A lot of Alaska’s scallops are sick, and scientists are trying to figure out why.
Alaska’s scallop fishery is a small one; in recent years it has included four boats, with just one operating in Kamishak Bay in Lower Cook Inlet. The rest operate out of Kodiak on grounds stretching from Yakutat to the Bering Sea.
Most scallop beds straddle the three-nautical mile line between state and federal management areas, and the permit system is attached to vessels rather than to individuals, restricting the entire fishery to nine vessels total under the federal system.
Together, their 10-year average landing poundage of shucked meats is about 383,000 pounds, for total value of about $4 million, according to a report submitted to the federal North Pacific Fishery Management Council by its Scallop Plan Team.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: Morris News Service-Alaska/Peninsula Clarion
