§648.62. Northern Gulf of Maine (NGOM) Management Program.
50 C.F.R. § 648.62
The NGOM scallop management area is the area north of 42°20′ N lat. and within the boundaries of the Gulf of Maine Scallop Dredge Exemption Area as specified in § 648.80(h)(3)(i). To fish for or possess scallops in the NGOM scallop management area, a vessel must have been issued a scallop permit as specified in § 648.4(a)(2).
A vessel fishing under a NGOM scallop permit may only fish for scallops in the NGOM scallop management area.
Scallop landings by vessels issued NGOM permits shall be deducted from the NGOM Set-Aside, as defined in § 648.53(a)(8)(iii), and specified in paragraph (b)(1) of this section, when vessels fished all or part of a trip in the Federal waters portion of the NGOM. If a vessel with a NGOM scallop permit fishes exclusively in state waters within the NGOM, scallop landings from those trips will not be deducted from the NGOM Set-Aside.
Scallop landings by all vessels issued LAGC IFQ scallop permits and fishing in the NGOM scallop management area against the NGOM Set-Aside, as defined in § 648.53(a)(8)(iii), shall be deducted from NGOM Set-Aside specified in paragraph (b)(1) of this section. Scallop landings by LAGC IFQ scallop vessels fishing in the NGOM scallop management area shall be deducted from their respective scallop IFQs. Landings by vessels with incidental permits shall not be deducted from the NGOM total allowable catch specified in paragraph (b) of this section.
A vessel issued a NGOM scallop permit may possess scallops outside the NGOM management unit if all fishing gear is stowed and not available for immediate use as defined in § 648.2.
Scallop landings by all vessels issued scallop permits and fishing in the NGOM under the scallop RSA program (as specified in § 648.56) shall be deducted from the overall RSA allocation.
NGOM Scallop Fishery landings limits.
The following landings limits will be effective for the NGOM for the 2026 and 2027 fishing years.
Unless a vessel has fished for scallops outside of the NGOM scallop management area and is transiting the NGOM scallop management area with all fishing gear stowed and not available for immediate use as defined in § 648.2, no vessel issued an LAGC scallop permit pursuant to § 648.4(a)(2) may possess, retain, or land scallops in the NGOM scallop management area once the Regional Administrator has provided notification in the Federal Register that the NGOM Set-Aside in accordance with paragraph (b)(1) of this section has been reached, unless the vessel is participating in the scallop RSA program as specified in § 648.56 and has been allocated NGOM RSA pounds. Once the NGOM Set-Aside is reached, a vessel issued a NGOM permit may no longer declare a state-only NGOM scallop trip and fish for scallops exclusively in state waters within the NGOM, unless participating in the state waters exemption program as specified in § 648.54. A vessel that has not been issued a Federal scallop permit that fishes exclusively in state waters is not subject to the closure of the NGOM scallop management area.
If the NGOM Set-Aside is exceeded, the amount of NGOM scallop landings in excess of the NGOM Set-Aside specified in paragraph (b)(1) of this section shall be deducted from the NGOM Set-Aside for the subsequent fishing year, or, as soon as practicable, once scallop landings data for the NGOM management area is available.
VMS requirements. Except scallop vessels issued a Federal scallop permit pursuant to § 648.4(a)(2)(i) that have declared a NGOM trip under the scallop RSA program, a vessel issued a scallop permit pursuant to § 648.4(a)(2) that intends to fish for scallops in the NGOM scallop management area or fishes for, possesses, or lands scallops in or from the NGOM scallop management area, must declare a NGOM scallop management area trip and report scallop catch through the vessel's VMS unit, as required in § 648.10. If the vessel has a NGOM or IFQ permit, the vessel must declare either a Federal NGOM trip or a state-waters NGOM trip. If a vessel intends to fish any part of a NGOM trip in Federal NGOM waters, it may not declare into the state water NGOM fishery.
Gear restrictions. Except scallop vessels issued a limited access scallop permit pursuant to § 648.4(a)(2)(i) that have properly declared a NGOM trip under the scallop RSA program, the combined dredge width in use by, or in possession on board, LAGC scallop vessels fishing in the NGOM scallop management area may not exceed 10.5 ft (3.2 m), measured at the widest point in the bail of the dredge.
Notes, amendments, and revision history
Amendments
[73 FR 20131, Apr. 14, 2008, as amended at 75 FR 36576, June 28, 2010; 76 FR 43770, 43797, July 21, 2011; 77 FR 20741, Apr. 6, 2012; 78 FR 27108, May 9, 2013; 79 FR 52580, Sept. 4, 2014; 81 FR 26786, May 4, 2016; 81 FR 76529, Nov. 3, 2016; 82 FR 15163, Mar. 27, 2017; 83 FR 12862, Mar. 26, 2018; 84 FR 11445, Apr. 1, 2019; 85 FR 2324, Jan. 15, 2020; 85 FR 17766, Mar. 31, 2020; 86 FR 27051, May 19, 2021; 87 FR 18287, Mar. 30, 2022; 88 FR 19569, Apr. 3, 2023; 89 FR 20352, Mar. 22, 2024; 90 FR 16654, Apr. 21, 2025; 91 FR 14789, Mar. 27, 2026]
Source
Source: 69 FR 35215, June 23, 2004, unless otherwise noted.
Authority
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Source
Source: 61 FR 34968, July 3, 1996, unless otherwise noted.
Amendments
[73 FR 20131, Apr. 14, 2008, as amended at 75 FR 36576, June 28, 2010; 76 FR 43770, 43797, July 21, 2011; 77 FR 20741, Apr. 6, 2012; 78 FR 27108, May 9, 2013; 79 FR 52580, Sept. 4, 2014; 81 FR 26786, May 4, 2016; 81 FR 76529, Nov. 3, 2016; 82 FR 15163, Mar. 27, 2017; 83 FR 12862, Mar. 26, 2018; 84 FR 11445, Apr. 1, 2019; 85 FR 2324, Jan. 15, 2020; 85 FR 17766, Mar. 31, 2020; 86 FR 27051, May 19, 2021; 87 FR 18287, Mar. 30, 2022; 88 FR 19569, Apr. 3, 2023; 89 FR 20352, Mar. 22, 2024; 90 FR 16654, Apr. 21, 2025; 91 FR 14789, Mar. 27, 2026]