Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery; 2024 Closure of the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area to the Limited Access General Category Fishery

Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 50 CFR Part 648 [Docket No. 240314-0080; RTID 0648-XD892] AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Temporary rule; closure. SUMMARY: NMFS announces the closure of the Northern Gulf of Maine (NGOM) Scallop Management Area for the remainder of the 2024 fishing year for Limited Access General Category vessels. Regulations require this action once NMFS projects that 100 percent of the Northern Gulf of Maine Set-Aside will be harvested. This action is intended to prevent the overharvest of the 2024 Northern Gulf of Maine Set-Aside. DATES: Effective 0001 hour local time, April 20, 2024, through March 31, 2025. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Travis Ford, Fishery Policy Analyst, (978) 281-9233. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The regulations governing fishing activity in the NGOM Scallop Management Area are located in 50 CFR 648.54 and 648.62 . These regulations authorize vessels issued a valid Federal scallop permit to fish in the NGOM Scallop Management Area under specific conditions, including the NGOM Set-Aside for the 2024 fishing year, and a State Waters Exemption Program for the State of Maine and Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Section 648.62(b)(2) requires the NGOM Scallop Management Area to be closed to scallop vessels issued Federal Limited Access General Category (LAGC) scallop permits, except as provided below, for the rema…