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Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside Projects Selected for 2022–2023
Research set-aside programs are unique to Northeast federal fisheries. Grant recipients partner with the fishing industry to conduct research and to harvest their set-aside award, generating funds for the research.
The selected projects focus on research priorities identified by the New England Fishery Management Council, which established the program in 1999. The council sets priorities, and NOAA Fisheries manages the competition and administers the program.
We expect to make final awards later this month.
The selected projects will investigate sea scallop research priorities developed by the council. NOAA Fisheries expects the awards to generate approximately $16.3 million. That includes $3.8 million to fund research, and $12.5 million to compensate industry partners who harvest the set-aside sea scallops. Six different institutions will lead projects, partnering with fishermen, fishing businesses, and non-profit fishery research organizations.
In the Northeast's program, researchers compete for funding through a federal grant competition managed by NOAA Fisheries. No federal funds support the research. Instead, the program awards pounds of sea scallops from amounts “set-aside” annually for this purpose.
To allocate award amounts for 2022-2023, sea scallop price was projected to average $15/pound. One project will be awarded 2023 set-aside pounds. All of the other two-year projects will be awarded 2022 set-aside pounds
Survey Areas for 2022-2023
Areas where RSA sea scallop surveys will occur in the Gulf of Maine in 2022. Credit: New England Fishery Management Council
Areas where RSA sea scallop surveys will occur on Georges Bank and in the Mid-Atlantic in 2022. Credit: New England Fishery Management Council
Areas where RSA sea scallop surveys will occur on Georges Bank and in the Mid-Atlantic in 2023. Credit: New England Fishery Management Council
Examining and Tracking Scallop Aggregations in the Gulf of Maine
Institution: University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, School for Marine Science and Technology
Principal Investigator: Kevin Stokesbury, Ph.D.
Set Aside Year/Award: 2022/67,623 lb ($1,014,342)
High-Resolution Drop-Camera Survey to Track Scallop Recruitment Events in Nantucket Lightship South and Closed Area II Southeast
Institution: University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth/School for Marine Science and Technology
Principal Investigator: Kevin Stokesbury, Ph.D.
Set Aside Year/Award: 2022/19,833 lb ($297,502)
Optical Assessment of Sea Scallop Abundance and Distribution in Select Areas of the Mid-Atlantic and Georges Bank
2 year award
Institution: Coonamessett Farm Foundation, Inc.
Principal Investigators: Tasha O’Hara, Luisa Garcia, Liese Siemann, Ph.D.
Collaborators: Jose Correia, Arnie DeMello, F/V Kathy Marie
Set Aside Year/Award: 2022/215,358 lb ($3,230,366)
Assessment of Sea Scallop Abundance and Distribution for the Nantucket Lightship, Closed Area II, and Southern Flank
2 year award
Institution: Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Principal Investigators: David Rudders, Ph.D., Sally Roman
Set Aside Year/Award: 2022/45,233 lb ($678,501); 2023/47,057 lb ($705,859)
Sea Scallop Growth and Reproduction Research to Support Improved Resource Management
View over the stern of the NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow, exiting the Cape Cod Canal headed east toward Provincetown, Mass. at the beginning of Leg 3 of the 2021 Northeast Fisheries Science Center fall bottom trawl survey. The two bridges spanning the canal are used by trains (background) and vehicle traffic (foreground). Credit: NOAA Fisheries/Katelyn Depot.
The Fishadelphia team. Credit: Dr. Talia Young.
View over the stern of the NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow, exiting the Cape Cod Canal headed east toward Provincetown, Mass. at the beginning of Leg 3 of the 2021 Northeast Fisheries Science Center fall bottom trawl survey. The two bridges spanning the canal are used by trains (background) and vehicle traffic (foreground). Credit: NOAA Fisheries/Katelyn Depot.
Four North Atllantic right whales.
A Northeast Fisheries Science Center biologist collecting data during buoyless lobster trap tests.