Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Modification of Emergency Fishery Closure Due to the Presence of the Toxin That Causes Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning

At the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), NMFS closed portions of Federal waters of the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank, and southern New England from June 14, 2005, through September 30, 2005, to the harvest for human consumption of certain bivalve molluscan shellfish due to the presence in those waters of the toxin that causes Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP). The FDA has determined that harvesting for human consumption of bivalve molluscan shellfish other than whole and roe-on scallops from a portion of the closed area is now safe and may be resumed. As a result, NMFS is modifying its previous closure to allow such fishing.