Congressman Barney Frank
Representing Massachusetts' 4th District

PRESS RELEASE

Frank Urges Reconsideration of Scallop Proposal
November 19, 2008

Congressman Barney Frank yesterday urged the nation’s top fishery official to reconsider a proposal that will likely lead to significant harvest reductions in the Atlantic sea scallop fishery.   In a letter to James Balsiger, Acting Administrator of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Frank objected to the fact that the proposal was based on NMFS concerns about the accidental taking of sea turtles by scallop fishermen, despite the fact that the agency’s own data indicates that scallop fishing poses no serious threat to the long-term health of turtle populations.

The Congressman states in the letter that the proposed changes “will not only have a negative financial impact on the industry and on fishing communities, including the greater New Bedford area, they also raise safety and conservation concerns.”  The proposal calls for reducing scallop fishing during the warmer months – when turtles are more likely to be in fishing grounds -- a change that would shift more scalloping to cold weather months.  In addition to the less safe conditions in colder weather, scallops also tend to be smaller then, meaning that more would need to be caught in order to reach relevant weight limits.

A copy of the letter can be accessed here.