US fishing regulators tighten scallop harvest rules for 2026-2027

Federal fisheries managers are reducing the number of days commercial scallop boats can fish and adjusting where fishing is allowed in order to protect young scallops and prevent overfishing. This means fewer scallops will be caught each year, which makes the remaining scallop stock larger and more productive over time — but also reduces income for fishing crews and boat operators in the short term.

Scallop fisheries have a history of boom-and-bust cycles where short-term profit pushes boats to catch too much, collapsing the population. These periodic tightening adjustments are how regulators try to prevent that collapse — but the pattern shows the underlying incentive structure hasn't changed: boats still profit from catching as much as possible, and rules have to get tighter to compensate.