Edgartown selectmen voted Monday to extend the scallop season until April 19 after small patches of scallops were found in Katama Bay and the outer harbor.
The commercial daily catch is still limited to three bushels a day from Chappaquiddick Beach, Edgartown outer harbor, and Katama Bay.
“These areas have mainly adults, very little seed. There’s not much eelgrass that’s going to be impacted outside and the scallops are kind of north of the middle ground so they’re up by the down harbor docks and stuff,” the town’s shellfish constable Paul Bagnall said.
“We’re happy to be oystering in Sengie and now we have a scallop extension so we can keep 10 to 15 guys a day busy,” Bagnall said.
The market for oysters doesn’t come close to the price for scallops. A bushel of oysters will fetch $125, Bagnall estimated, while a bushel of scallops can get up to $280.
“These scallops weren’t available for harvest a month ago,” Bagnall said. “They were underneath a coat of slime which comes off when the water gets up above 45 degrees. So spring has sprung and we’re getting close to that.”