Plan To Try To Fix Scallop Dispute Up For Debate

PORTLAND, Maine - The federal government is taking comments from the public about a plan to try to better manage a piece of the scallop fishery that has been a source of conflict in recent years.
 
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is looking to tweak the scallop fishing rules in the Northern Gulf of Maine. Small-boat fishermen in the area have complained in recent years that they are being squeezed out of the fishery by bigger boats, which operate under a different set of rules.
 
NOAA wants to make the rules more equitable by changing the way it divides the scallop fishing quota in the area, which is one of America's most fertile scalloping grounds.
 
The government is taking comments until March 7. The Atlantic scallop fishing year begins on April 1.