Niantic River to see first scallop season in four years
East Lyme — For the first time in four years, there are enough scallops in the Niantic River to open it for harvesting this winter season.
The news has caused a swell of excitement among local scallop-collecting enthusiasts despite beliefs that this year's catch may be low.
“There is a real excitement. It’s just such a big part of the town’s culture for anyone who’s lived here,” said Lewis Bull, an employee of Hillyer’s Tackle Shop, which sits near the edge of the Niantic River in Waterford. “You do get excited. There’s nothing more delicious in the world. You can’t buy any scallop anywhere that compares to the Niantic River scallop. Until you’ve eaten a fresh one you can’t imagine the difference.”
Bull said that since word got out that the Waterford East Lyme Shellfish Commission approved the scallop season last week, numerous scallopers have come to the store to buy new nets after their old ones had rotted from years of not being used, and to swap advice on how to best repair their rusted spotting equipment.
The season, which is open only to non-commercial scallop catchers, will begin Dec. 15 and will last through Jan. 14, 2020. Scallopers must obtain a $35 permit either at the Waterford or East Lyme town halls, or at Hillyer’s Tackle Shop, which is open only on Saturdays in December. Scallopers are allowed to harvest up to two gallons a day from 9 a.m. to sunset.
WELSCO Vice Chairman Pat Kelly said that permits are being printed at Waterford Town Hall and won’t likely be available until Dec. 6.
This will be the third scallop season in the Niantic River since 2011 with a bountiful season in 2015. Before 2011, WELSCO had not issued permits in about a decade. By comparison, Stonington typically allows scallop harvesting every year, Harris said.
The scallop population in the Niantic River, once an “absolutely phenomenal” population for 40 years, according to Bull, has become unpredictable since around the 1980s. The reason for the decline is not entirely clear, Bull said, adding "Everyone has their own theory.”
These range from the amount of rainfall to a lack of eel grass in the river — but he believes surrounding development and water pollution have contributed to the decline.
WELSCO members said Monday that the shorter-than-typical monthlong season is necessary this year because they don't believe there are enough scallops to support more than a month of harvesting.
Chairman Peter Harris said Monday that assumption is based on reports from non-commercial clam catchers who have seen the scallop population in the river. Harris said the clammers’ informal reports also helped the commission decide whether to host a scallop season.
Harris added that because scallops typically have a two-year lifespan, WELSCO members decided it would be worthwhile to collect and enjoy the existing adult scallops this year instead of letting them die.
Scallop catchers are only allowed to take adult scallops from the water, which is determined by a certain growth ring on the scallop shell. Scallops younger than two years of age must be thrown back into the water to allow them to spawn next summer.
Permits are non-refundable.
“We really don’t know how many are going to be there this year,” Harris said. “Hopefully there are enough out there that will satisfy the scallopers that are really interested. Hopefully, we don't get people telling us that there aren't very many."
In 2015, the last year the river was open to scallop collecting, the catch was plentiful. According to a Day report, scallop catchers out on the first day of the season collected their daily limit after only 10 minutes on the river.
Bull, who used to be a member of the commission and still attends every WELSCO meeting, said Monday he thought there would be a total of 1,000 scallops to catch from the river this year, when there are typically 50,000 to 60,000.
He said that may only be enough for 40 two-gallon catches this year, compared to the 300 catches a normal population would yield.
“This year I wouldn’t recommend that the novices get a permit,” he said.
He said that even despite his age and the poor outlook for scallops this season, he still plans to go out to “honor my parents, grandparents and great-grandparents.”
“It’s for old time’s sake,” he said. “I’m going to go. I have a good idea of where they are going to be.”
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