Sustainable Scallops?
In an era where a sustainable fishery is important to consumers, both the government and the scallop industry have taken steps to secure the sustainability of US scallops (Placopecten magellanicus). Beginning in 2004, National Marine Fishery Services (NMFS) introduced Amendment 10, which changed the harvest allocation from days at sea (DAS) to rotational area management. The current plan allocates a set number of fishing days in unrestricted areas. The plan also allots specific quotas to controlled areas to approximately 300 scallop vessels. In addition, new GPS systems were put in place to monitor fishing on a regular basis. Gear changes were also implemented to reduce the quantity of by-catch and turtle chains were introduced to minimize the capture of turtles. The changes made have aided in maintaining the biomass, reducing by-catch and protecting the environment, while remaining economically viable for the fisherman, fish houses and distributors.
Controlled Areas
There are currently six controlled areas. Three of the areas are in the North Atlantic Ocean. These areas include Closed Area I – South Channel, Closed Area II – Georges Bank & Closed Area III – Nantucket Lightship. The remaining three are in the Mid Atlantic region. These include Hudson Canyon, Elephant Trunk and Delmarva. Historically fishing vessels have been allocated a total of five trips per annum into a number of the controlled areas. There is an 18,000 lb limit imposed on each trip. The previous, current and future rotations are as follows:
| Controlled Area Trips | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Channel | -- | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Georges Bank | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Nantucket Lightship | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Hudson Canyon | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Elephant Trunk | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Delmarva | -- | -- | -- | 0 | 0 | 1 |
The opening and closing of controlled areas permit the scallops to grow in size and increase in biomass. Specifically in the Georges Bank and South Channel this action has aided in the preservation of breeding grounds for Yellow Tail Flounder, Codfish and Haddock. More information about the controlled areas can be found by looking at our interactive Map of Fishing Areas.
Open Areas
In addition to rotating controlled areas, scallopers have a limited number of fishing days in the open or unrestricted areas. Prior to the new rotational system, boats were awarded 120 days at sea (DAS). Open area days for 2006 and 2007 were 52 and this allocation will decline to 35 days in 2008 and increase to 42 days in 2009. Over the past two years approximately 55% of the scallop harvest has come from the open area while an estimated 45% has come from controlled areas. However, these figures are expected to reverse in 2008.
Gear Changes
There have been two gear chnages and one equipment change that were significant in recent years. In 2004 the industry increased the rings on the dredges from 3.5” inches to 4” inches. This reduced the harvest of smaller scallops and by-catch. In 2007 the industry added a 3/8” trawalex chain to the dredges, allowing turtles, particularly in the Mid Atlantic waters to escape. There has been no report of turtles captures since the new system was implemented. And in 1996 the VMS system was installed on vessels to monitor the boats at all times.
Sustainable Levels
Scallop landings have been in excess of 45 million pounds for the entire decade, exceeding 60 million pounds in 2004. This is two or three times the levels over the previous decade. Industry experts peg the sustainable harvest levels at between 45-55 million pounds. Recent adjustments to days-at-sea should result in a harvest that is within this range.
| Distribution of Scallop Biomass | |
|---|---|
| 32% | Elephant Trunk |
| 37% | Georges Bank |
| 9% | Georges Bank Open Area |
| 8% | Mid Atlantic Open Area |
| 6% | Hudson Canyon |
According to a recent NMFS sea scallop survey, “the share of larger scallops has continuously increased since 1999, and the share of 11-20 count scallops increased from 11.7% in 1999 to 51.7% in 2006,” suggesting that the management plan is allowing scallops to grow longer and larger. The same report listed the distribution of scallop biomass as follows:
The chart clearly shows that a large part of the US biomass, which is 346 million pounds of scallop meats, is currently located in controlled areas. The continued rotation of the restricted areas seems to be having a positive impact on the sustainability of US scallops.