Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery; 2026 Closure of Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area

Legal Status This site displays a prototype of a “Web 2.0” version of the daily
Federal Register. It is not an official legal edition of the Federal
Register, and does not replace the official print version or the official
electronic version on GPO’s govinfo.gov.

The documents posted on this site are XML renditions of published Federal
Register documents. Each document posted on the site includes a link to the
corresponding official PDF file on govinfo.gov. This prototype edition of the
daily Federal Register on FederalRegister.gov will remain an unofficial
informational resource until the Administrative Committee of the Federal
Register (ACFR) issues a regulation granting it official legal status.
For complete information about, and access to, our official publications
and services, go to About the Federal Register on NARA's archives.gov.

The OFR/GPO partnership is committed to presenting accurate and reliable
regulatory information on FederalRegister.gov with the objective of
establishing the XML-based Federal Register as an ACFR-sanctioned
publication in the future. While every effort has been made to ensure that
the material on FederalRegister.gov is accurately displayed, consistent with
the official SGML-based PDF version on govinfo.gov, those relying on it for
legal research should verify their results against an official edition of
the Federal Register. Until the ACFR grants it official status, the XML
rendition of the daily Federal Register on FederalRegister.gov does not
provide legal notice to the public or judicial notice to the courts.

Legal Status

Rule

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

A Rule by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 04/14/2026

• 1.

1.

• Document Details Published Content - Document Details Agencies Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Agency/Docket Numbers RTID 0648-XF623 Docket No. 240314-0080 CFR 50 CFR 648 Document Citation 91 FR 19079 Document Number 2026-07187 Document Type Rule Pages 19079-19080
  (2 pages) Publication Date 04/14/2026 Published Content - Document Details

• PDF Official Content

  • View printed version (PDF) Official Content

• Document Details Published Content - Document Details Agencies Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Agency/Docket Numbers RTID 0648-XF623 Docket No. 240314-0080 CFR 50 CFR 648 Document Citation 91 FR 19079 Document Number 2026-07187 Document Type Rule Pages 19079-19080
  (2 pages) Publication Date 04/14/2026 Published Content - Document Details

• Document Dates Published Content - Document Dates Effective Date 2026-04-13 Dates Text Effective 0001 hours local time, April 13, 2026, through March 31, 2027. Published Content - Document Dates

• Table of Contents Enhanced Content - Table of Contents This table of contents is a navigational tool, processed from the
  headings within the legal text of Federal Register documents.
  This repetition of headings to form internal navigation links
  has no substantive legal effect.

  • AGENCY:
  • ACTION:
  • SUMMARY:
  • DATES:
  • FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
  • SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
  • Classification Enhanced Content - Table of Contents

• Related Documents Enhanced Content - Related Documents FederalRegister.gov uses the agency dockets published with the document to display related documents.

| Docket No. 240314-0080
(5 Documents) | | | |
| --- | | | |
| Date | | Action | Title |
| | 2026-04-14 | Temporary rule; closure. | 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 |
| | 2025-04-16 | Temporary rule; closure. | Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery; 2025 Closure of the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area to the Limited Access General Category Fishery |
| | 2024-04-24 | Temporary rule; closure. | Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery; 2024 Closure of the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area to the Limited Access General Category Fishery |
| View More Docket Documents | | | |

Enhanced Content - Related Documents

• Public Comments Enhanced Content - Public Comments Comments are no longer being accepted. See DATES for details.

Enhanced Content - Public Comments
- Regulations.gov Data Enhanced Content - Regulations.gov Data Additional information is not currently available for this document.

Enhanced Content - Regulations.gov Data

- Sharing Enhanced Content - Sharing Shorter Document URL https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2026-07187 Email Email this document to a friend Enhanced Content - Sharing

• Print Enhanced Content - Print
  • Print this document Enhanced Content - Print
• Other Formats Enhanced Content - Other Formats This document is also available in the following formats:

JSON Normalized attributes and metadata XML Original full text XML MODS Government Publishing Office metadata More information and documentation can be found in our developer tools pages.

Enhanced Content - Other Formats
- Public Inspection Public Inspection This PDF is FR Doc. 2026-07187 as it appeared on Public Inspection on
04/10/2026 at 4:15 pm.

It was viewed
64
times while on Public Inspection.

If you are using public inspection listings for legal research, you
should verify the contents of the documents against a final, official
edition of the Federal Register. Only official editions of the
Federal Register provide legal notice of publication to the public and judicial notice
to the courts under 44 U.S.C. 1503 & 1507. Learn more here.

Public Inspection
Published Document: 2026-07187 (91 FR 19079) This document has been published in the Federal Register. Use the PDF linked in the document sidebar for the official electronic format.

Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain
the following:

1. the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document
2. the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to
3. the agency docket number / agency internal file number
4. the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details.

Department of Commerce

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

1. 50 CFR Part 648
2. [RTID 0648-XF623; Docket No. 240314-0080]

AGENCY:

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION:

Temporary rule; closure.

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 § 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 § 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 § 648.54. Any federally permitted LAGC scallop vessel ( printed 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 § 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

Published Document: 2026-07187 (91 FR 19079)