Harbor Shellfish board: DMF extends scallop season to April 11; town applies extension to recreational harvest

The Harbor Shellfish Advisory Board on April 1 said the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries extended the scallop season through April 11 and the town chose to apply that extension to both commercial and recreational harvest.

The decision matters because town staff and board members said water-temperature thresholds will still determine whether areas remain open, and enforcement staff will monitor conditions. Tara, Natural Resources staff, said the DMF “defaulted to the town to make that decision,” and the town concluded the extension should cover recreational harvest as well as commercial.

Board members heard details from staff about recent DMF sampling and other resource work. Tara said the DMF team conducted classification work on scallops taken from Nantucket sites, “they were looking for parasites. There were no parasites in any of the ones that we opened.” She said DMF staff took roughly half a bushel of sample scallops back to the New Bedford lab for further analysis.

The board also received a series of related updates: Tara reported a three-day eelgrass management workshop hosted by the Great Harbor Yacht Club with NGOs and scientific advisors to develop an eelgrass management plan; the group hopes to finalize the plan on July 1. Tara said the local hatchery plans to spawn ribbed mussels in about three weeks and that the department hired three seasonal employees in the past two weeks. She also announced a community event, Scallopalooza, on April 12 from 1 to 3 p.m. at Cisco, organized by the NSA Shellfish Association, which will include scallop-opening contests and informational materials about eelgrass and the eelgrass plan.

Board members asked how closures tied to water temperature would be communicated to recreational harvesters. Mister Anderson, a board member, asked whether there is “something out there that we can fly out to the public if in fact it goes above 50 degrees?” Tara said the DMF notice did not explicitly say recreational harvest was included and that the town would monitor temperatures; she added the Select Board had recommended limiting harvest if temperatures exceed 50 degrees.

The board discussed other items that will be considered at future meetings, including clarifications about harvesting scallops within closed shellfish areas (bycatch concerns) and a proposed app to provide Nantucket weather reports and daily catch reporting; Tara said the app effort remains at a research stage. The board also discussed updates to town shellfish regulations and an apprenticeship program draft that staff expect to circulate before the next meeting.

Votes at a glance: the board approved the draft minutes of March 4 unanimously during the April 1 meeting. The meeting adjournment was moved by Mister Bossy, seconded by Mister Anderson, and recorded as carried with ayes from Mister Anderson, Mister Bossy, Mister Sheryl, Mister Brace and the chair.

The board set its next meeting for April 15 and asked staff to invite JC (enforcement staff) and other relevant personnel to discuss enforcement, closed-area rules and bycatch concerns.