New limits on the amount of scallops that can be harvested in part of the Gulf of Maine should help ease tensions between smaller boats from Maine and larger scallop vessels from Massachusetts during the upcoming federal scallop season, which is expected to get under way on April 1.
With the new rules, fishing boats that are restricted by the number of days-at-sea they can operate — the vast majority of which are based in Massachusetts — for the first time will have to adhere to catch limits in the Northern Gulf of Maine federal fishing area, which runs from roughly three miles from shore out to about 50 miles.
Boats with federal permits that restrict the number of days they can fish but which are allowed to fish anywhere along the East Coast cumulatively can catch only 65,000 pounds of scallops this year in the northern Gulf of Maine. In addition, only days-at-sea vessels that are participating in approved research projects will be allowed to fish in the area.
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