DV-20-02 A tagging study to understand sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) growth and movement in the Lower Penobscot Bay rotational management area

Phoebe Jekielek
Hurricane Island Center for Science and Leadership

Amber Lisi
UMass Dartmouth

 The sea scallop industry is the third most lucrative marine fishery in the United States and ranked sixth in value in Maine. Management guidelines currently assume that scallops do not move between state and federal management areas. However, recent studies have shown that size-dependent movement does occur.

Building upon these findings, investigators will enhance the knowledge of scallop movement and growth rates in an effort to assess local, wild scallop population densities. Researchers will tag wild scallops (half of them sublegal and half harvestable) in the currently closed “Lower Penobscot Bay” rotational management area near Hurricane Island. After about 1.5 years, researchers will recapture tagged scallops and measure shell growth and distance travelled to determine whether there are size- or area-dependent patterns in scallop movement. Findings may inform management practices with enhanced stock assessments, identify factors that might influence the resiliency of the scallop fishery and engage local communities, harvesters, state resource managers, and the scientific community.

 Sea Grant Funds $4000