Update: The Gulf of Maine’s scallop fishery was closed Friday. Read the story here.

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Fishermen are likely to be restricted from hauling scallops from federal waters in the Gulf of Maine for several weeks because regulators have delayed finalizing annual catch limits.

The temporary closure, expected in the next five days, would mark the first time the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has shut down the regional fishery midseason since the regulations were put into place 16 years ago. Those who dive for scallops near Maine’s coast are unaffected; federal waters begin 3 miles offshore.

NOAA typically passes annual rules by April 1, when the federal scalloping season kicks off. But without them, there is a stopgap measure in place that permits a limited amount of fishing. That limit has almost been reached.

Members of Maine’s fishing community say regulators at NOAA Fisheries have been challenged by the transition to a new presidential administration, a typical problem, and the federal staffing cutbacks that are part of President Donald Trump’s initiative to slash government spending.

The uncertainty has put Maine’s scallopers — a vast majority of whom travel to Gloucester, Massachusetts, to fish — on edge in what is already a short and demanding season.

“That lack of stability, that big question mark about what’s going to be happening over the next chunk of weeks of your life, can be really hard on a family and on a business,” said Ben Martens, executive director of the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association.

Alex Todd, a Chebeague Island fisherman who has scalloped near Massachusetts for 20 years, said stress is spreading among his peers from New Jersey to Maine who put their lives on hold and traveled to Massachusetts to fish in the Gulf of Maine.

“Everything is always unpredictable, but this is completely impossible to predict. And everybody is angry that we don’t have a good handle on when this could end,” Todd said from the house he rents each season, like most scallopers do.

NOT YET A ‘YES’ TO THE PROPOSAL

NOAA established a new management area called the Northern Gulf of Maine in 2008. Since then, regulators have determined an annual limit, based on population assessments, of how many scallops can be caught in that area.

In 2023, all scallopers fishing in the Northern Gulf of Maine — a region spanning from Boston to the Canadian border — were allowed to catch 380,855 pounds of scallops. In 2024, that number jumped to 420,598 pounds.

The New England Fishery Management Council, which submits recommendations each December, is proposing to allow scallop fishermen to catch up to 675,563 pounds in 2025.

But the council doesn’t have final say. The recommendations must be approved by the NOAA Fisheries regional office in New England and then finalized by the agency’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.

With no finalized rules in place, fisheries enter a period called default, with a stopgap measure that kicks smaller, temporary quotas into place to prevent potential overfishing — even if NOAA ends up adopting the originally proposed rules.

DELAYED TO DEFAULT

NOAA declined to comment about an expected closure. “Per long-standing practice, we are not discussing internal personnel and management matters, nor do we do speculative interviews,” a spokesperson said.

But a shutdown is imminent, said Martens of the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association.

The default quota allows fishermen to collectively catch 315,449 pounds of scallops. Federal data shows 229,000 pounds had been caught as of Monday, an average 32,714 pounds per day.

This predicament isn’t unique to scalloping. The groundfish fisheries might not even open by May 1, the start of the season.

There is usually slowdown across federal agencies while there is a transition to a new presidential administration. But NOAA has also dealt with “staffing issues” in recent months, Martens said.

“We have lost some people … in the New England office who worked really hard on scalloping and provided a lot of capacity for our fishermen,” he said.

The federal government hasn’t formally announced layoffs targeted at NOAA Fisheries, unlike the agency’s weather division.

But publications have reported layoffs at sites across New England. According to the New Bedford Light, at least 20 employees were laid off from NOAA Fisheries offices in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee was also terminated because it “fulfilled” its “purposes.”

DECIDING WHETHER TO WAIT OUT THE STORM

Now, scallopers are trying to make tough decisions without much information.

Do they wait it out, hoping that the fishery quickly reopens? Do they cut their losses and head back home, some returning to Maine for lobstering season? Do they keep their boats down south just in case?

It’d be a lot easier to pack up and go home if they were leaving behind a mediocre season. But in just the first nine days, fishermen have raked in around $40 a pound for large scallops, which are currently the most abundant in the Gulf of Maine. In recent years, fishermen have received around $20 for large scallops.

“I would hate to even miss one day at this point. If I leave with any quota left on the table, that would definitely sting,” said Joshua Todd, Alex Todd’s son.

But if they choose to stay, they leave behind daily lives, other businesses and their families.

“It’s really hard to plan, whether it’s around your family or a house to rent, or your boat,” said Monique Coombs, the wife of a scalloper and the director of community programs at the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association. “That type of uncertainty can cause a lot of stress, and making the wrong decision could potentially cost some of these guys money.”

And there are a few complications making preparation and decision-making even harder. The fishery wouldn’t close until days after fishermen surpass the default quota. Will there be enough quota left to make waiting — and renting a house, leaving behind other fishing gigs, renting dock space for boats — worth it? What kind of timeline would make paying those costs and neglecting other business opportunities worth it?

Federal scalloping also intersects with the start of Maine’s lobstering season. That season begins in May, but takes a great deal of preparation — getting boats in the water, assembling gear and doing routine boat maintenance — that can stretch to April.

So how should fishermen sort through the priorities?

Joshua Todd, who also lobsters, has no clue. He’ll lean on his new license to fish in Massachusetts-state waters while he makes up his mind.

“But state fishing is not the same, it’s a real grind,” he said.

Alex Todd is willing to wait. He prefers scalloping. But by the end of the month, snowbirds will return to Massachusetts with their boats. Todd said he and other fishermen will likely lose their dock space and house rentals.

Martens said NOAA Fisheries’ New England skeleton crew is doing all it can to move the process along.

The mystery now, though, is how fast things are moving at NOAA headquarters in D.C.

“The way I’ve been describing it to our fishermen is that once it hits down in headquarters, it’s a black box,” he said.

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