The Maine Department of Marine Resources has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for: 

Chapter 11 Scallops; 2022-2023 Season and Chapter 8 Landings Program (see 8.20 (O) - Scallop Harvest)*

*Please be advised there will be separate public hearings for these proposed rules, with specific details below for each proposed regulation. 

 Development of the 2022-2023 Season

Discussions related to the development of the 2022-2023 scallop season began with the initial remote meeting on May 12, 2022 that focused on sharing data analyses on a few general goals that were suggested by industry during the onset of the rotational management plan (RMP) prior to 2011. The goals of the RMP were to: 1) increase landings of scallops state wide from inshore waters; 2) reduce travel time for harvesters (i.e. harvest in your backyard); 3) provide a boost to coastal communities; and 4) make a good day's pay. Data collected from landing reports for the 10 plus years that lead into the RMP demonstrate that state wide landings have increased, more ports are now active in the fishery, and catch rates within Zone 2 have risen over the last decade. 

However, there were comments received from industry during this remote presentation that suggested some changes to the current RMP within Zone 2. To allow for further discussion of these comments and suggestions, a series of Scallop Advisory Council (SAC) meetings were held during June and July to tackle several related topics to Zone 2 management: 1) spatial boundaries and duration of rotational areas; 2) seasons, closures, calendars; and, 3) reporting and monitoring. Additionally, the SAC also discussed recommendations for Zone 1 and Zone 3 for the upcoming season. 

Several members of the SAC have expressed interest in developing alternative scenarios that would transition Zone 2 management into a two year cycle (i.e. there would be only two rotational cycles, and not the current three year rotational system). The SAC explored this concept, but making this transition will require answering many questions regarding how the new rotations would be designed, how to address impacts to the survey and how to minimize effort impacts during the transition. The recommendation from the SAC was to continue this conversation with additional industry meetings to better assess support for making this change, and if supported, further develop the details of this transition. We anticipate these meetings will occur late fall before year's end. 

The proposed rulemaking for the 2022-2023 system is a continuation of the three year rotation within Zone 2 while future alternatives are still being discussed. However, there were a few new management changes discussed by the SAC that have been incorporated into this rulemaking for the upcoming season. First, there is the proposed separation of the dive and drag harvest into their own rotation so there is no spatial overlap of these activities. Second, there was a proposal to transition scallop trip level reports to electronic submission with a weekly submission timeline. Please note that this information is presented in Chapter 8, below. 

Please review the proposed rulemaking documents attached below.

Chapter 11 Scallops; 2022-2023 Season
BRIEF SUMMARY:
This proposed rule-making establishes the 2022-2023 scallop fishing season. Daily possession limits of 15 gallons for Zone 1 and Zone 2, and 10 gallons for Zone 3 remain unchanged. For Zone 1, a 60-day season for draggers would begin on December 12, 2022 and the last day of the season would be March 23, 2023. For Zone 1, a 60-day season for divers would start on November 15, 2022 and the last day of the season would be April 29, 2023. For Zone 2, a 70-day season for draggers would start on December 1, 2022 and the last day of the season would be March 30, 2023. For Zone 2, a 70-day season for divers would start on November 17, 2022 and the last day of the season would be April 22, 2023. For Zone 3, a 50-day season for draggers would begin on December 5, 2022 and the last day of the season would be March 28, 2023. For Zone 3, a 50-day season for divers would begin on December 1, 2022 and the last day of the season would be April 29, 2023.

Harvesting of scallops by hand (diving) is restricted to Rotation A (First) only for the 2022-2023 season. Harvesting for scallops by dredge gear is restricted to Rotation B (Second) only for the 2022-2023 season. A new limited access area is proposed for East Moosabec Reach in Zone 2 for the 2022-2023 season. The St. Croix River in Zone 3 re-opens to harvest for the 2022-2023 season.

DMR would maintain the following Limited Access Areas: Western Penobscot Bay, Muscle Ridge, Whiting and Denny’s Bays. Additionally, the following existing targeted closures based on depletion, high concentrations of seed/sublegal scallops and/or the presence of spat-producing scallops would be maintained: Lower Muscle Ridge, Upper Sheepscot River, New Meadows River, Card Cove and Beals-Jonesport Bridge.

Date, time and location of PUBLIC HEARING (if any): Public hearings are scheduled for 5:00 p.m. at the dates and locations listed below:

* August 29, 2022: DMR’s Augusta Office (Marquardt Building), 32 Blossom LN, Rm. 118; or remotely via Microsoft Teams. Remote access information is posted to DMR’s website under meetings.

* September 1, 2022: University of Maine at Machias, 116 O’Brien AV, Science Building, Rm 102

COMMENT DEADLINE: September 11, 2022