ELLSWORTH, Maine — Due to declines in the number of harvestable scallops, the Maine Department of Marine Resources has closed three more fishing areas along the coast.
In a statement released Friday evening, the department indicated it was immediately closing scallop fishing grounds at the mouth of the Damariscotta River, in Somes Sound and around Greenings Island off Mount Desert Island, and in Gouldsboro and Dyer bays off Gouldsboro and Steuben.
With the exception of Dyer Bay, just west of Petit Manan Point, all the closed bays have been part of limited access areas that DMR established last fall as part of a new management scheme for the scallop fishery. New DMR rules enacted for this year allow the department to close such areas immediately when 30 to 40 percent of the harvestable biomass is believed to have been removed during the season.
The areas are being closed “to protect against unusual damage and imminent depletion” of scallops in those areas,” according to DMR officials.
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