Just a dozen days after it opened, NOAA Fisheries is closing the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area to all federally permitted limited access general category scallop vessels effective Monday at 12:01 a.m.
As of Monday, no scallop vessel fishing under federal scallop regulations may fish for, possess, or land scallops in or from the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area, NOAA said.
NOAA set the total allowable landing limit at 484,753 pounds for the season, down from 675,563 pounds in 2025. Scallop regulations requires closure of the management area once NOAA projects that 100% of the 2026 Northern Gulf of Maine Set-Aside — 437,867 pounds in 2026 — will be taken. The closure will be in effect until the end of the fishing year on March 31, 2027.
Boats can bring in 200 pounds of shelled scallop meat a day.
The closure does not apply to those who are participating in the NOAA’s 2026 scallop Research Set-Aside Program and who have been issued letters of authorization to conduct compensation fishing activities in the Northern Gulf of Maine.
Any permit holders who have declared a trip into the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area using the correct Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) code and that have crossed the VMS demarcation line before 12:01 a.m. Monday may complete the trip and retain and land scallops caught from the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area.
Scallopers with a valid Maine or Massachusetts state scallop permit may continue to fish in Maine or Massachusetts state waters within the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area under the State Waters Exemption program, according to NOAA.
For those fishing under an Individual Fishing Quota scallop permit (Limited Access General Category A), any pounds landed under a state-waters only trip will still be deducted from the vessel’s allocation, NOAA said
More details may found in the notice filed in the Federal Register and the permit holder bulletin.