Niantic River recreational scallop season canceled due to low population

The Waterford-East Lyme Shellfish Commission decided last week not to sell permits for recreational scalloping this season because the scallop population in the river is low.

Commission Chairman Peter Harris said Tuesday that the commission voted at its Oct. 19 meeting not to open the season this winter after the 2016 season yielded few scallops for people who bought permits to collect them from the Niantic River between Waterford and East Lyme.

“Last year was not that good, and then early indications are that there are not a lot of scallops out there now,” Harris said.

People who have been fishing for clams in the river have not reported seeing many scallops, he said. The commission normally sells permits for recreational scallop fishing for a season that starts in early December and ends in January.

Scallop population and size can vary based on several factors, Harris said, including the amount of eel grass seaweed in the river for young scallops to grow in.

The commission sold scalloping permits in 2015 and 2016 after several years when there weren't enough scallops in the river to justify an official harvest season.

The population jumped in 2015, drawing dozens of people to the river on the season's Dec. 1 opening day.

The commission, which is made up of Waterford and East Lyme residents, blamed heavy rainfall at the time for the fact that they were able to find only a few scallops in the river.

The scallop population in the Niantic River, once a staple in restaurants across the country, has become unpredictable.

The season that began in the winter of 2011 was the first year the commission issued permits in about a decade. The year after that provided a bumper crop, but a shortage in 2013 and 2014 meant no permits were issued.

Skipping a season may allow more scallops to grow to a larger size by next year.

“Obviously they're out there, living and growing up to legal size,” Harris said.

The shellfish commission in Stonington, the other nearby town that issues recreational scalloping permits, voted to open its scallop season from Oct. 9 until March 31, according to meeting minutes.