Rule2026-07187
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery; 2026 Closure of the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area to the Limited Access General Category Fishery
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
April 14, 2026
Effective
April 13, 2026
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS announces the closure of the Northern Gulf of Maine (NGOM) Scallop Management Area for the remainder of the 2026 fishing year for Limited Access General Category (LAGC) vessels. Regulations require this action once NMFS projects that 100 percent of the Northern Gulf of Maine Set-Aside will be harvested. This action is intended to prevent the overharvest of the 2026 Northern Gulf of Maine Set-Aside.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 71 (Tuesday, April 14, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 71 (Tuesday, April 14, 2026)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 19079-19080]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-07187]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[RTID 0648-XF623; Docket No. 240314-0080]
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Sea Scallop
Fishery; 2026 Closure of the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management
Area to the Limited Access General Category Fishery
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; closure.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the closure of the Northern Gulf of Maine
(NGOM) Scallop Management Area for the remainder of the 2026 fishing
year for Limited Access General Category (LAGC) vessels. Regulations
require this action once NMFS projects that 100 percent of the Northern
Gulf of Maine Set-Aside will be harvested. This action is intended to
prevent the overharvest of the 2026 Northern Gulf of Maine Set-Aside.
DATES: Effective 0001 hours local time, April 13, 2026, through March
31, 2027.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ashley Trudeau, Fishery Resource
Management Specialist, (978) 281-9252.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The regulations governing fishing activity
in the NGOM Scallop Management Area are located at 50 CFR 648.54 and
648.62. These regulations authorize vessels issued a valid Federal
scallop permit to fish in the NGOM Scallop Management Area under
specific conditions, including the NGOM Set-Aside for the 2026 fishing
year, and a State Waters Exemption Program for the State of Maine and
Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Section 648.62(b)(2) requires the NGOM
Scallop Management Area to be closed to scallop vessels issued Federal
LAGC scallop permits, except as provided below, for the remainder of
the fishing year once the NMFS Greater Atlantic Regional Administrator
determines that 100 percent of the NGOM Set-Aside is projected to be
harvested. Any vessel that holds a Federal NGOM (LAGC B) or Individual
Fishing Quota (LAGC A) permit may continue to fish in the Maine or
Massachusetts state waters portion of the NGOM Scallop Management Area
under the State Waters Exemption Program found in Sec. 648.54 provided
it has a valid Maine or Massachusetts state scallop permit and fishes
only in that state's respective waters.
Based on trip declarations by federally permitted LAGC scallop
vessels fishing in the NGOM Scallop Management Area and analysis of
fishing effort, we project that the 2026 NGOM Set-Aside will be
harvested as of April 13, 2026. Therefore, in accordance with Sec.
648.62(b)(2), the NGOM Scallop Management Area is closed to all
federally permitted LAGC scallop vessels as of April 13, 2026. As of
this date, no vessel issued a Federal LAGC scallop permit may fish for,
possess, or land scallops in or from the NGOM Scallop Management Area
after 0001 hours local time, April 13, 2026, unless the vessel is
fishing exclusively in state waters and is participating in an approved
state waters exemption program as specified in Sec. 648.54. Any
federally permitted LAGC scallop vessel
[[Page 19080]]
that has declared into the NGOM Scallop Management Area, complied with
all trip notification and observer requirements, and crossed the vessel
monitoring system demarcation line on the way to the area before 0001
hours, April 13, 2026, may complete its trip and land scallops. This
closure is in effect until the end of the 2026 scallop fishing year,
through March 31, 2027.
Classification
This action is required by 50 CFR part 648 and is exempt from
review under Executive Order 12866.
The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, finds good cause
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to waive prior notice and the
opportunity for public comment because it would be contrary to the
public interest and impracticable. NMFS also finds, pursuant to 5 U.S.C
553(d)(3), good cause to waive the 30-day delayed effectiveness period
for the reasons noted below. The NGOM Scallop Management Area opened
for the 2026 fishing year on April 1, 2026, under specifications
implemented under Framework Adjustment 40 (91 FR 14782, March 27,
2026). The regulations at Sec. 648.60(b)(2) require this closure to
ensure that federally permitted scallop vessels do not harvest more
than the allocated NGOM Set-Aside. NMFS can only make projections for
the NGOM closure date as trips into the area occur on a real-time basis
and as activity trends appear. As a result, NMFS can typically make an
accurate projection only shortly before the set-aside is harvested. The
rapid harvest rate that has occurred in the last 7 days makes it more
difficult to project a closure well in advance. To allow federally
permitted LAGC scallop vessels to continue taking trips in the NGOM
Scallop Management Area during the period necessary to publish and
receive comments on a proposed rule would result in vessels harvesting
more than the 2026 NGOM Set-Aside for the NGOM Scallop Management Area.
This would result in excessive fishing effort in the area, thereby
undermining conservation objectives of the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery
Management Plan and requiring more restrictive future management
measures to make up for the excessive harvest.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: April 10, 2026.
David R. Blankinship,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2026-07187 Filed 4-13-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on April 14, 2026.
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