Unalaska, AK – The Aleutian and Bering Sea scallop fisheries are now closed for the season after two boats harvested the legal limits. The Ocean Hunter and the Arctic Hunter caught 50,000 pounds of shucked scallop meat in the Bering Sea, mostly in August and September. Alaska Department of Fish & Game area management biologist Forrest Bowers said that area of the fishery is remaining strong.

"The Bering Sea fishery has been relatively stable for the last few years but this year's 2008 catch rates were higher than they were in 2007. It's encouraging," he said.

The catch rates in the Aleutian Island area are not as steady because the beds are located sporadically between Akutan and Umnak on both sides of the chain. It had been closed for the past few years and was only reopened this year with a harvest limit of 10,000 pounds. All 10,000 were caught by the Ocean Hunter. Bowers says this indicates that the fishery is going in a positive direction.

"We like to see catch rates in terms of pounds per dredge hour trending up. That's a good sign. We haven't always seen that, particularly in the Aleutians. I think the last time the Aleutians was open we were looking at catch rates that were 20 to 30 pounds per dredge hour. It was nearly double that this year," he noted.

Some of the scallops were sold locally for $8/lb. With a total catch of 60,000 pounds, that means the scallops sold for at least $480,000 total.