Scallop fishermen in Cobscook Bay have been finding good catches this year, following the opening of the season on December 15. About 70 draggers have been fishing, according to Marine Patrol Officer Russell Wright of Lubec, with perhaps a third of the vessels coming from ports outside of the bay. "I think it's a fairly decent year," says Wright, considering the catches, the weather and the price.

This year, vessels can only fish 70 days, the same number as last year. But instead of a split season like last year, boats can only fish on Tuesday through Saturday, from December 15 through March 24, with Christmas and New Year's Day off.

Fisherman Milton Chute of Lubec says boats have been getting their daily catch limit of 135 pounds in the bay "before dinner," with some getting that amount by 10 a.m. "I've never seen it that good around Treat's Island and Eastport," he says, noting that one report he heard was that a dragger could make eight or nine tows off the Eastport breakwater and then tie up for the day. "There seem to be plenty of them around," he says of the scallops. "It's better than last year, that's for sure." Catches last year were poor, and the decline in the resource led to the emergency closure by Maine Department of Marine Resources of six areas of the coast, including Cobscook Bay, during the second half of the season.

Of the catches this year, fisherman Scott Emery of Eastport notes, "It will go downhill fast once it starts to go down C once the legal stuff is gone." Wright expects that "once the big stuff is cleaned up" there will be more violations for cutting sublegal-size scallops. The minimum shell size is 4", and Cobscook Bay also has a meat count limit of no more than 35 meats per pint. So far, he says, "For what we've checked, the meats are good size."

Fishermen have been noting a large number of empty shells, or clappers, this year. Pottle says he had three-quarters of a tote of clappers one day, and they seem to be all over the bay. Fishermen don't know if the empty shells are being caused by predators such as starfish, a natural die-off or lower nutrient levels in the bay.

Both Emery and Pottle observe that there are quite a few small scallops this year, with Pottle noting that may be in part because Cobscook Bay was among those areas closed during the second half of the season last year. He adds that the meat count regulation for Cobscook Bay helps keep the smaller scallops from being taken.

The price paid to fishermen has been around $6.75 a pound, up a bit from the $6.50 that fishermen received initially last year.

Chute notes that most Lubec fishermen are staying with fishing for sea urchins, as the price has been high, with some fishermen receiving $4 or more per pound, depending on the roe count. He says he can take in over $900 a day on scallops, but urchin fishermen can make $1,500 or $2,000, before expenses. "I can nearly double on urchins," he points out. However, when the urchins get scarcer and the price drops, more fishermen will switch over to fishing for scallops.

Concerning the change in the season this year, Pottle says, "I can deal with five days a week." He believes the reduction in the number of fishing days per week helps with fishermen's safety, as they now have time to repair their gear and also to rest.

Also this year areas of the Maine coast have been set aside as conservation areas closed to scallop fishing. Closed areas include the St. Croix River, north of Gleason Point, Perry, and Whiting and Dennys bays. With Whiting and Dennys bays closed to both scallop and urchin fishing, Chute comments, "I'd like to get to the Whiting River for urchins." However, he notes that there seem to be plenty of scallops throughout the bay. Other closures Downeast include areas around Gouldsboro Bay, the Reach off Jonesport, the Chandler Bay and Englishman's Bay area, and an area around Cross Island and Great Head, Cutler.

Pottle believes the state acted irresponsibly to close the areas without first having a plan in place on how they would be opened back up. He adds, "The fishing needs to be open to local people," noting that the moratorium on new scallop licenses may keep some local residents from entering the fishery, while boats from other ports along the coast can