50 CFR § 648.62 - Northern Gulf of Maine (NGOM) Management Program.
(a) 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).
(1) If a vessel has been issued a NGOM scallop permit, the vessel is restricted to fishing for or possessing scallops only in the NGOM scallop management area.
(2) 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.
(3) 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.
(4) [Reserved]
(5) 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.
(b) NGOM Scallop Fishery landings limits.
(1) The following landings limits will be effective for the NGOM for the 2023 and 2024 fishing years.
Table 1 to Paragraph (b)(1)
| Landings limits | 2023 | 2024 1 |
|---|---|---|
| NGOM TAL | 434,311 lb (197,000 kg) | 318,573 (114,502 kg)( 3). |
| 1 percent NGOM ABC for Observers | 10,538 lb (4,780 kg) | 7,932 (3,598 kg)( 3). |
| RSA Contribution | 25,000 lb (11,340 kg) | 25,000 lb (11,340 kg). |
| NGOM Set-Aside 2 | 380,855 lb (172,753 kg) | 285,641 lb (129,565 kg). |
| NGOM APL | ( 4) | ( 4). |
1 The landings limits for the 2024 fishing year are subject to change through a future specifications action or framework adjustment.
2 For fishing year 2023 the NGOM Set-Aside has been reduced by 17,918 lb (8,127 kg) to account for a limited access general category NGOM total allowable catch overage in 2021.
3 The catch limits for the 2024 fishing year are subject to change through a future specifications action or framework adjustment. This includes the setting of an APL for 2024 that will be based on the 2023 annual scallop surveys.
4 NGOM APL is set when the NGOM Set-Aside is above 800,000 lb (36,2874 kg).
(2) 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.
(3) 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.
(c) 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.
(d) 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.