Bay scallop yield might be low

By Jack Stewardson, Standard-Times staff writer

WESTPORT -- The town will be opening its bay scallop season Oct. 15 but Shellfish Constable Gary Sherman says the pickings could be slim.

"Not much," is his assessment of the bay scallop crop this year.

"But we do want to open it for people who want to go out and give it a try," he added. "There may be a little pocket, here and there, that no one knows about."

Mr. Sherman and the Shellfish Advisory Committee received permission to open the season on Oct. 15. It will close in April but whatever bay scallops are to be found should be long fished out by then.

"I'm sure there will be some people who will take out permits," he said. "Even if it's just enough to get a couple of meals."'

Westport really hasn't had a bumper crop of bay scallops since 1985, but with scallops going for more than $10 a pound, there should be some testing the Westport River crop.

Last year, an estimated 108 bushels of bay scallops were harvested by commercial license holders and another 44 bushels were taken by recreational permit holders, according to the annual town report.

There were four commercial licenses issued, 25 family and seven senior citizen permits to take scallops.

One of the things in bay scallop fishermen's favor this year is that permit fees have been left unchanged. After toying with a series of permit hikes, including doubling commercial scallop permits from $100 to $200, selectmen earlier this year decided to maintain the status quo.

Mr. Sherman had some more good news for town shellfishermen.

The town earlier this week opened several relay sites to quahogging and said, "we probably have around 20 guys fishing right now as we speak."

The relay areas include Half Moon Flat, opposite the state beach entrance, another off Ram Island behind Ship Rock, and one conditional area near David Road, which remains closed after periods of rainfall.

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