“Tarrfish,” seen here, is the only fishing vessel that has been moored in Naskeag Harbor recently. The presence of that blue and white flag on her stern and the absence of her scallop-dragging equipment (mast, boom, dredge, and shelling hut) are clues as to why.
The scallop dragging season in Maine waters concluded last month. However, our scallop-diving season continues well into April. All of our local fishing vessels are exclusively scallop draggers in winter – except “Tarrfish.” David Tarr’s “Tarrfish” is both a dragging and a diving vessel. David is one of the state’s relatively few licensed scallop divers. He hand-harvests the more expensive “divers” scallops” while donned in a wetsuit and self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (“scuba” equipment).
That blue and white flag is an international diving flag, which is recognized worldwide as indicating that underwater operations are conducted from the vessel flying it. When the boat is circling in open water with the flag flying, other vessels must give way and keep clear of her. In addition to the international flag, there’s another “diver down” flag that is recognized in North America; it’s red with a white diagonal stripe, but I haven’t seen that used lately.
(Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on April 11, 2025.)