Madaket Seed Move: 2023 Update
July 2022: Natural Resources Hatchery Team identified a large amount of scallop seed in the middle of Madaket Harbor
April 2022: NSA and local scallopers moved 1,100 bushels of scallop seed throughout NMadaket Harbor [Read the report HERE]
Summer 2022: NSA and NRD monitored all relocation sites to measure growth and recruitment [Read the update HERE]
Fall & Winter 2022-23:
Was it successful? We say YES! The seed in the middle of Madaket Harbor that was thinned out grew to adult size and supported a productive commercial season in Madaket. The seed that was moved to new locations proved to increase spawning potential and recruitment throughout the harbor. Keep reading to learn more…
Commercial Scalloping:
From a commercial fishing perspective, Madaket Harbor was more bountiful than any year in recent history. On a beautiful day in December, we tagged along with Bob and Ray DeCosta for a day of fishing. Just before 7am, the sky was shades of pink and purple and six boats slowly set their dredges. Within a few hours, we all filled our totes and returned to the docks. Most winter mornings in Madaket there are only two or three boats heading out, but this year enough of the scallop seed had grown to adult size to support more members of our fishery. In the new year, some scallopers faced uphill battles with distribution [Read more here] and some moved over to Nantucket Harbor. But overall, it was a busier scalloping season in Madaket than we have seen in some time!
Interestingly, the best fishing was found in the original location in the harbor where we moved scallop seed away from. Of the intended goals of the seed management project, it was successful to thin the quantity of seed in that area to allow them to grow and thrive, with less competition for resources over the summer. As for the locations that we moved scallop seed to, those areas were not successful at supporting growth of seed into adulthood. What they did offer was increased recruitment, which leads us to….
Hatchery Data:
The team at the Brant Point Hatchery regularly monitors locations to measure recruitment. What that looks like is placing special mesh bags in the harbor to see how much scallop spat is collected. Spat = scallops in the larval stage aka baby scallops. In 2022, they saw between 200-300% increases in scallop spat throughout Madaket Harbor!
