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

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

NMFS announces the closure of the Northern Gulf of Maine (NGOM) ( printed page 15939) Scallop Management Area for the remainder of the 2025 fishing year. After reviewing final harvest information, the area may be reopened by Framework 39, if approved, for Limited Access General Category vessels. Subject to specific enumerated exceptions, possession, retention, or landing of scallops is prohibited in the NGOM Scallop Management Area once the Regional Administrator publishes a notification in the Federal Register that the NGOM Set-Aside has been reached. This action is intended to prevent the overharvest of the 2025 NGOM Set-Aside.

Effective 1800 hour local time, April 16, 2025, through March 31, 2026.