NOAA Fisheries Announces Closure of the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area

Effective 0001 hr May 6

NOAA Fisheries is closing the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area to all federally permitted limited access general category scallop vessels effective 0001 hr, on May 6, 2021.

As of May 6, 2021, no scallop vessel fishing under federal scallop regulations may fish for, possess, or land scallops in or from the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area. The scallop regulations require that we close this area once we project that 100 percent of the 2021 default total allowable catch for this area will be taken. The closure will be in effect until the end of the fishing year, March 31, 2022.

Framework Adjustment 33 to the Scallop FMP is currently under review and will implement a 2021 NGOM LAGC TAC of 119,222 lb when finalized. Because the Framework Adjustment 32 default TAC will be harvested by May, 6, a closure is required before Framework Adjustment 33 is finalized. After Framework Adjustment 33 is in place, the difference between the 2021 NGOM LAGC final catch and the Framework Adjustment 33 TAC will be deducted pound-for-pound from a future fishing year.

If you have declared a trip into the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area using the correct Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) code and have crossed the VMS demarcation line before 0001 hr, May 6, 2021, you may complete the trip and retain and land scallops caught from the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area.

Exemption for Maine and Massachusetts Vessels Fishing Exclusively in State Waters

If you have a valid Maine or Massachusetts state scallop permit, you may continue to fish in Maine or Massachusetts state waters within the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area under the State Waters Exemption program. If you are fishing under an Individual Fishing Quota scallop permit (Limited Access General Category A), any pounds landed under a state waters only trip will still be deducted from the vessel’s allocation. 

Exemption for Limited Access Vessels Fishing Compensation Trips Under the Scallop Research Set-Aside Program

This closure does not affect the Limited Access fleet that was allocated a separate Total Allowable Catch of 97,500 lb for the 2021 fishing year under Framework 32 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan. The Limited Access Total Allowable Catch will be harvested by vessels that are participating in the 2021 scallop Research Set-Aside Program.

More Information

Read the notice as filed in the Federal Register and the permit holder bulletin.

Questions?

Fishermen: Contact Louis Forristall, Sustainable Fisheries Division, 978-281-9321

Media: Contact Allison Ferreira, Regional Office, 978-281-9103