SCALLOP EMERGENCY CLOSURES: Casco Bay Islands (Z1), Lower Blue Hill Bay (Z2), Upper Narraguagus (Z2), Inside Chandler Bay (Z2), Cobscook, Whiting & Dennys Bays (Z3)

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Scallops

Good evening,

Please be advised that DMR will implement emergency conservation closures in the areas below, effective Sunday, January 11, 2026:

Casco Bay Islands, Zone 1
Lower Blue Hill and Jericho Bay, Zone 2
Upper Narraguagus, Zone 2
Inside Chandler Bay, Zone 2,
Cobscook, Whiting & Dennys Bays, Zone 3
- EXCEPTION: In Cobscook Bay and in Whiting & Dennys Bays Limited Access Area (ZONE 3 ONLY), harvest by drag only may occur on Monday, January 12, 2026 and harvest by dive only may occur on Saturday, January 17, 2026.

The Scallop Management Area Map will updated Friday afternoon to reflect these closures. The closure charts have been posted to the website on the 2025-2026 scallop season management page.

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: Marine Resources

CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: 11.08; Targeted Closures: (10) Casco Bay Islands; (11) Lower Blue Hill & Jericho Bays; (12) Upper Narraguagus; (13) Inside Chandler Bay; and (14) Cobscook, Whiting & Dennys Bays.

CONCISE SUMMARY:The Commissioner adopts this emergency rulemaking to establish scallop conservation closures in Casco Bay (Zone 1); Lower Blue Hill & Jericho Bays, Narraguagus and Chandler Bay areas (Zone 2); and Cobscook Bay including Whiting & Denny’s Bays (Zone 3). The Department is concerned that continued harvesting for the remainder of the 2025-2026 fishing season in these areas will reduce legal scallop abundance further, increasing risk to recovery efforts, as well as increase incidental mortality on sublegal scallops observed during the 2025 scallop surveys. Sublegal scallop aggregations are essential to the ongoing growth 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 five 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 11, 2026

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!

Fair winds to you and yours.

Melissa D. Smith

Marine Resource Management Coordinator

Maine Department of Marine Resources

21 State House Station, 32 Blossom Lane

Augusta, ME 04333-0021

Updated Contact: (207) 441-5040

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