18:45
Maine’s rebuilt scallop fishery looks to year of more growth
Maine is known for producing scallops that are somewhat bigger than other East Coast states, and some are plucked from the icy waters by hand during winter. Others are harvested by boats with fishing gear. The Maine Department of Marine Resources has said strict management of the harvest has allowed the scallops to rebuild from collapse in the mid-2000s. The state is looking to continue that trend this year with a season that keeps fishermen restricted to tight limits on the number of pounds they can harvest. Fishermen are also limited in the number of days they can fish, and the state is looking to trim a few days. >click to read<10:19
Maine’s most fertile scalloping ground to close on Sunday
Fishing regulators are shutting down Maine’s most productive scallop fishing grounds for the season to protect the valuable shellfish. Cobscook Bay is the most important scalloping area along the Maine cost. Maine marine resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher says it needs to be shut down for the season on Sunday to make sure it stays fertile. Maine’s scallop season runs from December to April, but the closure of Cobscook typically represents a slowing down of the season. The state frequently shuts down scalloping areas early to conserve them for future years. Maine fishermen harvested more than 530,000 pounds of scallops in 2016. That was the second-most productive scallop fishing year in the state since 2001. (AP) link 11:18
Maine Scallop fishermen stay close to home
Scallop divers might have been feeling optimistic, due to a steady increase in landings in recent years, when the fishery started for the winter season on Dec. 1. But the number of scallop draggers showing up in Cobscook Bay on their opening day, Dec. 5, seemed to indicate a certain pessimism. Trisha Cheney, the resource management coordinator for scallops for the Maine Department of Marine Resources told The Quoddy Tides that only 69 boats showed up for opening day. That’s about half the size of the fleet that has been in the bay at the start of the season during many years. Almost all of the boats were local Cobscook Bay boats. In the past, many draggers from ports to the west have traveled to Cobscook Bay to fish. This year, the fleet was apparently more spread out. Cheney told the paper that 76 draggers were fishing in the Jonesport area this year. Read the rest of the story here 14:03
Scallop boats scramble for mooring space in Cobscook Bay
Maine’s annual 
is due to start Dec. 1 and fishermen, eager to benefit from strong demand and record high prices, are setting their sights on Cobscook Bay, the most productive scallop fishing area in the state. But, more than any other year in recent memory, many are running into a fairly significant planning obstacle: Where are they going to keep their boats? Eastport, Lubec and Pembroke — all have fewer available places this year for fishermen to tie up their boats overnight than they did a year ago. Read the rest here 09:31
Scallop fishermen argue against shortening season on Cobscook Bay
DENNYSVILLE, Maine — Patrick Keliher, Commissioner of the state Department of Marine Resources, came to listen to scallop fisherman on Tuesday afternoon. . Some of them gave him an earful. Leo Murray of Lubec called it “crazy.” Tracey Sawtelle of Lubec called it “baloney.” Read more here 12:12
