Effective through March 31, 2022
NOAA Fisheries is closing the Mid-Atlantic Scallop Access Area to all federally permitted limited access general category individual fishing quota (LAGC IFQ) scallop vessels effective 0001 hr, on October 7, 2021.
As of October 7, 2021, no scallop vessel fishing under LAGC IFQ regulations may fish for, possess, or land scallops in or from the Mid-Atlantic Access Area. The scallop regulations require that we close this area once we project that the LAGC fleet has fished all of the 571 trips allocated for this area.
 Vessels that have complied with the observer notification requirements, have declared a trip into the Mid-Atlantic Scallop Access Area using the correct Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) code, and have crossed the VMS demarcation line before 0001 hr, October 7, 2021, may complete their trip and retain and land scallops caught from the Mid-Atlantic Scallop Access Area.
For more details, read the notice as filed in the Federal Register and the permit holder bulletin.
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