April 11, 2024 — The 2024/2025 Atlantic sea scallop fishery season began on April 1, 2024. This fishery extends from the Mid-Atlantic region to the U.S.-Canadian border. The New England Fishery Management Council approved Framework Adjustment 38 in December, forecasting a catch of 27.4 million pounds of Atlantic sea scallops for the season. On March 22, 2024, NOAA issued the final rule in the Federal Register, effective from the season’s start. Per NOAA Fisheries, for the initial 60 days of the fishing year, vessels with limited access can utilize their remaining 2023 scallop allocation from the access area. These fishing trips must start by May 30, 2024. After this date, any unutilized 2023 access area allocations will become void.
Harvest projections of 27.4 million pounds marked a 2.4 million pound increase from the previous year. Contributing to the management actions of the first quota increase since 2019, the increase is a result, in part, of findings reported by the NEFMC that the scallop resource is not overfished and overfishing is not occurring, with most of the biomass currently concentrated on Georges Bank. Despite the increase, NEFMC also reported the Mid-Atlantic has experienced below average recruitment of incoming scallops since 2013. Scientists have also expressed concern that warmer water temperatures and other environmental changes are contributing to scallop mortality, especially at the southern extent of the range near Virginia/North Carolina.