Scallop fishing rules challenged> Portion of Georges Bank to open

WASHINGTON — Frustrated environmentalists are pressing for a meeting with Commerce Secretary William Daley, who has directed that a key fishing area off New England be opened to scallopers sooner than expected.

“This is more than just a short-term jobs issue for scallopers,” said Doug Hopkins, a lawyer with the Environmental Defense Fund, one of the groups that requested the meeting.

“This is of long-term importance to the entire fishing industry in New England and the marine ecosystem,” said Hopkins, who is also a member of the New England Fishery Management Council.

The regional council is meeting in New London, Conn., this week and is expected to discuss scallop restrictions on Thursday.

Environmentalists said they are not necessarily opposed to opening some fishing areas that are now closed to scallopers. The regional council had been working on a plan to allow some modest access by July.

But Daley interrupted the process on Tuesday, when he directed the National Marine Fisheries Service to help the council develop a plan to open portions of Area II, one of three areas in Georges Bank closed to scallopers, by June 15.

Area II is approximately 2,642 square miles and is situated near the U.S.-Canadian border. The three closed areas total more than 6,500 square miles.

The opening of Area II could help ease the impact on scallopers of separate restrictions — reducing the number of fishing days from 142 to 120 — that are to take effect Monday. In 2000, scallopers will be limited to just 75 days at sea.

Daley will have to approve the final plan before it goes into effect.

“The good news is that the openings will provide some relief to scallop fishermen,” said Andy Rosenberg, deputy director of the National Marine Fisheries Service. “But we’re also trying to be responsible. Some areas will remain closed and the fewer days at sea will help.”

Environmentalists, meanwhile, are hoping to spur a public awareness campaign that will relieve pressure on the council so it can decide, at its own pace, when and where to allow scalloping.

“Our concern is that he’s [Daley’s] been hearing only one side of the story,” said Lee Crockett of the Marine Fish Conservation Network, an environmental coalition. The network also is trying to set up meetings with members of Congress from New England.

“We’re not dead set against letting scallopers fish in that area,” he said. “What we’re really concerned about is this rush to judgment. We’re not doing it in a thoughtful manner. We’re not gathering the right information.”

There is a high concentration of mature scallops in Area II, but environmentalists are worried that the population could be wiped out if fishermen spend most or all of their fishing days in that area.

They are also worried about damaging fragile habitat important for the recovery of other species, including cod.