Shellfish Board Seeks Early Bushel Limit Authority

Other Committee · Meeting of October 20, 2026

NANTUCKET — The Nantucket Harbor and Shellfish Advisory Board agreed to seek Select Board authority to adjust the commercial scallop bushel limit without returning for a separate hearing. Natural Resources Department staffer Tara reported adult scallop density at 1.47 per square meter, just under the 1.5 threshold used to trigger a limit discussion, up from 0.96 last year. The board plans to bring the request to the Select Board's November 4 meeting, aiming to decide after gathering a week or two of fleet data rather than before the season.

Fisherman Mr. Logan argued unharvested scallops represent "food waste, environmental waste, economic waste," while another fisherman warned that raising limits too fast could let dealers lower the price paid per pound. The board also voted unanimously to send the Select Board a letter recommending shellfish regulation amendments and heard that a multi-day fuel outage at the Boat Basin left commercial boats without fuel this fall.

In the full story:

• Natural Resources Department Report
• Old Business: Shellfish Regulations and Draft Minutes
• Great Harbor Yacht Club Fuel Access
• Harbor Plan and Chapter 91 License Enforcement
• Ware's Point Oyster Farm Proposal
• Benthic Survey Data and Commercial Bushel Limit
• Scallop App and Weather Station Update
• New Business and Public Comment: Warrant Articles and Cold-Weather Regulation
• Shellfish Management Plan Update
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 2,831 words

Source: the Other Committee meeting of October 20, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript. It was corrected where it differed.