Scallop season closes on Oak Bluffs side of the Lagoon

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Fishermen tow scallop drags in Lagoon Pond. — File photo by Susan Safford

March 31 marked the end of a subpar scalloping season on the Oak Bluffs side of the Lagoon. Oak Bluffs shellfish constable David Grunden said he followed state statute and town protocol by closing down scalloping at the end of March, and that scalloping activity had been minimal since the end of last year.

“We did not have a good year for scalloping this year,” he wrote in an email to The Times. “However, the fishing pressure was very low from December through the end of March. We usually had only one boat out most days, once in awhile up to three boats, none of them coming close to harvesting their catch limit. The only reason we had even that much activity was because the price was so high throughout the season.”

On the opposite side of the Lagoon, scallops have been undisturbed in Tisbury waters following a recreational and commercial closure that went into effect on Nov. 25. Tisbury shellfish constable Danielle Ewart, with the support of shellfish committee chairman James Tilton, proposed the closure due to an abundance of seed scallops.