Permits on sale; committee hears that local shellfish harvests remain below historical levels

Jordan, a staff member for the Dennis Shellfish Committee, told members on Jan. 15 that commercial shellfish permits are on sale through March 31 and that licensees who miss the sale window will need to apply for hardship exemptions.

"Commercial shellfish permits are on sale now until March 31. After that, licensees will need to apply for hardship exemption," Jordan said. He reported that 10 commercial licenses were issued last year, up from seven the year prior, but that the local commercial fishery remains small: "we hover around that handful mark for commercial fishing," and Jordan estimated that roughly half of licensed individuals actually fish in a given year.

Jordan also reported that the shellfish wait list has 19 people — the shortest it has been in some time — and explained catch-reporting constraints that affect published totals. He said commercial catch reporting is aggregated and cannot be published when only one commercial harvester reports, which can make the recorded commercial harvest appear smaller than the actual activity. On recreational scallops, members mentioned a recent report of two bushels landed; Jordan characterized overall local shellfish harvests as not what they used to be.

Committee members asked whether the recent limited harvests reflect reporting gaps or true decline. Jordan said catch reports are a mixture of patrol observations and self-reporting and acknowledged the data are imperfect. The committee did not take regulatory action at the meeting; Jordan said he would circulate more details by email about volunteer herring-run cleanups and other seasonal work.