Tag Archives: Peconic Bay scallops
Fishing for Scallops When the Scallops Are Nearly All Dead
Mike Tehan pilots a fishing boat called Nibbles out of Shelter Island. An hour before sunrise on the first day of scallop season in November, as he unwound the ropes, started the outboard motor and piloted the 25-foot fiberglass boat from an island cove into the open waters of Peconic Bay, Mr. Tehan knew just what he’d find. “I didn’t come out here with big plans to get rich today,” he said. “You can’t say it’s depressing, because you already know. But you hope. “He bashed north against the waves, toward the protected bay off Orient, at the far northeast corner of Long Island. He dropped four rusty dredges into the water, just as the bay turned pink with sunrise. He let the outboard rumble the boat around for five minutes. Then he pulled the dredges back up and dumped the contents into a sorting tray. “Let’s see, we got seaweed, rocks, conch shells, lots of dead scallops and one good scallop,” he said, picking through the dreck with bright orange gloves. more, >>click to read<< 14:36
Peconic Bay Scallops are a legacy at risk
For more than 30 years, Tim Sweat has spent the early morning hours of winter on Peconic Bay. By noon on most days, he would collect thousands of pounds of scallops — enough to cover the daily cost of maintaining his boat, plus put aside some extra money for the holidays. But for the last four years, as bay scallops continue to die off at an alarming rate, he’s finished the season with little to show for his efforts. “I’ve spent most of my life out here on the water; fishing is my whole life. But the future is not looking very promising for the smaller boats like me,” Sweat said. “We’re struggling to make a living out here, things keep dying off.” >click to read< 13:33
Peconic Bay scallops die-off tied to newly detected parasite
The catastrophic die-off of Peconic Bay scallops in eastern Long Island waters may be tied to a previously undetected parasite that can infect the kidneys of adult and juvenile scallops, state regulators reported Friday. The specific parasitic organism, known as coccidian parasite, was discovered in kidney tissue of all 32 scallops collected and sampled from Shelter Island’s Hay Beach last November, >click to read< 16:28
It’s Peconic Bay scallop season on the North Fork
A calendar hanging in the northforker office has holidays marked in bold red letters. In November, there are three such days: Election Day, Veterans Day and Thanksgiving. If we had any say on the contents of said calendar, a fourth holiday would be added on Monday, Nov. 4: Peconic Bay Scallops Day. >click to read< 08:15
DEC decides against extending the scalloping season
The last time Peconic Bay scallops were this plentiful was the winter of 2015, just before six weeks of hard weather put what should have been a five-month harvest on hold. Back then, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation responded by extending the season for commercial scalloping in state waters by a month to make up for lost time, but this year, the season will end in March, right on schedule. In a statement on Monday,,, >click to read<11:53
Rescuing a regional treasure: Biologists, baymen bringing back Peconic Bay scallops
Last week the veil was lifted on a question at the center of the East End’s culture as well as its economy: How many Peconic Bay scallops made it through algae blooms, whelk attacks, underwater landslides and onto dinner tables this season? Sunrise on Monday, November 6 marked the opening of New York State waters for fishing this sweet local delicacy, and by 7 a.m. it was clear there were plenty of scallops to be harvested. There are many ways for a scallop to die before its time, and Long Island University biologist Stephen Tettelbach, is familiar with all of them. click here to read the story 13:34
