 |
Commercial Fishingnews, events, and other information for the commercial fishing, aquaculture, and seafood industries |
 |
Article Categories
Published: January 23, 2007
Print
EmailThe Elephant Trunk area off the Delaware-Maryland coast will re-open to the sea scallop industry in 2007. The area has been under a closure since 2004 to allow scallops to recover and grow to market size.
Research conducted by Virginia Sea Grant monitors scallop populations in the closed area. The research is part of a cooperative relationship between the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) and the sea scallop industry. The effort is funded by NOAA Fisheries which uses the data to develop fishing regulations.
Scallop Facts
Sea Scallops are fast growing. The most effecient use of the resource includes harvesting scallops in the 5-7 age range.
The Elephant Trunk closed area off of Delaware Bay is estimated to hold over 100 million pounds of scallop meats.
The Virginia Marine Resources Commission reports indicate that sea scallops landed in Virginia were valued at $7.38/lb. in 2005, with landings valued just over $84 million.
Sea Scallops are Virginia’s most valuable fishery by far. According to NOAA Fisheries data, the sea scallop fishery landed 65 million pounds of meats with an ex-vessel value just over $321 million nationwide in 2004.
The sea scallop fishery generates the second most spot for gross income, lobstering holding the top postion.
Sea Scallop Management Facts
The Elephant Trunk closure area will reopen to scallop harvesters on March 1, 2007.
Sources indicate that a similar area to the south will be closing to scallop harvesting soon.
The mid-Atlantic sea scallop industry is compromised of 2 fisheries.
The traditional harvesters are the "limited access" fishery. These are the larger commercial vessels which fish for scallops. "Limited access" vessels are restricted by the number of vessels in the fishery and the number of days the vessels may harvest scallops.
The "general category" is charactorized by smaller boats, many of whom are relatively new particpants in the sea scallop fishery. The general category vessels are limited to a catch of 400 pounds per trip.
The limited access fleet is closed to new entrants, although general category permits remain open at the moment.
For more detailed information, see the Fall 2006 Virginia Marine Resource Bulletin.
http://www.vims.edu/adv/pubs/bulletin.htmlSubmit Article