Proposed Rule2025-23875
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Amendment 21 to the Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Fishery Management Plan
Primary source
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Published
December 29, 2025
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS announces that the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council has submitted Amendment 21 to the Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Fishery Management Plan for review and approval by the Secretary of Commerce. We are requesting comments from the public on the amendment. Amendment 21, also known as the Species Separation Requirements Amendment, would allow both surfclams and ocean quahogs to be landed on the same fishing trip. To ensure accurate accounting for the catch, the amendment would also implement additional monitoring and reporting requirements, both at sea and at the dealer where the mixed catch would be sorted.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 245 (Monday, December 29, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 245 (Monday, December 29, 2025)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 60604-60605]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-23875]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[RTID 0648-XF387]
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Amendment 21 to the
Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Fishery Management Plan
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability of proposed fishery management plan
amendment; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management
Council has submitted Amendment 21 to the Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean
Quahog Fishery Management Plan for review and approval by the Secretary
of Commerce. We are requesting comments from the public on the
amendment. Amendment 21, also known as the Species Separation
Requirements Amendment, would allow both surfclams and ocean quahogs to
be landed on the same fishing trip. To ensure accurate accounting for
the catch, the amendment would also implement additional monitoring and
reporting requirements, both at sea and at the dealer where the mixed
catch would be sorted.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before February 27, 2026.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by
NOAA-NMFS-2025-1197, by any of the following methods:
<bullet> Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> and enter NOAA-NMFS-2025-1197 in the Search box.
Click the ``Comment'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or
attach your comments.
<bullet> Mail: Submit written comments to Michael Pentony, Regional
Administrator, NMFS, Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, 55
Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside of the
envelope: ``Comments on Surfclam/Ocean Quahog Amendment 21.''
Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period,
may not be considered by NMFS. All comments received are a part of the
public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on
<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily
by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous
comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain
anonymous).
Copies of Amendment 21, including the draft Environmental
Assessment (EA), are available on request from the Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council, 800 North State Street, Suite 201, Dover, DE 19901.
These documents are also accessible via the internet at <a href="https://www.mafmc.org">https://www.mafmc.org</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Douglas Potts, Fishery Policy Analyst,
978-281-9341.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We are soliciting public comments on
Amendment 21, also known as the Species Separation Requirements
Amendment, and its incorporated documents through the end of the
comment period stated in this notice of availability. All comments
received by February 27, 2026, will be considered in the approval/
disapproval decision on the amendment. To be considered, comments must
be received by close of business on the last day of the comment period.
Comments received after that date will not be considered in the
decision to approve or disapprove Amendment 21, including those
postmarked or otherwise transmitted by the last day of the comment
period. If the amendment is approved, a proposed rule would be
published in the Federal Register at a later date with an opportunity
for public comment on the specific regulatory changes being proposed.
The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council developed this
amendment at the request of members of the commercial surfclam fishing
industry who were increasingly encountering a mix of surfclams and
ocean quahogs on the same fishing trip. When the Council adopted an
Individual Transferable Quota (ITQ) management system for the surfclam
and ocean quahog fisheries in 1990, regulations were adopted that
prohibited landing both species on the same trip. This provision
simplified enforcement of the new ITQ system and had minimal impact on
the fishery as the two species were geographically separated. Surfclams
were predominantly found in shallower water and ocean quahogs occupied
deeper waters farther offshore. As ocean bottom
[[Page 60605]]
temperatures have risen, the surfclam population has progressively
shifted offshore and into deeper water. Juvenile surfclams have
increasingly settled on, and grown to maturity on top of, existing beds
of the much longer-lived ocean quahogs. Because of the high volume and
industrial nature of this fishery, it is impractical to thoroughly sort
the catch on board the vessel. As a result, the industry asserts that
it has been effectively unable to fish in a sizable and growing area.
The measures approved by the Council in Amendment 21 would allow
vessels to land both surfclams and ocean quahogs on the same fishing
trip. The landed catch would be sorted after it arrives at the dealer's
processing facility. To ensure accurate accounting for catch, including
landings and discards of both species under the ITQ system, Amendment
21 calls for the creation of a new monitoring program within dealer
processing facilities. It also calls for additional at-sea observer
coverage up to an initial target coverage of 5 percent of all clam
dredge fishing trips. The additional monitoring would be funded by the
industry through cost recovery. The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act authorizes the government to collect a
fee to recover the actual costs directly related to management, data
collection, and enforcement of any limited access privilege program,
such as the surfclam and ocean quahog ITQ program. This fee cannot
exceed three percent of the ex-vessel value of the fish harvested under
the program.
Additional details of the proposed measures are available in the
amendment document. Specific regulatory changes to implement this
amendment, if approved, would be detailed in a future proposed rule
that would include an additional opportunity for public comment.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: December 22, 2025.
Michael P. Ruccio,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2025-23875 Filed 12-23-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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