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The scallop fishery started for the winter season on Dec. 1 on an optimistic note, the Ellsworth American reported.
Over the past five years, scallop landings have almost tripled, to 453,000 pounds in 2015.
The fishery employs hundreds of draggers and divers, and the number has been rising in recent years, Trisha Cheney, a resource management coordinator at the Department of Marine Resources, told the newspaper. The larger workforce reflects the high price fishermen receive for their landings — $12.70 per pound in 2015 — and perhaps something of an increased abundance of scallops in Downeast waters that some fishermen attribute to an aggressive management program the DMR implemented.
“Sea scallops are among the most lucrative commercial marine species caught in the United States,” Hugh Cowperthwaite, fisheries project director at Coastal Enterprises Inc. of Portland told Mainebiz in October.
Maine's scallop industry was worth $5.7 million in 2015 for 452,672 meat pounds of scallops, down from 2014's $7.6 million and 605,360 meat pounds, according to the DMR. The per-pound price remained similar, however, at $12.70 in 2015 and $12.67 in 2014.
The state’s management plan of the scallop resource includes closures triggered when the harvest exceeds target levels, according to the DMR, Combined with the use of limited access areas, where harvesting only occurs one day a week, and rotational closures, which are similar to crop rotations. The DMR's management approach has resulted in a steady increase in landings and value for Maine's scallop fishery.
The plan resulted when the fishery experienced an all-time low in 2005.
Maine fisheries experts head to Japan to learn scallop practices, buy machinery
Maine’s most productive scallop ground shut down
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Learn moreThe Giving Guide helps nonprofits have the opportunity to showcase and differentiate their organizations so that businesses better understand how they can contribute to a nonprofit’s mission and work.
Work for ME is a workforce development tool to help Maine’s employers target Maine’s emerging workforce. Work for ME highlights each industry, its impact on Maine’s economy, the jobs available to entry-level workers, the training and education needed to get a career started.
Few people are adequately prepared for all the tasks involved in planning and providing care for aging family members. SeniorSmart provides an essential road map for navigating the process. This resource guide explores the myriad of care options and offers essential information on topics ranging from self-care to legal and financial preparedness.
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