PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Fishing regulators are getting ready to discuss ways to better manage the East Coast scallop fishery to avoid more conflicts between small- and big-boat fishermen.
The New England Fishery Management Council is holding a meeting on the subject on Tuesday. Small boats have been in conflict with big boats in the northern Gulf of Maine in recent months.
Government fishing regulators use different rules for the small- and big-boat fisheries, though they work some of the same areas. Some fishermen in the small-boat fishery say the rules allow bigger boats to over-exploit the scallops, which are the subject of one of the most valuable fisheries in America.
Federal regulators shut down the northern Gulf of Maine last month amid the conflict.
Tuesday’s meeting is taking place in Mystic, Connecticut.
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