Saving Seafood

Fishing Year 2021 Management Measures for the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery

May 18, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries announces final management measures for the Atlantic Sea Scallop fishery for the 2021 fishing year (April 1, 2021 – March 31, 2022). The landings for fishing year 2021 are projected to be lower than 2020.

Framework 33:

  • Sets management measures for the scallop fishery for the 2021 fishing year, including the annual catch limits for the limited access and limited access general category (LAGC) fleets, as well as days-at-sea allocations and sea scallop access area trip allocations.
  • Implements specifications that would result in a reduction in projected landings compared to fishing year 2020 (40.0 million pounds for fishing year 2021 compared to 51.6 million pounds for fishing year 2020). This is due primarily to a decrease in harvestable biomass and a lack of significant recruitment in recent years.
  • Maintains the existing seasonal closure in Closed Area II (August 15 – November 30) to reduce bycatch of Georges Bank yellowtail flounder and northern windowpane flounder.
  • Closes the Closed Area II-East Closed Area to fishing to protect small scallops and reduce bycatch of flatfish.

Read the final rule as filed in the Federal Register, and the permit holder bulletins (Limited Access and LAGC) posted on our website.

Questions?

Fishermen: Contact Travis Ford, Sustainable Fisheries, 978-281-9233

Media: Contact Allison Ferreira, Regional Office, 978-281-9103

Atlantic scallop haul tops 60 million pounds

May 24, 2019 — The valuable 13-month Atlantic sea scallop 2018 fishing year wrapped up on March 31, with prices strong for final landings. While final data is not yet available, preliminary NOAA estimates for fishing year 2018 show 60.1 million pounds landed.

“This is 107 percent of the projected landings for fishing year 2018, but that does not represent an overage of any type,” said Travis Ford, NOAA’s sea scallops fishery manager.

“At the beginning of the year, the price took a bit of a dive because of the influx of product, but ended up leveling out later in the year,” said Ford.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

NOAA Fisheries Proposes Management Measures for the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery 2019 Fishing Year

February 20, 2019 — The following was released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration:

Today, NOAA Fisheries published the proposed rule to set management measures for the Atlantic Sea Scallop fishery for the 2019 fishing year (April 1, 2019 – March 31, 2020). Framework 30 would:

  • Set specifications for the scallop fishery for fishing year 2019, including days-at-sea (DAS) allocations, individual fishing quotas (IFQs), and sea scallop access area trip allocations. These allocations would be similar to those set in the 2018 fishing year. This action would also set precautionary default 2020 specifications, in case we implement the next framework after the April 1, 2020 start of the 2020 fishing year;
  • Allocate effort into three rotational access areas (Mid-Atlantic, Nantucket Lightship-West, and Closed Area 1). Scallop landings allocated to Closed Area 1 would be “flexible” and could be landed from any available access area;
  • Set a 205,000 lb Northern Gulf of Maine total allowable catch (TAC) for 2019 that would be split as 137,500 lb for the limited access general category (LAGC) and 67,500 lb for the limited access fleet;
  • Standardize default specifications for limited access DAS and LAGC IFQ allocations; and
  • Standardize the approach used to set the number of access area trips available to the LAGC IFQ fleet.

To get all the details on these proposed modifications, read the proposed rule as published in the Federal Register today.

We are accepting comments through March 7, 2019.

Please submit comments either through the online e-rulemaking portal or by mailing your comments to:

Michael Pentony, Regional Administrator
National Marine Fisheries Service
55 Great Republic Drive
Gloucester, MA, 01930.

Please mark the outside of the envelope, “Comments on the Proposed Rule for Scallop Framework 30.”

Questions?
Fishermen: Contact Travis Ford at 978-281-9233
Media: Contact Allison Ferreira at 978-281-9103 or at