More than 90 angry fishermen attended a Department of Marine Resources (DMR) hearing in Machias on October 9 to protest the agency's proposed new regulations for the scallop fishery. Regulations Officer Laurice Churchill and Resource Management Coordinator Togue Brawn conducted the two-and-a-half-hour session, inviting those opposed to speak first. No one commented in favor of the new rules.

As proposed, the rules would establish a scallop season of 52 days from December 1 to March 31. During the months of December, January and February, fishing would be limited to the days of Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. The Maine rules would also match the federal daily possession limit of 200 pounds of scallop meats. Six specified areas along the coast of Maine would be closed to scallop fishing for three seasons. In addition, the regulations would clarify that scallops taken by federal permit holders may be landed in Maine.

Speakers were equally negative about a new statute enacted by the legislature, but not yet adopted through DMR rule-making C a requirement that increases the minimum drag ring size from 3-1/2 inches to 4 inches. The fishermen's disdain for the larger ring, which would further limit the retained catch, was capsulized in the wry comment of one fisherman: "What's next, basketball hoops?"

Many objected to both the shortening of the season as well as the specification of particular fishing days on the grounds that both limitations would encourage fishermen to take advantage of every legal day, regardless of the risk to safety in poor weather. Those who also fish for urchins complained of overlapping legal days, forcing people to choose between the two fisheries.

Published landings figures for scallops came in for criticism, with one dealer claiming he alone reported landings that would account for 90% of the total reported for 2004-2006 for the Downeast region. As he is one of 10 dealers in the area, he said the figures clearly understate the actual landings, calling into question the assumed magnitude of the decline in the scallop harvest.

A Bucks Harbor fisherman, Lanny Wood, claimed that the proposed closures would actually intensify the pressure on the resource caused by a large number of draggers in Cobscook Bay early in the season, a situation many characterized as "gang raping." He also said the legal days should be consecutive, Monday through Thursday, with three days off to "get rid of the product." He pleaded for measures to control predators, especially starfish, which he says have "moved in. There should be a bounty on them," he told the hearing officers. Ben Crocker Jr. also thinks "closed areas won't work because seed scallops won't stay in one place."

Representing the Cobscook Bay Fishermen's Association (CBFA), Leo Murray said the organization opposes the 200-pound limit as well as the days. He argued against the six areas proposed for closure "without a clear conservation plan." As many others did, he lamented the poor market for marine products and wondered "how everybody here is going to make a living this winter." Referring to the 4-inch ring minimum, "Right or wrong," he said, "the timing is poor for that. We're just trying to hold onto our investment. I never thought the day would come when I'd need a lawyer to go fishing."

The CBFA also submitted written testimony stating that the proposed rules don't comply with the legislature's scallop conservation goals. Instead, the document alleges, "They appear to be the result of a hasty, piecemeal, patchwork approach that is neither strategic nor comprehensive."

Several speakers who said they served as members of DMR's Scallop Advisory Council said they were under pressure by the agency to endorse a significant reduction in the number of days when harvesting is allowed as well as the closure areas. John Higgins of Pemaquid said the council "started with 90 days and we were whittled down to 52." "Don't blame the guys on the council," he told the fishermen. "The department is up against the wall with the legislature."

"What do we need to do to get these things changed?" asked Ricky Wright of Lubec, echoing similar questions from others in the audience. "Go to your legislators; talk with your senators and representatives," Churchill answered. The fact that no sitting legislators were present, nor was DMR Commissioner George Lapointe, came in for some criticism from the fishermen. One candidate for the legislature, Katherine Cassidy, did attend the hearing and was recognized by a fisherman who told her, "You get them 4-inch rings changed, and Palin don't stand a chance!"

Merrill Wallace of Milbridge said he's "seen more small scallops in the last year than in the 10 years before that." He agreed with others who claimed the resource is growing. "If you [DMR] back off, it'll take care of itself." Dennis Sargent agreed, and reported seeing scallops in deep water. "There is hope down the road," he said. Ralph Dennison from Lubec claimed the "fishery improved itself from the late '80s; in '95 and '96, I got eight or nine hundred pounds a day in Cobscook Bay."

Mike Kilby of Edmunds suggested that licenses should be limited to full-time fishermen and not issued to "part-time fishermen who work at the mill and earn $70,000 a year. Take their licenses away and let us make a living," he advised. Brian Moore of Pembroke recalled, "You used to be able to tie your boat up if the price went down. But with only 52 days, you have to go out or lose your days."

Farrell Beal agreed: "Divers are going to the bottom on days they can't see." He said he talked to a diver who told him, "I try to feel them [scallops] on the bottom. Once I hit a rock and it knocked off my face mask." Beal added, "Guys are going out in smaller boats and going out when they shouldn't." Ben Crocker Sr. responded, "People with families and payments to make have to go."