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Good afternoon,
Please be aware that DMR will implement emergency conservation closures in the areas below, effective Sunday, January 19, 2025:
-
Cobscook Bay along with Whiting & Denny's Bay Limited Access Area
- NOTE: St. Croix River, from Kendall Head north to Calais will remain open.
- Upper Machias and Little Machias Bays
- Upper Western Bay
The Scallop Management Area Map has been updated to reflect these closures. To view closures, zoom into the local area.
The notice of emergency rulemaking will be posted to DMR's website shortly and is included in this notice below.
NOTICE OF AGENCY EMERGENCY RULE-MAKING
AGENCY: Department of Marine Resources
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Chapter 11.08, Targeted Closures: (11) Upper Machias and Little Machias Bays; (12) Cobscook, Whiting & Denny's Bays; and, (13) Upper Western Bay
CONCISE SUMMARY: The Commissioner adopts this emergency rulemaking to establish scallop conservation closures in Cobscook, Whiting & Denny's Bay (Zone 3), Upper Machias and Little Machias Bay, and Upper Western Bay (Zone 2). The Department is concerned that continued harvesting for the remainder of the 2024-2025 fishing season in these areas will reduce scallop broodstock further, as well as jeopardize sublegal scallops that were observed in the 2024 Scallop surveys that are essential to the ongoing recruitment, regrowth and recovery of the scallop resource. An immediate conservation closure is necessary to reduce the risk of unusual damage and imminent depletion of the scallop resource in four important scallop harvest areas. For these reasons, the Commissioner hereby adopts an emergency closure of Maine’s scallop fishery in these areas as authorized by 12 M.R.S. §6171(3)(A).
EFFECTIVE DATE: January 19, 2025
Please do not reply to this email; the mail box is not monitored. For more information, I can be reached at [email protected] or 207-441-5040. Thank you!
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