STALKING SCALLOPS
Family scalloping season begins Wednesday and Shellfish Warden Dwayne Dougan will ensure that stalkers know their stuff
BY PETER B. BRACE INDEPENDENT WRITER
It does not matter how plentiful the scallops are - what matters is that only legal sizes and amounts are harvested.

ROB BENCHLEY/The Independent file

Nantucket Shellfish Warden Dwayne Dougan will see to that.

"I love dealing with the public," said Dougan, who is now going on his seventh year as a shellfish warden. "I like being out on the water, and between being able to help people enjoy doing what they're doing, and being able to protect our resources, to me, it's a very rewarding job."

The word around the harbors is that there may be some scallops in the Monomoy and Horseshed areas of Nantucket Harbor for the 2007/2008 recreational scalloping season that opens on Wednesday, Oct. 3. Neither Marine Superintendent Dave Fronzuto nor Town Biologist Keith Conant have had much of a chance to spelunk the nooks and crannies of the island's harbors for pushrake-reachable adult scallops. Last year, anyone with long legs found easy pickings along Pocomo Point's west side, but not in too many other places in Nantucket waters.

"It looks like the recreational people should fare okay around the Monomoy area and the Horseshed better than last year," said Conant. "At the end of the fishing season last year, there was a considerable charge of scallops in the Monomoy area, so that ought to be good for the recreational fishermen."

And for Dougan, who, along with part-time shellfish wardens Ken Lappen and Carl Murray, Madaket Harbormaster Chris Vanderwolk and head warden Fronzuto, will have their rubber gloves full as family scallopers discover the mother lode in either location. Either way, Dougan's main strategy is education.

"When I see somebody out on the water, I check to see what (size scallops) they have and I educate them there, and then enforce once they get to land," he said. "[I'm] making sure people are not fishing in closed-off areas. Answering questions as to why an area is closed off comes up quite often; it's my responsibility to make sure they are not taking species not in season (see related story)."

One of the more bizarre and yet fairly common misconceptions Dougan encounters is the definition of a family license and how part-time scallopers apply the use of their licenses.

"They think that it is good for anyone in the family, but it is not transferable; it is good for the person it is issued to," said Dougan. "They can have as many people under the age of 14 that they can handle."

But each adult with children under the age of 14 must possess a recreational license and wear his or her permit button - green for the 2007/2008 season - while scalloping with their charges. At the other end of the age spectrum are the lifetime licenses granted to those 60 and over whose badges are always white. Dougan also runs into a little misguided skullduggery each season on behalf of those claiming senior moments.

"I often find a lot of people under 60 wearing those white over-60 licenses," he said. "Again, it's a misconception that they can let people use their licenses."

Another pet peeve of Dougan's is softshell clam diggers who do not properly plant their undersized soft-shell clams (under two inches) upright in the mud with their necks pointing upward covered with a layer of sand, as outlined in the shellfish regulations on the back of every recreational license. But then that is what he loves about his job: helping amateur and commercial scallopers learn how to gather shellfish.

"I'm probably busier during recreational season because the commercial guys know what they're supposed to do," said Dougan. "Recreational season, I spend a lot of time educating people on what a growth ring is, what the difference is between an adult and seed scallop."

During the commercial season, Dougan and the other wardens turn to enforcement more than education, and as the season wears on spend a lot of their time just making sure all the commercial boats and crews get back to the docks safely.

"Whatever other duties may be required, my focus is on the enforcement," said Dougan. "Basically, I'm enforcing the state and local regulations for all species of shellfish. I am also sworn in as assistant harbormaster. My duties can entail a lot of the things on the water."

IF YOU GO

Although the recreational scallop season officially begins on Oct. 1, because one can only scallop for a weekly bushel Wednesday through Sunday, the first day is Oct. 3. Afamily shellfish license from the Marine & Coastal Resources Department at 34 Washington St. is required. For island residents, the cost is $25, and for nonresidents, $100. Also, pay heed to what they tell you about growth rings being present on adults before harvesting them.

Pushraking, diving and snorkeling gear is available at most island tackle shops, at Brant Point Marine and at the Sunken Ship at 12 Broad St.