Lagoon Pond was closed to scalloping on the Vineyard Haven side, effective Wednesday morning. At a meeting Tuesday, the Tisbury selectmen voted to follow the shellfish constable’s recommendation to close the pond, but decided to keep the outer harbor open until Dec. 31.
Selectmen this week tried to broker a compromise solution in a heated dispute among town shellfishermen over the closing of Sengekontacket Pond to bay scalloping on the Oak Bluffs side.
Following the early closure of the scalloping season in Aquinnah, town officials and shellfish biologists are trying to understand the unexpected decline in the number of adult scallops this year. The season closed Nov. 15 in response to a lack of adult scallops; a black algae was also observed growing on many of the scallop shells.
Dragging for bay scallops is now prohibited in Edgartown when the air temperature falls below 30 degrees fahrenheit. The change from 28 to 30 degrees is intended to protect bay scallop seed, especially the small seed growing at Cape Pogue.
At around 6 a.m. Wednesday, Cooper Gilkes and his son Daniel were in their kitchen in Edgartown wearing orange and yellow waders, getting ready for another morning on the water. The longtime fishermen have been enjoying an especially strong start to the commercial bay scalloping season.
Bay scallop season opened Wednesday in Edgartown for family permit holders, and Oak Bluffs will be quick to follow with a season that begins on Oct. 18. Commercial season opens later in October.
Family scalloping opened in the Lagoon Pond Saturday and Islanders took advantage of a mild November day to go out and collect heaping baskets. Once found from Cape Cod to Long Island, wild bay scallops are now largely unique to southeastern Massachusetts.
Family scalloping begins in Edgartown Oct. 1. In Oak Bluffs Sengekontacket Pond opens Oct. 12 for family scallopers. In both towns the forecast for the season is fair.
