Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery; Final 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 Scallop Management Area for the remainder of the 2025 fishing year. Regulations require this action once the Northern Gulf of Maine Set-Aside has been reached. Subject to specific enumerated exceptions, possession, retention, or landing of scallops is prohibited in the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area once the Regional Administrator publishes a notice in the Federal Register that the Northern Gulf of Maine Set-Aside has been reached. This action is intended to prevent the overharvest of the 2025 Northern Gulf of Maine Set-Aside.

Effective 0001 hours local time, April 28, 2025 through March 31, 2026.