Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery; 2016 Closure of the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area

NMFS announces that the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area will close for the remainder of the 2016 fishing year. No vessel issued a federal scallop permit, with the exception of Northern Gulf of Maine permit holders also holding a Maine state scallop permit and fishing under the state waters exemption program in Maine state waters, may fish for, possess, or land scallops from the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area. Regulations require this action once NMFS projects that 100 percent of the 2016 total allowable catch for the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area will be harvested.