Bountiful scallop harvest greets island fishermen
BY PETER B. BRACE INDEPENDENT WRITER
Scalloper Marty Mack said jokingly over the weekend as he collected storm-beached scallops off the shore along Hulbert Avenue that the bay scallop fishery is crashing - crashing into his dredges, that is.

PHOTO BY BARBARA GOOKIN Hank Garnett, who fishes with his sister Evie Sylvia, offloads their 10 boxes of scallops caught within three hours.

Although Mack was partly referring to the bonanza of scallops that Saturday's nor'easter blew onto harbor beaches, his early commercial season sentiment is also that of other long-time fishermen who see a decidedly more bountiful five months of scalloping in front of them.

"With the number of boats that I'm seeing, it should be a very good year for the fishermen," scalloper Doug Smith agreed. "I'm only counting 30 to 50 boats, and it should be a long, very good year. The dealers are thinking the same thing and are only paying $11 a pound. I'm estimating between 10,000 and 15,000 bushels in the harbor for this year."

Marine Superintendent Dave Fronzuto, who counted 48 boats scalloping in Nantucket Harbor and 10 in Madaket Harbor on Monday, also seemed upbeat about the prospects for a more substantial harvest this season, despite the waves of scallops last weekend's nor'easter washed onto beaches in front of Folger's Marsh, Abram's Point and Hulbert Avenue.

"The single limit boats were in at a quarter of eight in the morning and double limit boats were in by 8:15 a.m. and everybody is getting their limits," Fronzuto said of last Thursday's opening day. "The scallops seem to have well defined growth rings and we're not having issues with people starting early, going over their limit or taking seed.

"The scallops were there before the blow," he continued. "There are some scallops out there and we're still cautiously optimistic, but it looks like it's fairly good right now."

Marine Department personnel, working with commercial scallopers on Sunday, recovered 150 to 200 bushels of seed from harbor beaches and 25 bushels more from the Hulbert Avenue shore with the help of three Station Brant Point Coasties on Monday. All seed were returned to Nantucket Harbor.

Adult scallops that washed ashore were free for the taking, said Fronzuto, meaning that recreationally licensed scallopers could harvest whatever live scallops they could haul away. But he cautioned family scallopers to ensure that the scallops they were taking were still alive. He pointed out, too, that any live scallops taken off the beach could not be sold.

Smith's bold estimate of 10 to 15,000 bushels in the wake of the two previous season's hauls - 3,850 for the 2006/2007 season and 5,500 for 2005/2006 - was backed up by fellow scalloper Marina Finch on Monday.

"There are so many scallops out there," said Finch. "I tell you, if I had a person to take a double limit, I would be doubling right now and I don't even ever do that.

"The first day I went with a friend who had a license and we left at 7:30 a.m. and we were in with 10 [boxes] at 10:30 a.m. The second day, out at quarter to seven, back at 9:30 a.m. with 10. So, obviously, there's some scallops out there."

Island fishmongers seem to agree, offering the opening day boat price of $11 last week when the commercial season began on Nov. 1, the sort of price that typically bespeaks a healthy supply in Nantucket waters.

Scallops seem to be abundant in the harbors, bays and ponds of Martha's Vineyard as well, where this year Edgartown, Oak Bluffs, Tisbury and Chilmark all opened their waters to bay scalloping with a boat price of $16 to $18 per pound, and scallops selling for $22 a pound in fish markets, according to Vineyard Gazette reporter Mark Lovewell.

Last year, only the Town of Tisbury allowed commercial scalloping, as the Vineyard tracked Nantucket's poor harvest, whose dire forecast manifested itself in an opening price of $12 that escalated to $13 four days later.

Dan Lemaitre, co-owner with Ted Jennison of Nantucket Seafoods, said that although he does not expect Nantucket's price of $11 to rise any time soon, his scallopers are still concerned about the impact of last Saturday's nor'easter.

"They're all very upbeat," Lemaitre said. "I've heard some mention that they're a little worried about what effect the storm might have had on the scallops and what is left out there, but we're all hoping for a season that will last a little while. We certainly have more product than we did last year."

Although Lemaitre would not divulge what he and Jennison are selling bay scallops for, the going rate per pound on the island is $18. That is what Glidden's Island Seafood is selling them for and owner David Glidden agreed that scallops are plentiful this season.

"One of the fishermen was saying that it's very easy to get your limit," said Glidden. "The other thing, of course, is the price, which offsets a good year as compared to last year. We don't want it to go down. Unless there are storms that disrupt production or people are staying out until noon, I don't expect it to go anywhere."

That the fishery appears to be overflowing into dredges and onto beaches - but not into the red - is some consolation for those lamenting the first week's soft price based on what looks to be a deep supply. For those scallopers who ride out the season, the price per pound is likely to rise somewhat as

supply dwindles. I