Skip to main content

Eye New Date for Scallop Season

Thu, 09/26/2024 - 13:51
Jon M. Diat

Draft legislation that would move the start of the scallop season here from the third Monday in October to the Sunday after the first Monday in November was floated by Nicholas Coritsidis, an assistant town attorney, at last week’s town board work session. It would take effect in both East Hampton Town and town trustee waters. A public hearing on the proposal will be held at the board’s meeting next Thursday.

While the town board and trustees are empowered by the town code to alter the opening and closing dates of seasons (the town board has jurisdiction over only Lake Montauk in this regard), the bodies typically follow the lead of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, which sets the opening date for state waters. In recent years that date has stabilized, and is usually the first Monday in November.

John Aldred of the trustees said that the third Monday in October was an anachronism in the code that necessitated yearly resolutions from both the town board and the trustees to push the dates back.

“The town typically opens after the state opens their waters,” he said in a phone call. “That used to give the baymen a chance to harvest in state waters without having to worry about losing product in the town waters. Opening town waters on a Sunday then gives people a chance who are hand-harvesting to get the first crack at the season.” Dredging for scallops is prohibited on Sundays.

Last year, the town board didn’t pass a resolution moving the date back to match the state, and harvesting started in Lake Montauk at the end of October, causing confusion.

“It makes sense to change the code,” Mr. Aldred said. “It sets it as the first Sunday after the state’s opening date. In the future, even if the state changes their date, the town will default to opening after.”

Villages

If a Tree Falls In East Hampton, Who Hears It?

A tree once grew in East Hampton. A big tree. A “perfectly healthy tree” that was likely “a couple of lifetimes” old, according to Dave Collins, the East Hampton Village superintendent of public works. Then, a homeowner decided it needed to go and in a spasm of governmental efficiency, it was promptly removed by the state. The tree seems to have fallen victim to a cross-jurisdictional communication gap.

Feb 13, 2025

It’s a Bird Count Weekend

This weekend, as bad weather blows across the East End and you’re staring out the window, why not count the birds that you see at your feeder for the Great Backyard Bird Count?

Feb 13, 2025

A Push for Historic Status in Wainscott

The Wainscott Citizens Advisory Committee voted unanimously to write a letter to the East Hampton Town Board calling for the historic preservation of the entire 30-acre property at 66 Main Street, which the town purchased for $56 million last year with community preservation money.

Feb 13, 2025

 

Your support for The East Hampton Star helps us deliver the news, arts, and community information you need. Whether you are an online subscriber, get the paper in the mail, delivered to your door in Manhattan, or are just passing through, every reader counts. We value you for being part of The Star family.

Your subscription to The Star does more than get you great arts, news, sports, and outdoors stories. It makes everything we do possible.