Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 76 / Tuesday, April 21, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 22119 

docket, call Cheryl Collins, Program 

Manager, Docket Operations, telephone 

202–366–9826. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Viewing Documents 

The policy letter discussed below is 

available and can be viewed by going to 

http://www.uscg.mil/nmc and clicking 

on ‘‘Regulations & Policy,’’ then click on 

‘‘Policy Letters.’’ 

Discussion 

Liftboats spend significant periods 

elevated at work sites and are not 

underway at those times. The time a 

liftboat spends underway is generally 

limited to travelling to and from a job 

site, and may be a relatively small 

portion of the total time the liftboat is 

in operation. Because of these 

specialized operations, the Coast Guard 

considers liftboats to be unique vessels 

and has evaluated sea service on 

liftboats to determine its equivalency to 

traditional service. 

This policy letter describes policy for 

the Coast Guards’ evaluation of service 

obtained on liftboats used to qualify for 

national officer endorsements to an 

MMC. 

Authority 

This notice of availability is issued 

under the authority of 5 U.S.C. 552(a). 

Dated: April 2, 2015. 

J.C. Burton, 

Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Director, 

Inspection & Compliance. 

[FR Doc. 2015–09052 Filed 4–20–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–04–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Parts 223 and 648 

[Docket No. 141125999–5362–02] 

RIN 0648–BE68 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery 

and Northeast Multispecies Fishery; 

Framework Adjustment 26; 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife; 

Sea Turtle Conservation 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: NMFS approves and 

implements through regulations the 

measures included in Framework 

Adjustment 26 to the Atlantic Sea 

Scallop Fishery Management Plan, 

which the New England Fishery 

Management Council adopted and 

submitted to NMFS for approval. The 

purpose of Framework 26 is to prevent 

overfishing, improve yield-per-recruit, 

and improve the overall management of 

the Atlantic sea scallop fishery. 

Framework 26 sets fishing specifications 

for 2015, including catch limits, days-atsea allocations, individual fishing 

quotas, and sea scallop access area trip 

allocations. In addition, Framework 26 

closes a portion of the Elephant Trunk 

Access Area and extends the boundaries 

of the Nantucket Lightship Access Area 

to protect small scallops, adjusts the 

State Waters Exemption Program, allows 

for Vessel Monitoring System 

declaration changes for vessels to steam 

home with product on board, 

implements a proactive accountability 

measure to protect windowpane 

flounder and yellowtail flounder, aligns 

two gear measures designed to protect 

sea turtles, and implements other 

measures to improve the management of 

the scallop fishery. Aligning the gear 

measures designed to protect sea turtles 

involves modifying existing regulations 

implemented under the Endangered 

Species Act; therefore, this action is 

implemented under joint authority of 

the Endangered Species Act and the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act. 

DATES: Effective May 1, 2015, except for 

the amendment to § 648.51(b)(4)(iv), 

which will be effective May 21, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: The Council developed an 

environmental assessment (EA) for this 

action that describes the action and 

other considered alternatives and 

provides a thorough analysis of the 

impacts of these measures. Copies of the 

Framework, the EA, and the Initial 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA), 

are available upon request from Thomas 

A. Nies, Executive Director, New 

England Fishery Management Council, 

50 Water Street, Newburyport, MA 

01950. The EA/IRFA is also accessible 

via the Internet at http://www.nefmc.

org/scallops/index.html or http://www.

greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/regs/

2015/March/15scalfw26turtlepr.html. 

Copies of the small entity compliance 

guide are available from John K. 

Bullard, Regional Administrator, NMFS, 

Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries 

Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, 

Gloucester, MA 01930–2298, or 

available on the Internet at http://www.

greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/

sustainable/species/scallop/. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Travis Ford, Fishery Policy Analyst, 

978–281–9233 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Council adopted Framework 26 

on November 20, 2014, and submitted it 

to NMFS on February 17, 2015, for 

review and approval. Framework 26 

specifies measures for fishing year 2015, 

but includes fishing year 2016 measures 

that will go into place as a default, 

should the next specifications-setting 

framework be delayed beyond the start 

of fishing year 2016. Fishing year 2015 

default allocations have been in place 

since March 1, 2015, and allow for only 

17 DAS and zero access area trips. The 

default measures are replaced by the 

higher Framework 26 allocations 

described below. Details concerning the 

development of these measures were 

contained in the preamble of the 

proposed rule and are not repeated here. 

Specification of Scallop Overfishing 

Limit (OFL), Acceptable Biological 

Catch (ABC), Annual Catch Limits 

(ACLs), Annual Catch Targets (ACTs), 

and Set-Asides for the 2015 Fishing 

Year and Default Specifications for 

Fishing Year 2016 

The allocations incorporate new 

biomass reference points that resulted 

from the Northeast Fisheries Science 

Center’s most recent scallop stock 

benchmark assessment that was 

completed in July 2014. The assessment 

reviewed and updated the data and 

models used to assess the scallop stock 

and ultimately updated the reference 

points for status determinations. A 

comparison of the old and new 

reference points is outlined in Table 1. 

TABLE 1—SUMMARY OF OLD AND NEW SCALLOP REFERENCE POINTS FROM THE LAST TWO BENCHMARK SCALLOP STOCK

ASSESSMENTS IN 2010 AND 2014 

2010 Assessment 2014 Assessment 

Fishing Mortality at Maximum Sustainable Yield (Fmsy) .......................... 0.38 ................................................ 0.48. 

Biomass at Maximum Sustainable Yield (Bmsy) ...................................... 125,000 mt ..................................... 96,480 mt. 


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22120 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 76 / Tuesday, April 21, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

TABLE 1—SUMMARY OF OLD AND NEW SCALLOP REFERENCE POINTS FROM THE LAST TWO BENCHMARK SCALLOP STOCK

ASSESSMENTS IN 2010 AND 2014—Continued 

2010 Assessment 2014 Assessment 

1⁄2 Bmsy ..................................................................................................... 62,000 mt ....................................... 48,240 mt. 

Due to these reference point updates, 

we are updating the fishing mortality 

rates that the Council uses to set OFL, 

ABC, and ACL through this action. The 

Council set OFL based on an F of 0.48, 

equivalent to the F threshold updated 

through the 2014 assessment. The 

Council set ABC and the equivalent 

total ACL for each fishing year using an 

F of 0.38, which is the F associated with 

a 25-percent probability of exceeding 

the OFL. The Council’s Scientific and 

Statistical Committee recommended 

scallop fishery ABCs for the 2015 and 

2016 fishing years of 55.9 million lb 

(25,352 mt) and 70.1 million lb (31,807 

mt), respectively, after accounting for 

discards and incidental mortality. The 

Scientific and Statistical Committee will 

reevaluate an ABC for 2016 when the 

Council develops the next framework 

adjustment. Table 2 outlines the scallop 

fishery catch limits derived from the 

ABC values. 

TABLE 2—SCALLOP CATCH LIMITS FOR FISHING YEARS 2015 AND 2016 FOR THE LIMITED ACCESS AND LIMITED ACCESS

GENERAL CATEGORY (LAGC) INDIVIDUAL FISHING QUOTA (IFQ) FLEETS

2015 2016 

Overfishing Limit ...................................................................................... 38,061 mt ....................................... 45,456 mt. 

ABC/ACL w/ discards removed ............................................................... 25,352 mt ....................................... 31,807 mt. 

Incidental Total Allowable Catch (TAC) .................................................. 22.7 mt ........................................... 22.7 mt. 

Research Set-Aside (RSA) ..................................................................... 567 mt ............................................ 567 mt. 

Observer Set-aside (1 percent of ABC/ACL) .......................................... 254 mt ............................................ 318 mt. 

Limited Access sub-ACL (94.5 percent of total ACL, after deducting 

set-asides and incidental catch).

23,161 mt ....................................... 29,200 mt. 

Limited Access sub-ACT (adjusted for management uncertainty) ......... 19,311 mt ....................................... 23,016 mt.

LAGC IFQ sub-ACL (5.0 percent of total ACL, after deducting setasides and incidental catch).1,225 mt ......................................... 1,545 mt. 

LAGC IFQ sub-ACL for vessels with limited access scallop permits 

(0.5 percent of total ACL, after deducting set-asides and incidental 

catch).

123 mt ............................................ 154 mt. 

This action deducts 567 mt of scallops 

annually for 2015 and 2016 from the 

ABC and sets it aside as the Scallop 

research set-aside (RSA) to fund scallop 

research and to compensate 

participating vessels through the sale of 

scallops harvested under RSA projects. 

Framework 26 allows RSA to be 

harvested from the Mid-Atlantic Access 

Area that is opened for 2015, once this 

action is approved and implemented, 

but would prevent RSA harvesting from 

access areas under 2016 default 

measures. Of this 1.25 M lb (567 mt) 

allocation, NMFS has already allocated 

397,470 lb (180.3 mt) to previously 

funded multi-year projects as part of the 

2014 RSA awards process. NMFS 

reviewed proposals submitted for 

consideration of 2015 RSA awards and 

will be selecting projects for funding in 

the near future. 

This action also sets aside 1 percent 

of the ABC for the industry-funded 

observer program to help defray the cost 

to scallop vessels that carry an observer. 

The observer set-asides for fishing years 

2015 and 2016 are 254 mt and 318 mt, 

respectively. In fishing year 2015, the 

compensation rates for limited access 

vessels in open areas fishing under 

days-at-sea (DAS) is 0.08 DAS per DAS 

fished, and for access area trips the 

compensation rate is 150 lb, in addition 

to the vessel’s possession limit for the 

trip for each day or part of a day an 

observer is onboard. LAGC IFQ vessels 

may possess an additional 150 lb per 

trip in open areas when carrying an 

observer. NMFS may adjust the 

compensation rate throughout the 

fishing year, depending on how quickly 

the fleets are using the set aside. The 

2016 observer set-aside may be adjusted 

by the Council when it develops 

specific, non-default measures for 2016. 

Open Area DAS Allocations 

This action implements vesselspecific DAS allocations for each of the 

three limited access scallop DAS permit 

categories (i.e., full-time, part-time, and 

occasional) for 2015 and 2016 (Table 3). 

Fishing year 2015 DAS allocations are 

almost identical to those allocated to the 

limited access fleet in 2014 (31 DAS for 

full-time, 12 DAS for part-time, and 3 

DAS for occasional vessels). Fishing 

year 2016 DAS allocations are 

precautionary, and are set at 75 percent 

of what current biomass projections 

indicate could be allocated to each 

limited access scallop vessel for the 

entire fishing year. This is to avoid overallocating DAS to the fleet in the event 

that the framework that would set those 

allocations is delayed past the start of 

the 2016 fishing year. The allocations in 

Table 3 exclude any DAS deductions 

that are required if the limited access 

scallop fleet exceeded its 2014 sub-ACL. 

The DAS values in Table 3 take into 

account a slight DAS reduction (0.14 

DAS) to account for vessels steaming to 

southern ports while not accruing DAS 

(See Adjustment to Vessel Monitoring 

System (VMS) Declaration Procedures 

for Some Open Area Trips). In addition, 

the Council requested that DAS 

allocations now be specified to the 

hundredth decimal place, rather than 

rounding up or down to whole DAS. 

This is consistent with DAS accounting 

as vessels use DAS throughout the year. 

Table 3 also includes 2015 Default DAS 

that are replaced by the 2015 DAS. 


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TABLE 3—SCALLOP OPEN AREA DAS ALLOCATIONS FOR 2015 AND 2016 

Permit category Default 2015 2015 2016 

Full-Time ...................................................................................................................................... 17 30.86 26.00 

Part-Time ..................................................................................................................................... 7 12.94 10.40 

Occasional * ................................................................................................................................. 1 2.58 2.17 

* Note: There are no occasional vessels currently. 

LA Allocations and Trip Possession 

Limits for Scallop Access Areas 

For fishing year 2015 and the start of 

2016, Framework 26 closes all three 

Georges Bank Access Areas (i.e., 

Nantucket Lightship (NLS), Closed Area 

1, and Closed Area 2 Access Areas) and 

opens all three Mid-Atlantic Access 

Areas (i.e., Elephant Trunk, Delmarva, 

and Hudson Canyon Access Areas 

combined). This action extends the 

boundaries of the NLS Access Area that 

will be closed to the scallop fleet to 

include a concentration of small 

scallops near the existing boundary 

along the southeast corner, currently 

considered part of the open area. 

Opening this NLS extended closure 

area, which increases the NLS Access 

Area boundary by 158 square miles (409 

square km), will be reconsidered in a 

future framework action when the 

scallops are larger and ready for harvest. 

This action opens all three MidAtlantic access areas to both the limited 

access and LAGC IFQ fleet, and treats 

the three areas as one single area. This 

is named the Mid-Atlantic Access Area 

under this action. Scallop vessels are 

able to fish across all three areas in a 

single access area trip, except in one 

area within the Mid-Atlantic Access 

Area that is closed to scallop fishing. 

This area is seven 10-minute squares 

(i.e., 548 square nautical miles, 1419 

square km) in the northwest corner of 

the Elephant Trunk Access Area, and is 

closed to protect small scallops. This 

area constitutes roughly 35 percent of 

the current Elephant Trunk Access 

Area. The closure allows for the small 

concentrations of scallops in this 

portion of the access area to be 

protected as they grow to a more 

harvestable size. This action prohibits 

transiting across this small area due to 

its small size and because the incentive 

to fish in the area is relatively high due 

to the high abundance of scallops. 

Table 4 outlines the limited access 

allocations that can be fished from the 

Mid-Atlantic Access Area. Vessels can 

take this allocation in as many trips as 

needed, so long as vessels do not exceed 

the trip possession limits (also in Table 

4). These access area allocations for 

2015 represent a 112-percent increase in 

access area allocations compared to 

2014. 

TABLE 4—SCALLOP ACCESS AREA POUNDAGE ALLOCATIONS AND TRIP POSSESSION LIMITS FOR 2015 AND 2016 

Permit category Possession limits 2015 Allocation 2016 Allocation 

Full-Time ....................... 17,000 lb (7,711 kg) ........................... 51,000 lb (23,133 kg) ......................... 17,000 lb (7,711 kg). 

Part-Time ...................... 10,200 lb ( 4,627 kg) .......................... 20,400 lb ( 9,253 kg) .......................... 10,200 lb (4,627 kg). 

Occasional * .................. 1,420 lb (644 kg) ................................ 4,250 lb ( 1,928 kg) ............................ 1,420 lb ( 644 kg). 

* Note: There are no occasional vessels currently. 

This action also modifies access area 

trip reporting procedures by requiring 

that each limited access vessel submit a 

pre-landing notification form through its 

VMS unit prior to returning to port at 

the end of each access area trip, 

including trips where no scallops are 

landed. These pre-landing notifications 

replace the current broken trip and 

compensation trip procedures. Vessels 

are no longer required to submit a 

broken trip notification form if they are 

unable to land their full possession 

limits on an access area trip. Vessels 

also no longer need to apply to NMFS 

to receive, or wait for NMFS to issue, a 

compensation trip to fish their 

remaining access area scallop allocation. 

For example, under Framework 26 

access area allocations, a full-time 

vessel receives 51,000 lb (23,133 kg) in 

the Mid-Atlantic Access Area. That 

allocation can be landed on as many or 

as few trips as needed, so long as the 

17,000-lb (7,711-kg) possession limit is 

not exceeded on any one trip. The 

vessel may choose to fish its full 

allocation over the course of three trips, 

landing the maximum allowance of 

17,000 lb (7,711 kg) on each trip, or it 

can choose to fish its full allocation over 

the course of two, three, or more trips, 

landing less than the trip possession 

limit on each trip. Regardless, the vessel 

must submit a pre-landing notification 

form prior to returning to port for each 

access area trip, but does not have to 

wait for NMFS to issue a compensation 

trip prior to starting its next access area 

trip. 

Under this action, each vessel 

automatically carries over unharvested 

access area allocation that the vessel can 

fish in the first 60 days of the 

subsequent fishing year, as long as the 

access area is open for scallop fishing 

during that time. This change results in 

little change to the amount of carryover 

NMFS expects from year to year because 

most vessels with unharvested access 

area pounds took advantage of the 

broken trip provisions. Also, Framework 

26 accounts for the uncertainty 

associated with carryover by setting the 

limited access fishery’s ACT lower than 

the fishery’s ACL. The ACT is meant to 

prevent carryover from causing the fleet 

to exceed an ACL. 

Although vessel owners are ultimately 

responsible for tracking their own 

scallop access area landings and 

ensuring they do not exceed their 

annual allocations, NMFS will match 

dealer-reported scallop landing records 

with access area trip declarations and 

make that information available on the 

web-based allocation monitoring tool, 

Fish-On-Line, which each vessel owner 

can access and review. 

Adjustment to VMS Declaration 

Procedures for Some Open Area Trips 

This action enables a vessel to declare 

out of a DAS trip at or south of Cape 

May, NJ (specifically, at or south of 39° 

N. lat.), once it goes inside the VMS 

demarcation line, and then, with 

scallops on board, steam seaward of the 

VMS demarcation line to ports south of 

Cape May, NJ, without being charged 

DAS. This measure does not apply to 

vessels that intend to land scallops in 

ports north of Cape May, NJ. Once this 

change in declaration to ‘‘declare out of 


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fishery’’ has been made, vessels are 

required to submit a scallop pre-landing 

notification form through VMS, return 

directly to port and offload scallops 

immediately, and stow all gear. In 

addition, such vessels are prohibited 

from having on board any in-shell 

scallops. The purpose of the is measure 

is to provide an incentive for vessels to 

land scallops in the fishery’s southernmost ports by reducing some of the 

steaming time to return from more 

distant and heavily fished fishing 

grounds. 

Because this change in when some 

vessels may ‘‘clock out’’ of their DAS 

could impact overall DAS allocations to 

the fleet, this action also reduces the 

overall DAS allocated to each limited 

access scallop vessel. The DAS 

adjustment (which has already been 

calculated into the DAS allocations 

proposed in Table 3) is a decrease of 

0.14 DAS for full-time vessels and 0.06 

DAS for part-time vessels. This measure, 

including the appropriate DAS 

deductions, was supported by the 

Council’s Advisory Panel. 

Additional Access Area Measures To 

Reduce Impacts on Small Scallops 

1. Crew Limit Restrictions in Access 

Areas. This action implements crew 

limits for all access areas. In an effort to 

protect small scallops and discourage 

vessels from high-grading (discarding 

smaller scallops in exchange for larger 

ones), Framework 26 imposes a crew 

limit of eight individuals per limited 

access vessel, including the captain, 

when fishing in any scallop access area. 

If a vessel is participating in the small 

dredge program, it may not have more 

than six people on board, including the 

captain, on an access area trip. These 

crew limits may be reevaluated in a 

future framework action. 

2. Delayed Harvesting of Default 2016 

Mid-Atlantic Access Area Allocations. 

Although the Framework includes 

precautionary access area allocations for 

the 2016 fishing year (see 2016 

allocations in Table 4), vessels have to 

wait to fish these allocations until April 

1, 2016. This precautionary measure is 

designed to protect scallops when 

scallop meat weights are lower than 

other times of the year (generally, this 

change in meat-weight is a physiological 

change in scallops due to spawning). 

However, if a vessel has not fully 

harvested its 2015 scallop access area 

allocation in fishing year 2015, it may 

still fish the remainder of its allocation 

in the first 60 days of 2016 (i.e., March 

1, 2016, through April 29, 2016). 

3. 2016 RSA Harvest Restrictions. 

This action prohibits vessels 

participating in RSA projects from 

harvesting RSA in the Mid-Atlantic 

Access Area under default 2016 

measures. At the start of 2016, RSA can 

only be harvested from open areas. This 

will be re-evaluated for the remainder of 

2016 in the framework action that 

would set final 2016 specifications. 

LAGC Measures 

1. Sub-ACL for LAGC vessels with IFQ 

permits. For LAGC vessels with IFQ 

permits, this action implements a 1,225- 

mt ACL for 2015 and an initial ACL of 

1,545 mt for 2016 (Table 2). We 

calculate IFQ allocations by applying 

each vessel’s IFQ contribution 

percentage to these ACLs. These 

allocations assume that no LAGC IFQ 

AMs are triggered. If a vessel exceeds its 

IFQ in a given fishing year, its IFQ for 

the subsequent fishing year would be 

reduced by the amount of the overage. 

Because Framework 26 is being 

implemented after the March 1 start of 

fishing year 2015, the default 2015 IFQ 

allocations went into place 

automatically on March 1, 2015. This 

action increases the current vessel IFQ 

allocations. NMFS sent a letter to IFQ 

permit holders providing both March 1, 

2015, IFQ allocations and Framework 26 

IFQ allocations so that vessel owners 

know what mid-year adjustments will 

occur now that Framework 26 is 

approved. 

2. Sub-ACL for Limited Access 

Scallop Vessels with IFQ Permits. For 

limited access scallop vessels with IFQ 

permits, this action implements a 123- 

mt ACL for 2015, and an initial 154-mt 

ACL for 2016 (Table 2). We calculate 

IFQ allocations by applying each 

vessel’s IFQ contribution percentage to 

these ACLs. These allocations assume 

that no LAGC IFQ accountability 

measures (AMs) are triggered. If a vessel 

exceeds its IFQ in a given fishing year, 

its IFQ for the subsequent fishing year 

will be reduced by the amount of the 

overage. 

3. LAGC IFQ Trip Allocations and 

Possession Limits for Scallop Access 

Areas. Framework 26 allocates the 

LAGC IFQ vessels a fleetwide number of 

trips that can be taken in the MidAtlantic Access Area. Framework 26 

allocates 2,065 and 602 trips in 2015 

and 2016, respectively, to this area. 

Under default 2016 measures, LAGC 

IFQ vessels must wait to fish these trips 

until April 1, 2016. 

These trip allocations are equivalent 

to the overall proportion of total catch 

from access areas compared to total 

catch. For example, the total projected 

catch for the scallop fishery in 2015 is 

20,865 mt, and 8,700 mt are projected to 

come from access areas, roughly 41.7 

percent. If the same proportion is 

applied to total LAGC IFQ catch, the 

total allocation to LAGC IFQ vessels 

from access areas would be about 600 

mt, roughly 44.5 percent of the total 

LAGC IFQ sub-ACL for 2015 (1,348 mt). 

4. Northern Gulf of Maine (NGOM) 

TAC. This action allocates a 70,000-lb 

(31,751-kg) annual NGOM TAC for 

fishing years 2015 and 2016. The 

allocation for 2015 assumes that there 

are no overages in 2014, which would 

trigger a pound-for-pound deduction in 

2015 to account for the overage. 

5. Scallop Incidental Catch Target 

TAC. This action allocates a 50,000-lb 

(22,680-kg) scallop incidental catch 

target TAC for fishing years 2015 and 

2016 to account for mortality from this 

component of the fishery, and to ensure 

that F targets are not exceeded. The 

Council and NMFS may adjust this 

target TAC in a future action if vessels 

catch more scallops under the 

incidental target TAC than predicted. 

Adjustments to Gear Modifications To 

Protect Sea Turtles 

This action adjusts season regulations 

for the sea turtle deflector dredge (TDD) 

and area regulations for the sea turtle 

chain mat to make them consistent by 

moving the chain mat requirement line 

to 71° W. long. and changing the end of 

the TDD season from October to 

November. By making the area and 

season for these two gear modifications 

consistent, west of 71° W. long. from 

May through November, the 

conservation benefit of the current chain 

mat and TDD requirements is 

maintained, while reducing the 

regulatory complexity of differing 

seasons and areas. Any reduction in the 

size of the area in which chain mats 

would be required is balanced by an 

extension of the season that TDDs 

would be required. 

This action also makes a very slight 

modification to the TDD gear 

regulations for safety purposes. Current 

TDD gear regulations allow for a flaring 

bar to ensure safe handling of the 

dredge. Prior to this action, this flaring 

bar could only be attached to the dredge 

frame on one side. This action adjusts 

this regulation to allow for a bar or ‘‘u’’- 

shaped flaring mechanism to support 

safety at sea. Allowing a u-shaped 

flaring mechanism should not have an 

impact on sea turtles and the 

effectiveness of the TDD because the 

flaring bar or mechanism would still be 

prohibited from being attached within 

12 inches (30.5 cm) of the ‘‘bump out’’ 

of the TDD and not between the bale 

bars. This change requires that each side 

of the bar or mechanism be no more 

than 12 inches (30.5 cm) in length. 


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This action does not change any other 

regulatory requirements for the use of 

chain mats and TDDs. 

Adjustments to the State Water 

Exemption Program To Include NGOM 

Management Area Exemptions 

Framework 26 modifies the State 

Water Exemption Program to include a 

new exemption that enables scallop 

vessels to continue to fish in state 

waters after the NGOM hard TAC is 

reached. This action expands the 

exemptions to include this new measure 

related to the NGOM. Specifically, states 

within the NGOM management area 

(i.e., Massachusetts, New Hampshire, 

and Maine) can request an exemption 

from the regulation that requires that 

scallop vessels must stop fishing in the 

state waters portion of the NGOM once 

the Federal TAC has been reached. 

States have to apply for this exemption 

and specify to which vessels this would 

apply (e.g., vessels with NGOM permits, 

IFQ permits, incidental permits, or 

limited access permits). 

This measure alleviates the concerns 

of Maine permit holders about their 

ability to fish in state waters when the 

state season is open in the winter if the 

NGOM TAC is reached by giving the 

state the ability to apply for an 

exemption through the State Water 

Exemption Program. Because the NGOM 

Federal TAC is set based only on the 

Federal portion of the resource, NMFS 

does not expect this measure to 

compromise the Atlantic Sea Scallop 

Fishery Management Plan’s (FMP’s) 

limits on catch and mortality. 

Proactive AMs for Flatfish Protection 

Prior to Framework 26, all scallop 

vessels (i.e., limited access and LAGC) 

fishing for scallops with dredges in 

open areas west of 71° W. long. were 

required to have their dredges 

configured so that no dredge has more 

than seven rows of rings in the apron 

(i.e., the area between the terminus of 

the dredge (clubstick) and the twine top) 

on the topside of the dredge. The twine 

top helps finfish (flatfish in particular) 

escape from the dredge during fishing 

and the maximum number of rows of 

rings prevents fishermen from making 

the twine top small and ineffective in 

reducing bycatch. Framework 26 

extends this proactive accountability 

measure to all areas where scallop 

fishing occurs (i.e., all access and open 

areas). This increased spatial coverage 

may further reduce flatfish bycatch by 

preventing dredge configurations using 

more than seven rows of rings. This is 

considered to be a proactive AM 

because it may help the fishery stay 

below the sub-ACLs for flatfish 

(yellowtail flounder and windowpane 

flounder, currently). Additionally, this 

measure enables vessels to voluntarily 

fish with an even shorter apron (less 

than seven rings), to proactively reduce 

flatfish bycatch in any area or season. 

Regulatory Corrections Under Regional 

Administrator Authority 

This rule includes several revisions to 

the regulatory text to address text that 

is unnecessary, outdated, unclear, or 

otherwise could be improved. NMFS 

changes these consistent with section 

305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act), which 

provides that the Secretary of Commerce 

may promulgate regulations necessary 

to ensure that amendments to an FMP 

are carried out in accordance with the 

FMP and the Magnuson-Stevens Act. 

Two revisions clarify how to apply and 

measure gear modifications to ensure 

compliance. The first revision at 

§ 648.51 clarifies where to measure 

meshes to ensure twine top compliance. 

The second revision at § 648.53 clarifies 

an example on how the hanging ratio 

should be applied and measured if the 

windowpane reactive AM implemented 

through Framework 25 (June 26, 2014; 

79 FR 34251) is triggered. 

This action also modifies the VMS 

catch report requirements at 

§ 648.10(f)(4)(i) to only include the 

information used by NMFS to monitor 

flatfish bycatch. The form currently 

requires that the amount of yellowtail 

flounder discards be reported daily. 

This requirement has been in place 

since Amendment 15 to the Scallop 

FMP (76 FR 43746; July 21, 2011), 

which established the yellowtail 

flounder AMs in the FMP. However, 

since the implementation of 

Amendment 15, the scallop fishery now 

has other bycatch sub-ACLs and AMs 

(e.g., SNE/MA windowpane flounder) 

which are not captured in this form. In 

addition, current bycatch monitoring 

relies solely on observer reports to 

determine bycatch discards for these 

species. In order to minimize confusion, 

and because this information is not 

necessary for bycatch monitoring, we 

will remove the reference to reporting 

yellowtail discards. Instead, the vessels 

will report daily scallop catch and the 

amount of all other species kept. 

In addition, this action adjusts the 

regulations at § 648.53(a) to clarify that 

the values for ABC/ACL stated in the 

regulations reflect the levels from which 

ACTs are set, thus they do not include 

estimates of discards and incidental 

mortality. This regulatory clarification is 

at the request of the Council and more 

accurately reflects the process for 

establishing ABCs and ACLs in the 

scallop fishery. 

Comments and Responses 

NMFS received six comment letters in 

response to the proposed rule from: 

Fisheries Survival Fund, a scallop 

fishing industry organization; the Maine 

Department of Marine Resources; and 

four individuals. We provide responses 

below to the issues these commenters 

raised. NMFS may only approve, 

disapprove, or partially approve 

measures in Framework 26, and cannot 

substantively amend, add, or delete 

measures beyond what is necessary 

under section 305(d) of the MagnusonStevens Act to discharge its 

responsibility to carry out such 

measures. 

Comment 1: Fisheries Survival Fund, 

which represents a majority of the 

limited access scallop fleet, was 

supportive of this action, but asked that 

we waive the delay of effectiveness 

period for the measures related to access 

area allocations and DAS. It asked that 

we retain the 30-day delay of 

effectiveness period for other measures 

that may require some time for the 

industry to make the necessary changes, 

e.g., gear modifications. 

Response: NMFS agrees with the 

timing suggestions and will be 

implementing all measures upon 

publication of this final rule, with the 

exception of the maximum seven-row 

apron requirement. This measure will 

have a 30-day delay in effectiveness. 

Comment 2: One commenter was 

concerned that, because the Georges 

Bank Access Areas are closing and the 

Mid-Atlantic Access Area is opening in 

May, there may be a gear conflict with 

15–20 monkfish gillnetters in the 

Delmarva Access Area. The commenter 

was concerned that the scallop vessels 

would dredge through their gear 

because April through June is the height 

of the monkfish fishing season. 

Response: The scallop fishery 

operates year round. The delayed 

opening of Delmarva in fishing year 

2014 (mid-June instead of March 1) was 

a result of a delay in the Council’s 

submission of Framework Adjustment 

26 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop FMP due 

to additional alternatives that were 

added late in the process. This action 

was intended to be in place before May. 

In the past, when we had 2-year 

specifications, the Delmarva area was 

opened on March 1. Also, the Delmarva 

area is currently opened to scallop 

fishing from 2014 carryover trips and 

will be through April. The commenter 

did not ask us to delay access to this 

area to give the monkfish fleet time to 

make the necessary adjustments, but 


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they asked that we not allow scallopers 

in the area until they were done fishing. 

We cannot delay access area trips to 

prevent gear conflict because the 

Council did not address this issue in 

Framework 26. Section 305(1)(K) of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act prohibits the 

negligent removal or damaging of 

fishing gear owned by another person, 

which is located in the exclusive 

economic zone, or the fish contained in 

such fishing gear. We will remind the 

scallop fleet of this prohibition in a 

bulletin announcing the implementation 

of Framework 26. 

Comment 3: The Maine Department of 

Marine Resources commented in 

support of the rule, in particular, the 

proposed modifications to the State 

Water Exemption Program. 

Response: NMFS appreciates the 

comment. 

Comment 4: One commenter stated 

that fishing year 2015 scallop quotas 

should be reduced by 25 percent to 

account for poaching. 

Response: There is no evidence in the 

record to support neither this assertion 

nor the need to reduce scallop quotas by 

25 percent to address poaching. As we 

discuss in the preambles to both the 

proposed and final rules, the quota 

allocations for fishing years 2015 and 

2016 are based on the best scientific 

information available and are consistent 

with the control rules outlined in the 

ACL process established under 

Amendment 15 to the FMP. We do not 

currently consider scallops overfished 

or subject to overfishing. Sufficient 

analysis and scientific justification for 

our action in this final rule are 

contained within the supporting 

documents. 

Comment 5: One commenter stated 

that anyone who kills a turtle should be 

fined $1 million. 

Response: As discussed in the 

preamble, the measures in this action to 

address turtle interactions were 

determined to be conservation neutral 

by balancing the smaller area for the 

turtle chain mat requirement with the 

additional months for the Turtle 

Deflector Dredge. Addressing any fines 

for the incidental take of turtles is not 

within the scope or authority for this 

type of action. 

Comment 6: One commenter 

requested that we increase the 40-lb 

possession limit for vessels with 

incidental LAGC permits. 

Response: Framework 26 did not 

include or analyze any alternatives 

regarding changes to possession limits 

for LAGC incidental permits. NMFS can 

only approve or disapprove this 

framework and cannot in this action add 

additional substantive measures not 

contained in the framework. The 

Council would have to consider this 

change in a subsequent action. 

Comment 7: One commenter simply 

stated that he opposed this action 

because he loves and needs scallops. 

Response: Framework 26 creates two 

closure areas to protect small scallops in 

the Elephant Trunk and Nantucket 

Lightship Access Areas, and NMFS has 

managed scallop fishing through areabased management since 1999. By 

protecting small scallops through areabased management, NMFS and the 

Council hope to support long term 

optimum yield. Under this management, 

NMFS and the Council intend to 

support this fishery that fills a demand 

for scallops that the U.S. and world 

love. 

Changes From Proposed Rule to Final 

Rule 

We corrected a typographical error 

that referenced section § 648.65, and we 

included changes to the regulatory text 

to §§ 648.58, 648.59, and 648.61 clarify 

the description of the regulated areas 

defined under the Scallop FMP. 

Classification 

Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, the NMFS 

Assistant Administrator has determined 

that this final rule is consistent with the 

FMP, other provisions of the MagnusonStevens Act, the ESA, and other 

applicable law. 

The Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) has determined that this rule is 

not significant according to Executive 

Order (E.O.) 12866. 

This final rule does not contain 

policies with federalism or ‘‘takings’’ 

implications, as those terms are defined 

in E.O. 1312 and E.O. 12630, 

respectively. 

This action contains collection-ofinformation requirements subject the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). The 

two requirements were approved by 

OMB under the NMFS Greater Atlantic 

Region Scallop Report Family of Forms 

(OMB Control No. 0648–0491). Under 

Framework 26, all 347 limited access 

vessels are required to submit a prelanding notification form for each access 

area trip through their VMS units. This 

information collection is intended to 

improve access area trip monitoring, as 

well as streamline a vessel’s ability to 

fish multiple access area trips. Although 

this is a new requirement, it replaces 

other reporting procedures currently 

required for breaking an access area trip 

and receiving permission to take a 

compensation trip to harvest remaining 

unharvested scallop pounds from an 

access area trip. The action also 

includes a new requirement for some 

limited access vessels to report a prelanding notification form through their 

VMS unit before changing their open 

area trip declaration to a ‘‘declared out 

of fishery declaration,’’ which is 

expected to add a burden to a very small 

portion of the fleet. Public reporting 

burden for submitting these pre-landing 

notification forms is estimated to 

average 5 minutes per response with an 

associated cost of $1.25, which includes 

the time for reviewing instructions, 

searching existing data sources, 

gathering and maintaining the data 

needed, and completing and reviewing 

the collection of information. This 

requirement applies to a few vessels that 

intend to land open area scallops at 

ports south of Cape May, NJ, and want 

to steam to those ports while not using 

DAS. This new pre-landing requirement 

is necessary to enforce a measure 

intended to assist shoreside businesses 

in southern ports by providing an 

incentive for vessels to steam to ports 

far away from popular open area fishing 

grounds. 

In a given fishing year, NMFS 

estimates that for access area reporting, 

each of the 313 full-time limited access 

vessels will submit a pre-landing report 

5 times (1,565 responses), and each of 

the 34 part-time limited access vessel 

will submit a pre-landing report up to 

3 times (102 responses), for a total of 

1,667 responses. These 1,667 responses 

impose total compliance costs of $2,084 

on the whole fishery, but this cost is 

offset by the reduction in burden from 

the replaced trip termination and 

compensation trip reporting procedures, 

which were estimated to cost a total of 

$300 annually. Thus, the additional 

burden for this new pre-landing 

requirement is $1,785 ($2,085¥$300), 

or $5.14 per vessel. This is likely an 

overestimate, but accounts for the 

potential of higher access area scallop 

allocations in future fishing years. 

For the new DAS pre-landing 

requirements, NMFS estimates that this 

will likely impact 30 vessels and result 

in each of those vessels reporting one 

time a year. Public reporting burden for 

submitting these pre-landing 

notification forms is also estimated to 

average 5 minutes per response with an 

associated cost of $1.25. Therefore, the 

total cost of this will impose total 

compliance costs of $38 (30 vessels × 

$1.25). The total additional burden for 

all vessels from both of these new prelanding requirements is $1,823. 

The Assistant Administrator for 

Fisheries has determined that the need 

to implement these measures in an 

expedited manner in order to help 

achieve conservation objectives for the 


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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 76 / Tuesday, April 21, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 22125 

scallop fishery and certain fish stocks 

constitutes good cause, under authority 

contained in 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), to waive 

the 30-day delay in effectiveness and to 

make the majority of Framework 26 

final measures effective May 1, 2015, or 

upon publication in the Federal 

Register if published after May 1, 2015. 

The only exception to this waiver is the 

proactive accountability measure for 

bycatch requiring a maximum of seven 

rows of rings in the topside of the apron 

found in § 648.51(b)(4)(iv). This 

measure is effective 30 days after the 

publication date, in order to give vessels 

the opportunity to modify their gear to 

comply with regulations. 

If there is a 30-day delay in 

implementing the measures in 

Framework 26, the scallop fleet will 

continue under the current default 

access area, DAS, IFQ, RSA, and 

observer set-aside allocations. These 

default allocations were purposely set to 

be more conservative than what would 

eventually be implemented under 

Framework 26. Under default measures, 

each full-time vessel has 17 DAS and no 

access area allocation. If the rule is not 

in place May 1, many scallopers will not 

be able to fish because they have already 

used a significant portion of their 

default DAS. This action gives them 

another 13.86 DAS. More importantly, 

the entire fleet will not be allowed in 

the Access Area. Each full time vessel 

will receive an additional 51,000 to be 

harvested in the Mid-Atlantic Access 

Area with this action. This action, 

therefore, relieves restrictions on the 

scallop fleet by providing full-time 

vessels with an additional 13.86 DAS 

(30.86 DAS total) and 51,000 lb in 

access area allocation. Further, the catch 

rates, meat weights, and meat quality in 

Mid-Atlantic Access Area are best from 

May through July. Improving these 

parameters helps conserve the scallop 

resources in the access areas because it 

limits the number of individuals that 

scallop fishermen must harvest to reach 

a possession limit. Maximizing catch 

rates, meat weights, and meat quality 

will help the scallop fleet achieve 

optimum yield in the Mid-Atlantic 

Access Area, which is the central goal 

of the access area rotation program. 

Therefore, the greatest benefits to the 

scallop fishing industry, the scallop 

resource, and the public would come 

from earlier access in May. This 

provides more time for vessels to fish 

during the most productive time for the 

resource. Delaying the implementation 

of Framework 26 for 30 days would be 

contrary to the public interest because 

continuing with these lower allocations 

would negatively impact the access area 

rotation program, as well as the scallop 

fleet economically. Any delay in 

implementation past May 1st would 

reduce the amount of time that scallop 

fishermen are able to fish in the MidAtlantic Access Area under the 

conditions that are ideal under the 

access area rotation program. 

For the reasons discussed above, to 

maximize conservation and economic 

benefits it necessary to allow access to 

the Mid-Atlantic Access Area on May 1. 

NMFS was unable to allow for a 30-day 

delay in effectiveness for Framework 26 

rulemaking and allow access to the MidAtlantic Access Area on May 1. The 

Council’s February 2015 submission of 

Framework 26 initiated a timeline for 

implementation that did not for both the 

30-day delay in effectiveness and May 1 

access to the Mid-Atlantic Access Area. 

However, NMFS must also consider the 

need of the scallop industry to have 

prior notice in order to make the 

necessary preparations to comply with 

changes to the gear required by the 

proactive accountability measure for 

bycatch. For these reasons, NMFS has 

determined that implementing these 

measures immediately, and with a 30- 

day delay in effectiveness of the 

proactive accountability measure for 

bycatch, would have the greatest public 

benefit. 

NMFS, pursuant to section 604 of the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), has 

completed a final regulatory flexibility 

analysis (FRFA) in support of 

Framework 26 in this final rule. The 

FRFA incorporates the IRFA, a summary 

of the significant issues raised by the 

public comments in response to the 

IRFA, NMFS responses to those 

comments, a summary of the analyses 

completed in the Framework 26 EA, and 

this portion of the preamble. A 

summary of the IRFA was published in 

the proposed rule for this action and is 

not repeated here. A description of why 

this action was considered, the 

objectives of, and the legal basis for this 

rule is contained in Framework 26 and 

in the preamble to the proposed and this 

final rule, and is not repeated here. All 

of the documents that constitute the 

FRFA are available from NMFS and a 

copy of the IRFA, the Regulatory Impact 

Review (RIR), and the EA are available 

upon request (see ADDRESSES). 

A Summary of the Significant Issues 

Raised by the Public in Response to the 

IRFA, a Summary of the Agency’s 

Assessment of Such Issues, and a 

Statement of Any Changes Made in the 

Final Rule as a Result of Such 

Comments 

NMFS received no public comments 

directly in response to the IRFA 

summary or regarding economic 

impacts in the proposed rule. 

Description and Estimate of Number of 

Small Entities to Which the Rule Would 

Apply 

The regulations affect all vessels with 

limited access and LAGC scallop 

permits. The Framework 26 document 

provides extensive information on the 

number and size of vessels and small 

businesses that will be affected by these 

regulations, by port and state (see 

ADDRESSES). There were 313 vessels that 

obtained full-time limited access 

permits in 2013, including 250 dredge, 

52 small-dredge, and 11 scallop trawl 

permits. In the same year, there were 

also 34 part-time limited access permits 

in the sea scallop fishery. No vessels 

were issued occasional scallop permits. 

NMFS issued 212 LAGC IFQ permits in 

2013, and 155 of these vessels actively 

fished for scallops that year (the 

remaining permits likely leased out 

scallop IFQ allocations with their 

permits in Confirmation of Permit 

History). The Small Business 

Administration (SBA) defines a small 

business in shellfish fishery as a firm 

that is independently owned and 

operated and not dominant in its field 

of operation, with receipts of up to $5.5 

M annually. Matching the potentially 

impacted 2013 fishing year permits 

described above (LA and LAGC IFQ) to 

calendar year 2013 ownership data 

results in 172 distinct ownership 

entities for the limited access fleet and 

115 distinct ownership entities for the 

LAGC IFQ fleet. Of these, and based on 

the SBA guidelines, 154 of the limited 

access distinct ownership entities and 

all 115 of the LAGC IFQ entities are 

categorized as small. The remaining 18 

of the limited access entities are 

categorized as large entities, all of which 

are shellfish businesses. 

Description of Projected Reporting, 

Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance 

Requirements 

This action contains collection-ofinformation requirements subject to the 

PRA. The OMB, under the NMFS 

Greater Atlantic Region Scallop Report 

Family of Forms (OMB Control No. 

0648–0491), approved the two 

requirements. 

Under this action, all 347 limited 

access vessels are required to submit a 

pre-landing notification form for each 

access area trip through their VMS 

units. NMFS intends that this 

information collection will improve 

access area trip monitoring, as well as 

streamline a vessel’s ability to fish 

multiple access area trips. Although this 

is a new requirement, it replaces other 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with RULES
22126 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 76 / Tuesday, April 21, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

reporting procedures currently required 

for breaking an access area trip and 

receiving permission to take a 

compensation trip to harvest remaining 

unharvested scallop pounds from an 

access area trip. The action also 

includes a new requirement for some 

limited access vessels to report a prelanding notification form through their 

VMS unit before changing their open 

area trip declaration to a ‘‘declared out 

of fishery declaration,’’ which is 

expected to add a burden to a very small 

portion of the fleet. This requirement 

only applies to a few vessels that intend 

to land open area scallops at ports south 

of Cape May, NJ, and want to steam to 

those ports while not using DAS. This 

new pre-landing requirement is 

necessary to enforce a measure intended 

to assist shoreside businesses in 

southern ports by providing an 

incentive for vessels to steam to ports 

far away from popular open area fishing 

grounds. 

Notification requires the 

dissemination of the following 

information: Operator’s permit number; 

amount of scallop meats and/or bushels 

to be landed; the estimated time of 

arrival; the landing port and state where 

the scallops will be offloaded; and the 

vessel trip report (VTR) serial number 

recorded from that trip’s VTR. This 

information will be used by the NMFS 

Office of Law Enforcement to monitor 

vessel activity and ensure compliance 

with the regulations. 

The burden estimates for these new 

requirements apply to all limited access 

vessels. In a given fishing year, NMFS 

estimates that for access area reporting, 

each of the 313 full-time limited access 

vessels will submit a pre-landing report 

5 times (1,565 responses), and each of 

the 34 part-time limited access vessel 

will submit a pre-landing report up to 

3 times (102 responses), for a total of 

1,667 responses. Public reporting 

burden for submitting these pre-landing 

notification forms is estimated to 

average 5 minutes per response with an 

associated cost of $1.25, which includes 

the time for reviewing instructions, 

searching existing data sources, 

gathering and maintaining the data 

needed, and completing and reviewing 

the collection of information. 

Therefore, 1,667 responses impose 

total compliance costs of $2,084 across 

the whole fishery; however, this new 

requirement replaces current trip 

termination and compensation trip 

reporting procedures, which were 

estimated to cost a total of $300 

annually, so the additional burden for 

this new pre-landing requirement is 

actually $1,785 ($2,085¥$300), or $5.14 

per vessel. This figure is likely an 

overestimate, but accounts for the 

potential of higher access area scallop 

allocations in future fishing years. For 

the new DAS pre-landing requirements, 

NMFS estimates that this will likely 

impact 30 vessels and result in each of 

those vessels reporting one time a year. 

Public reporting burden for submitting 

these pre-landing notification forms is 

also estimated to average 5 minutes per 

response with an associated cost of 

$1.25. Therefore, the total cost of this 

will impose total compliance costs of 

$38 (30 vessels x $1.25). The total 

additional burden from both of these 

new pre-landing requirements will be 

$1,823. 

NMFS sought public comment 

regarding: Whether this proposed 

collection of information is necessary 

for the proper performance of the 

functions of the agency, including 

whether the information shall have 

practical utility; the accuracy of the 

burden estimate; ways to enhance the 

quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected; and ways to 

minimize the burden of the collection of 

information, including through the use 

of automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

NMFS did not receive any comments 

regarding these collections of 

information. 

Notwithstanding any other provision 

of the law, no person is required to 

respond to, nor shall any person be 

subject to a penalty for failure to comply 

with, a collection of information subject 

to the requirements of the PRA, unless 

that collection of information displays a 

currently valid OMB Control Number. 

All currently approved NOAA 

collections of information may be 

viewed at: http://www.cio.noaa.gov/

services_programs/prasubs.html. 

This action contains no other 

compliance costs. It does not duplicate, 

overlap, or conflict with any other 

Federal law. 

Description of the Steps the Agency Has 

Taken to Minimize the Significant 

Economic Impact on Small Entities 

Consistent With the Stated Objectives of 

Applicable Statutes 

During the development of 

Framework 26, NMFS and the Council 

considered ways to reduce the 

regulatory burden on, and provide 

flexibility for, the regulated entities in 

this action. For example, they removed 

the requirement to send in broken trip 

forms and process compensation trips, 

and they allowed carryover of all access 

area allocation 60 days into the 

following fishing year. Final actions and 

alternatives are described in detail in 

Framework 26, which includes an EA, 

RIR, and IRFA (available at ADDRESSES). 

The measures implemented by this final 

rule minimize the long-term economic 

impacts on small entities to the extent 

practicable. The only alternatives for the 

prescribed catch limits that were 

analyzed were those that met the legal 

requirements to implement effective 

conservation measures. Catch limits are 

fundamentally a scientific calculation 

based on the Scallop FMP control rules 

and SSC approval, and therefore are 

legally limited to the numbers contained 

in this rule. Moreover, the limited 

number of alternatives available for this 

action must be evaluated in the context 

of an ever-changing fishery management 

plan that has considered numerous 

alternatives over the years and have 

provided many mitigating measures 

applicable every fishing year. 

Overall, this rule minimizes adverse 

long-term impacts by ensuring that 

management measures and catch limits 

result in sustainable fishing mortality 

rates that promote stock rebuilding, and 

as a result, maximize yield. The 

measures implemented by this final rule 

also provide additional flexibility for 

fishing operations in the short-term. 

This final rule implements several 

measures that enable small entities to 

offset some portion of the estimated 

economic impacts. These measure 

include: Removing the requirement to 

send in broken trip and compensation 

trip forms; allowing vessels to harvest 

access area quota in any of the three 

access areas; aligning the gear designed 

to protect sea turtles; allowing vessel 

landing at a port south of 39 degrees N. 

lat. to ‘‘declare out of fishery with 

product on board’’ to reduce DAS use 

while transiting; and modifying the 

State Waters Exemption Program to 

allow vessels to continue to fish in state 

waters if the NGOM TAC is reached. 

List of Subjects 

50 CFR Part 223 

Endangered and threatened species, 

Exports, Imports, Transportation. 

50 CFR Part 648 

Fisheries, Fishing, Recordkeeping and 

reporting requirements. 

Dated: April 16, 2015. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, 50 CFR parts 223 and 648 is 

amended as follows: 


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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 76 / Tuesday, April 21, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 22127 

PART 223—THREATENED MARINE 

AND ANADROMOUS SPECIES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 223 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1531 1543; subpart B, 

§ 223.201–202 also issued under 16 U.S.C. 

1361 et seq.; 16 U.S.C. 5503(d) for 

§ 223.206(d)(9). 

■ 2. In § 223.206, paragraph (d)(11) is 

revised to read as follows: 

§ 223.206 Exceptions to prohibitions 

relating to sea turtles. 

* * * * * 

(d) * * * 

(11) Restrictions applicable to sea 

scallop dredges in the mid-Atlantic—(i) 

Gear Modification. During the time 

period of May 1 through November 30, 

any vessel with a sea scallop dredge and 

required to have a Federal Atlantic sea 

scallop fishery permit, regardless of 

dredge size or vessel permit category, 

that enters waters west of 71° W. long., 

from the shoreline to the outer boundary 

of the Exclusive Economic Zone must 

have on each dredge a chain mat 

described as follows. The chain mat 

must be composed of horizontal 

(‘‘tickler’’) chains and vertical (‘‘up-anddown’’) chains that are configured such 

that the openings formed by the 

intersecting chains have no more than 

four sides. The vertical and horizontal 

chains must be hung to cover the 

opening of the dredge bag such that the 

vertical chains extend from the back of 

the cutting bar to the sweep. The 

horizontal chains must intersect the 

vertical chains such that the length of 

each side of the openings formed by the 

intersecting chains is less than or equal 

to 14 inches (35.5 cm) with the 

exception of the side of any individual 

opening created by the sweep. The 

chains must be connected to each other 

with a shackle or link at each 

intersection point. The measurement 

must be taken along the chain, with the 

chain held taut, and include one shackle 

or link at the intersection point and all 

links in the chain up to, but excluding, 

the shackle or link at the other 

intersection point. 

(ii) Any vessel that enters the waters 

described in paragraph (d)(11)(i) of this 

section and that is required to have a 

Federal Atlantic sea scallop fishery 

permit must have the chain mat 

configuration installed on all dredges 

for the duration of the trip. 

(iii) Vessels subject to the 

requirements in paragraphs (d)(11)(i) 

and (ii) of this section transiting waters 

west of 71° W. long., from the shoreline 

to the outer boundary of the Exclusive 

Economic Zone, will be exempted from 

the chain-mat requirements provided 

the dredge gear is not available for 

immediate use as defined by § 648.2 of 

this title and there are no scallops onboard. 

PART 648—FISHERIES OF THE 

NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES 

■ 3. The authority citation for part 648 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. 

■ 4. In § 648.10, paragraphs (e)(5)(iii) 

and (f)(4) are revised, and paragraph 

(f)(6) is added to read as follows: 

§ 648.10 VMS and DAS requirements for 

vessel owners/operators. 

* * * * * 

(e) * * * 

(5) * * * 

(iii) DAS counting for a vessel that is 

under the VMS notification 

requirements of paragraph (b) of this 

section, with the exception of vessels 

that have elected to fish exclusively in 

the Eastern U.S./Canada Area on a 

particular trip, as described in 

paragraph (e)(5) of this section, begins 

with the first location signal received 

showing that the vessel crossed the 

VMS Demarcation Line after leaving 

port. DAS counting ends with the first 

location signal received showing that 

the vessel crossed the VMS Demarcation 

Line upon its return to port, unless the 

vessel is declared into a limited access 

scallop DAS trip and, upon its return to 

port, declares out of the scallop fishery 

shoreward of the VMS Demarcation 

Line at or south of 39° N. lat., as 

specified in paragraph (f)(6) of this 

section, and lands in a port south of 39° 

N. lat. 

* * * * * 

(f) * * * 

(4) Catch reports. (i) The owner or 

operator of a limited access or LAGC 

IFQ vessel that fishes for, possesses, or 

retains scallops, and is not fishing under 

a NE Multispecies DAS or sector 

allocation, must submit reports through 

the VMS, in accordance with 

instructions to be provided by the 

Regional Administrator, for each day 

fished, including open area trips, access 

area trips as described in § 648.60(a)(9), 

and trips accompanied by a NMFSapproved observer. The reports must be 

submitted for each day (beginning at 

0000 hr and ending at 2400 hr) and not 

later than 0900 hr of the following day. 

Such reports must include the following 

information: 

(A) VTR serial number; 

(B) Date fish were caught; 

(C) Total pounds of scallop meats 

kept; 

(D) Total pounds of all fish kept. 

(ii) Scallop Pre-Landing Notification 

Form for IFQ and NGOM vessels. A 

vessel issued an IFQ or NGOM scallop 

permit must report through VMS, using 

the Scallop Pre-Landing Notification 

Form, the amount of any scallops kept 

on each trip declared as a scallop trip, 

including declared scallop trips where 

no scallops were landed. In addition, 

vessels with an IFQ or NGOM permit 

must submit a Scallop Pre-Landing 

Notification Form on trips that are not 

declared as scallop trips, but on which 

scallops are kept incidentally. A limited 

access vessel that also holds an IFQ or 

NGOM permit must submit the Scallop 

Pre-Landing Notification Form only 

when fishing under the provisions of 

the vessel’s IFQ or NGOM permit. VMS 

Scallop Pre-Landing Notification forms 

must be submitted no less than 6 hours 

prior to arrival, or, if fishing ends less 

than 6 hours before arrival, immediately 

after fishing ends. If scallops will be 

landed, the report must include the 

vessel operator’s permit number, the 

amount of scallop meats in pounds to be 

landed, the number of bushels of inshell scallops to be landed, the 

estimated time of arrival in port, the 

landing port and state where the 

scallops will be offloaded, the VTR 

serial number recorded from that trip’s 

VTR (the same VTR serial number as 

reported to the dealer), and whether any 

scallops were caught in the NGOM. If no 

scallops will be landed, a vessel issued 

an IFQ or NGOM scallop permit must 

provide only the vessel’s captain/

operator’s permit number, the VTR 

serial number recorded from that trip’s 

VTR (the same VTR serial number as 

reported to the dealer), and 

confirmation that no scallops will be 

landed. A vessel issued an IFQ or 

NGOM scallop permit may provide a 

corrected report. If the report is being 

submitted as a correction of a prior 

report, the information entered into the 

notification form will replace the data 

previously submitted in the prior report. 

Submitting a correction does not 

prevent NMFS from pursuing an 

enforcement action for any false 

reporting. 

(iii) Scallop Pre-Landing Notification 

Form for limited access vessels fishing 

on Scallop Access Area trips. A limited 

access vessel on a declared Sea Scallop 

Access Area trip must report through 

VMS, using the Scallop Pre-Landing 

Notification Form, the amount of any 

scallops kept on each access area trip, 

including declared access area trips 

where no scallops were landed. The 

report must be submitted no less than 6 

hours before arrival, or, if fishing ends 

less than 6 hours before arrival, 


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immediately after fishing ends. If 

scallops will be landed, the report must 

include the vessel operator’s permit 

number, the amount of scallop meats in 

pounds to be landed, the number of 

bushels of in-shell scallops to be landed, 

the estimated time of arrival, the 

landing port and state where the 

scallops will be offloaded, and the VTR 

serial number recorded from that trip’s 

VTR (the same VTR serial number as 

reported to the dealer). If no scallops 

will be landed, a limited access vessel 

on a declared Sea Scallop Access Area 

trip must provide only the vessel’s 

captain/operator’s permit number, the 

VTR serial number recorded from that 

trip’s VTR (the same VTR serial number 

as reported to the dealer), and 

confirmation that no scallops will be 

landed. A limited access scallop vessel 

may provide a corrected report. If the 

report is being submitted as a correction 

of a prior report, the information 

entered into the notification form will 

replace the data previously submitted in 

the prior report. Submitting a correction 

does not prevent NMFS from pursuing 

an enforcement action for any false 

reporting. A vessel may not offload its 

catch from a Sea Scallop Access Area 

trip at more than one location per trip. 

(iv) Scallop Pre-Landing Notification 

Form for limited access vessels on a 

declared DAS trip landing scallops at 

ports located at or south of 39° N. lat. 

In order to end a declared Sea Scallop 

DAS trip and steam south of 39° N. lat., 

a limited access vessel must first report 

through VMS, using the Scallop PreLanding Notification Form, the amount 

of any scallops kept on its DAS trip. 

Upon crossing shoreward of the VMS 

Demarcation Line at or south of 39° N. 

lat., the Scallop Pre-Landing 

Notification form must be submitted. 

The report must include the vessel 

operator’s permit number, the amount of 

scallop meats in pounds to be landed, 

the estimated time of arrival in port, the 

landing port and state where the 

scallops will be offloaded, and the VTR 

serial number recorded from that trip’s 

VTR (the same VTR serial number as 

reported to the dealer). Prior to crossing 

seaward of the VMS Demarcation Line 

for the transit to a southern port at or 

south of 39° N. lat., the vessel must 

declare out of the scallop fishery. A 

limited access scallop vessel may 

provide a corrected report. If the report 

is being submitted as a correction of a 

prior report, the information entered 

into the notification form will replace 

the data previously submitted in the 

prior report. Submitting a correction 

does not prevent NMFS from pursuing 

an enforcement action for any false 

reporting. 

* * * * * 

(6) Limited access scallop vessels 

fishing under the DAS program and 

landing scallops at ports south of 39° N. 

Lat. If landing scallops at a port located 

at or south of 39° N. lat., a limited 

access vessel participating in the scallop 

DAS program may end its DAS trip once 

it has crossed shoreward of the VMS 

Demarcation Line at or south of 39° N. 

lat. by declaring out of the scallop 

fishery and submitting the Scallop PreLanding Notification Form, as specified 

at paragraph (f)(4)(iv) of this section. 

Once declared out of the scallop fishery, 

and the vessel has submitted the Scallop 

Pre-Landing Notification Form, the 

vessel may cross seaward of the VMS 

Demarcation Line and steam to a port at 

or south of 39° N. lat., to land scallops 

while not on a DAS. Such vessels that 

elect to change their declaration to 

steam to ports with scallops onboard 

and not accrue DAS must comply with 

all the requirements at § 648.53(f)(3). 

* * * * * 

5. In § 648.14, paragraphs (i)(2)(ii)(B), 

(i)(2)(iii)(C), (i)(2)(v)(D), (i)(3)(iii)(C) and 

(D), (i)(4)(i)(C), and (i)(5)(iii) are revised, 

and paragraphs (i)(2)(iv)(D) and (E) and 

(i)(2)(v)(E) are added to read as follows: 

§ 648.14 Prohibitions. 

* * * * * 

(i) * * * 

(2) * * * 

(ii) * * * 

(B) While under or subject to the DAS 

allocation program, in possession of 

more than 40 lb (18.1 kg) of shucked 

scallops or 5 bu (1.76 hL) of in-shell 

scallops, or fishing for scallops in the 

EEZ: 

(1) Fish with, or have available for 

immediate use, trawl nets of mesh 

smaller than the minimum size 

specified in § 648.51(a)(2). 

(2) Fail to comply with any chafing 

gear or other gear obstruction 

restrictions specified in § 648.51(a)(3). 

(3) Fail to comply with the turtle 

deflector dredge vessel gear restrictions 

specified in § 648.51(b)(5), and turtle 

dredge chain mat requirements in 

§ 223.206(d)(11) of this title. 

(4) Fish under the small dredge 

program specified in § 648.51(e), with, 

or while in possession of, a dredge that 

exceeds 10.5 ft (3.2 m) in overall width, 

as measured at the widest point in the 

bail of the dredge. 

(5) Fish under the small dredge 

program specified in § 648.51(e) with 

more persons on board the vessel, 

including the operator, than specified in 

§ 648.51(e)(3), unless otherwise 

authorized by the Regional 

Administrator. 

(6) Participate in the DAS allocation 

program with more persons on board 

the vessel than the number specified in 

§ 648.51(c), including the operator, 

when the vessel is not docked or 

moored in port, unless otherwise 

authorized by the Regional 

Administrator. 

(7) Fish in the Mid-Atlantic Access 

Area, as described in § 648.59(a), with 

more persons on board the vessel than 

the number specified in § 648.51(c) or 

§ 648.51(e)(3)(i), unless otherwise 

authorized by the Regional 

Administrator. 

(8) Have a shucking or sorting 

machine on board a vessel that shucks 

scallops at sea while fishing under the 

DAS allocation program, unless 

otherwise authorized by the Regional 

Administrator. 

(9) Fish with, possess on board, or 

land scallops while in possession of 

trawl nets, when fishing for scallops 

under the DAS allocation program, 

unless exempted as provided for in 

§ 648.51(f). 

(10) Fail to comply with the gear 

restrictions described in § 648.51. 

(iii) * * * 

(C) Fish for or land per trip, or possess 

at any time, scallops in the NGOM 

scallop management area after 

notification in the Federal Register that 

the NGOM scallop management area 

TAC has been harvested, as specified in 

§ 648.62, unless the vessel possesses or 

lands scallops that were harvested south 

of 42°20′ N. lat. and the vessel only 

transits the NGOM scallop management 

area with the vessel’s fishing gear 

properly stowed and not available for 

immediate use in accordance with 

§ 648.2 or unless the vessel is fishing 

exclusively in state waters and is 

participating in an approved state 

waters exemption program as specified 

in § 648.54. 

* * * * * 

(iv) * * * 

(D) Fail to comply with any 

requirements for declaring out of the 

DAS allocation program and steaming to 

land scallops at ports located at or south 

of 39° N. lat., as specified in 

§ 648.53(f)(3). 

(E) Possess on board or land in-shell 

scallops if declaring out of the DAS 

allocation program and steaming to land 

scallops at ports located at or south of 

39° N. lat. 

(v) * * * 

(D) Once declared into the scallop 

fishery in accordance with § 648.10(f), 

change its VMS declaration until the 

trip has ended and scallop catch has 


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been offloaded, except as specified at 

§ 648.53(f)(3). 

(E) Fail to submit a scallop access area 

pre-landing notification form through 

VMS as specified at § 648.10(f)(4)(iii). 

* * * * * 

(3) * * * 

(iii) * * * 

(C) Declare into the NGOM scallop 

management area after the effective date 

of a notification published in the 

Federal Register stating that the NGOM 

scallop management area TAC has been 

harvested as specified in § 648.62, 

unless the vessel is fishing exclusively 

in state waters, declared a state-waters 

only NGOM trip, and is participating in 

an approved state waters exemption 

program as specified in § 648.54. 

(D) Fish for, possess, or land scallops 

in or from the NGOM scallop 

management area after the effective date 

of a notification published in the 

Federal Register that the NGOM scallop 

management area TAC has been 

harvested, as specified in § 648.62, 

unless the vessel possesses or lands 

scallops that were harvested south of 

42°20′ N. lat., the vessel is transiting the 

NGOM scallop management area, and 

the vessel’s fishing gear is properly 

stowed and not available for immediate 

use in accordance with § 648.2 or unless 

the vessel is fishing exclusively in state 

waters, declared a state-waters only 

NGOM trip, and is participating in an 

approved state waters exemption 

program as specified in § 648.54. 

* * * * * 

(4) * * * 

(i) * * * 

(C) Declare into the NGOM scallop 

management area after the effective date 

of a notification published in the 

Federal Register stating that the NGOM 

scallop management area TAC has been 

harvested as specified in § 648.62, 

unless the vessel is fishing exclusively 

in state waters, declared a state-waters 

only NGOM trip, and is participating in 

an approved state waters exemption 

program as specified in § 648.54. 

* * * * * 

(5) * * * 

(iii) Fish for, possess, or land scallops 

in state or Federal waters of the NGOM 

management area after the effective date 

of notification in the Federal Register 

that the NGOM scallop management 

area TAC has been harvested as 

specified in § 648.62, unless the vessel 

is fishing exclusively in state waters, 

declared a state-waters only NGOM trip, 

and is participating in an approved state 

waters exemption program as specified 

in § 648.54. 

* * * * * 

■ 4. In § 648.51: 

■ a. Paragraphs (b)(4)(iv) and (v), 

(b)(5)(ii)(A) introductory text, 

(b)(5)(ii)(A)(3), and (c) introductory text 

are revised; 

■ b. Paragraph (c)(1) is removed and 

reserved; and 

■ c. Paragraph (e)(3)(i) is revised. 

The revisions read as follows: 

§ 648.51 Gear and crew restrictions. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(4) * * * 

(iv) Twine top restrictions as a 

proactive accountability measure for 

bycatch. In addition to the minimum 

twine top mesh size specified in 

paragraph (b)(2) of this section, limited 

access and limited access general 

category IFQ vessels may not fish for 

scallops with a dredge having more than 

seven rows of non-overlapping steel 

rings unobstructed by netting or any 

other material between the terminus of 

the dredge (club stick) and the net 

material on the top of the dredge (twine 

top) (a copy of a diagram showing a 

schematic of a legal dredge with twine 

top is available from the Regional 

Administrator upon request). 

(v) Measurement of twine top mesh 

size. Twine top mesh size is measured 

by using a wedge-shaped gauge having 

a taper of 0.79 inches (2 cm) in 3.15 

inches (8 cm) and a thickness of 0.09 

inches (2.3 mm), inserted into the 

meshes under a pressure or pull of 17.64 

lb (8 kg). The mesh size is the average 

of the measurements of any series of 20 

consecutive meshes for twine tops 

having 75 or more meshes, and 10 

consecutive meshes for twine tops 

having fewer than 75 meshes. The mesh 

in the twine top must be measured 

along the length of the twine top, 

running parallel to a longitudinal axis, 

and be at least five meshes away from 

where the twine top mesh meets the 

rings, running parallel to the long axis 

of the twine top. 

(5) * * * 

(ii) * * * 

(A) From May 1 through November 

30, any limited access scallop vessel 

using a dredge, regardless of dredge size 

or vessel permit category, or any LAGC 

IFQ scallop vessel fishing with a dredge 

with a width of 10.5 ft (3.2 m) or greater, 

that is fishing for scallops in waters 

west of 71° W. long., from the shoreline 

to the outer boundary of the EEZ, must 

use a TDD. The TDD requires five 

modifications to the rigid dredge frame, 

as specified in paragraphs (b)(5)(ii)(A)(1) 

through (5) of this section. See 

paragraph (b)(5)(ii)(D) of this section for 

more specific descriptions of the dredge 

elements mentioned below. 

* * * * * 

(3) All bale bars must be removed, 

except the outer bale (single or double) 

bars and the center support beam, 

leaving an otherwise unobstructed space 

between the cutting bar and forward 

bale wheels, if present. The center 

support beam must be less than 6 inches 

(15.24 cm) wide. For the purpose of 

flaring and safe handling of the dredge, 

a minor appendage not to exceed 12 

inches (30.5 cm) in length may be 

attached to each of the outer bale bars. 

If the flaring bar is attached in a ushape, none of the three sides of the 

flaring bar shall exceed 12 inches (30.5 

cm) in length. The appendage shall at 

no point be closer than 12 inches (30.5 

cm) to the cutting bar. 

* * * * * 

(c) Crew restrictions. A limited access 

vessel participating in or subject to the 

scallop DAS allocation program may 

have no more than seven people aboard, 

including the operator, and a limited 

access vessel participating in the Sea 

Scallop Area Access Program as 

specified in § 648.60 may have no more 

than eight people aboard, including the 

operator, when not docked or moored in 

port, except as follows: 

* * * * * 

(e) * * * 

(3) * * * 

(i) A vessel participating in the Sea 

Scallop Area Access Program as 

specified in § 648.60 may have no more 

than six people, including the operator, 

on board. 

* * * * * 

■ 5. In § 648.53: 

■ a. Paragraphs (a), (b)(1), and (b)(4) are 

revised; 

■ b. Paragraph (f)(3) is added; and 

■ c. Paragraph (g)(1) is revised. 

The revisions and additions read as 

follows: 

§ 648.53 Acceptable biological catch 

(ABC), annual catch limits (ACL), annual 

catch targets (ACT), DAS allocations, and 

individual fishing quotas (IFQ). 

(a) Scallop fishery ABC. The ABC for 

the scallop fishery shall be established 

through the framework adjustment 

process specified in § 648.55 and is 

equal to the overall scallop fishery ACL 

minus discards. The ABC/ACL, after 

discards are removed, shall be divided 

as sub-ACLs between limited access 

vessels, limited access vessels that are 

fishing under a LAGC permit, and LAGC 

vessels as specified in paragraphs (a)(3) 

and (4) of this section, after deducting 

the scallop incidental catch target TAC 

specified in paragraph (a)(2) of this 

section, observer set-aside specified in 

paragraph (g)(1) of this section, and 

research set-aside specified in 


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§ 648.56(d). The ABC/ACL for the 2016 

fishing year is subject to change through 

a future framework adjustment. 

(1) ABC/ACL for fishing years 2015 

through 2016, excluding discards, shall 

be: 

(i) 2015: 25,352 mt. 

(ii) 2016: 31,807 mt. 

(2) Scallop incidental catch target 

TAC. The annual incidental catch target 

TAC for vessels with incidental catch 

scallop permits is 22.7 mt. 

(3) Limited access fleet sub-ACL and 

ACT. The limited access scallop fishery 

shall be allocated 94.5 percent of the 

ACL specified in paragraph (a)(1) of this 

section, after deducting incidental 

catch, observer set-aside, and research 

set-aside, as specified in this paragraph 

(a)(3). ACT for the limited access scallop 

fishery shall be established through the 

framework adjustment process 

described in § 648.55. DAS specified in 

paragraph (b) of this section shall be 

based on the ACTs specified in 

paragraph (a)(3)(ii) of this section. The 

limited access fleet sub-ACL and ACT 

for the 2016 fishing year are subject to 

change through a future framework 

adjustment. 

(i) The limited access fishery subACLs for fishing years 2015 and 2016 

are: 

(A) 2015: 23,161 mt. 

(B) 2016: 29,200 mt. 

(ii) The limited access fishery ACTs 

for fishing years 2015 and 2016 are: 

(A) 2015: 19,311 mt. 

(B) 2016: 23,016 mt. 

(4) LAGC fleet sub-ACL. The sub-ACL 

for the LAGC IFQ fishery shall be equal 

to 5.5 percent of the ACL specified in 

paragraph (a)(1) of this section, after 

deducting incidental catch, observer setaside, and research set-aside, as 

specified in this paragraph (a)(4). The 

LAGC IFQ fishery ACT shall be equal to 

the LAGC IFQ fishery’s ACL. The ACL 

for the LAGC IFQ fishery for vessels 

issued only a LAGC IFQ scallop permit 

shall be equal to 5 percent of the ACL 

specified in paragraph (a)(1) of this 

section, after deducting incidental 

catch, observer set-aside, and research 

set-aside, as specified in this paragraph 

(a)(4). The ACL for the LAGC IFQ 

fishery for vessels issued only both a 

LAGC IFQ scallop permit and a limited 

access scallop permit shall be 0.5 

percent of the ACL specified in 

paragraph (a)(1) of this section, after 

deducting incidental catch, observer setaside, and research set-aside, as 

specified in this paragraph (a)(4). 

(i) The ACLs for fishing years 2015 

and 2016 for LAGC IFQ vessels without 

a limited access scallop permit are: 

(A) 2015: 1,225 mt. 

(B) 2016: 1,545 mt. 

(ii) The ACLs for fishing years 2015 

and 2016 for vessels issued both a LAGC 

and a limited access scallop permits are: 

(A) 2015: 123 mt. 

(B) 2016: 154 mt. 

(b) * * * 

(1) Landings per unit effort (LPUE). 

LPUE is an estimate of the average 

amount of scallops, in pounds, that the 

limited access scallop fleet lands per 

DAS fished. The estimated LPUE is the 

average LPUE for all limited access 

scallop vessels fishing under DAS, and 

shall be used to calculate DAS specified 

in paragraph (b)(4) of this section, the 

DAS reduction for the AM specified in 

paragraph (b)(4)(ii) of this section, and 

the observer set-aside DAS allocation 

specified in paragraph (g)(1) of this 

section. LPUE shall be: 

(i) 2015 fishing year: 2,594 lb/DAS 

(1,171 kg/DAS). 

(ii) 2016 fishing year: 2,715 lb/DAS 

(1,175 kg/DAS). 

(iii) [Reserved] 

* * * * * 

(4) Each vessel qualifying for one of 

the three DAS categories specified in the 

table in this paragraph (b)(4) (full-time, 

part-time, or occasional) shall be 

allocated the maximum number of DAS 

for each fishing year it may participate 

in the open area limited access scallop 

fishery, according to its category, 

excluding carryover DAS in accordance 

with paragraph (d) of this section. DAS 

allocations shall be determined by 

distributing the portion of ACT 

specified in paragraph (a)(3)(ii) of this 

section, as reduced by access area 

allocations specified in § 648.59, and 

dividing that amount among vessels in 

the form of DAS calculated by applying 

estimates of open area LPUE specified 

in paragraph (b)(1) of this section. 

Allocation for part-time and occasional 

scallop vessels shall be 40 percent and 

8.33 percent of the full-time DAS 

allocations, respectively. The annual 

open area DAS allocations for each 

category of vessel for the fishing years 

indicated are as follows: 

SCALLOP OPEN AREA DAS 

ALLOCATIONS

Permit 

category 2015 2016 

Full-Time ... 30.86 26 

Part-Time .. 12.94 10 .40 

Occasional 2.58 2 .17 

(i) [Reserved] 

(ii) Accountability measures (AM). 

Unless the limited access AM exception 

is implemented in accordance with the 

provision specified in paragraph 

(b)(4)(iii) of this section, if the ACL 

specified in paragraph (a)(3)(i) of this 

section is exceeded for the applicable 

fishing year, the DAS specified in 

paragraph (b)(4) of this section for each 

limited access vessel shall be reduced 

by an amount equal to the amount of 

landings in excess of the ACL divided 

by the applicable LPUE for the fishing 

year in which the AM will apply as 

specified in paragraph (b)(1) of this 

section, then divided by the number of 

scallop vessels eligible to be issued a 

full-time limited access scallop permit. 

For example, assuming a 300,000-lb 

(136-mt) overage of the ACL in 2011, an 

open area LPUE of 2,500 lb (1.13 mt) per 

DAS in 2012, and 313 full-time vessels, 

each full-time vessel’s DAS for 2012 

would be reduced by 0.38 DAS (300,000 

lb (136 mt)/2,500 lb (1.13 mt) per DAS 

= 120 lb (0.05 mt) per DAS/313 vessels 

= 0.38 DAS per vessel). Deductions in 

DAS for part-time and occasional 

scallop vessels shall be 40 percent and 

8.33 percent of the full-time DAS 

deduction, respectively, as calculated 

pursuant to this paragraph (b)(4)(ii). The 

AM shall take effect in the fishing year 

following the fishing year in which the 

overage occurred. For example, landings 

in excess of the ACL in fishing year 

2011 would result in the DAS reduction 

AM in fishing year 2012. If the AM takes 

effect, and a limited access vessel uses 

more open area DAS in the fishing year 

in which the AM is applied, the vessel 

shall have the DAS used in excess of the 

allocation after applying the AM 

deducted from its open area DAS 

allocation in the subsequent fishing 

year. For example, a vessel initially 

allocated 32 DAS in 2011 uses all 32 

DAS prior to application of the AM. If, 

after application of the AM, the vessel’s 

DAS allocation is reduced to 31 DAS, 

the vessel’s DAS in 2012 would be 

reduced by 1 DAS. 

(iii) Limited access AM exception. If 

NMFS determines, in accordance with 

paragraph (b)(4)(ii) of this section, that 

the fishing mortality rate associated 

with the limited access fleet’s landings 

in a fishing year is less than 0.34, the 

AM specified in paragraph (b)(4)(ii) of 

this section shall not take effect. The 

fishing mortality rate of 0.34 is the 

fishing mortality rate that is one 

standard deviation below the fishing 

mortality rate for the scallop fishery 

ACL, currently estimated at 0.38. 

(iv) Limited access fleet AM and 

exception provision timing. The 

Regional Administrator shall determine 

whether the limited access fleet 

exceeded its ACL specified in paragraph 

(a)(3)(i) of this section by July of the 

fishing year following the year for 

which landings are being evaluated. On 

or about July 1, the Regional 


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Administrator shall notify the New 

England Fishery Management Council 

of the determination of whether or not 

the ACL for the limited access fleet was 

exceeded, and the amount of landings in 

excess of the ACL. Upon this 

notification, the Scallop Plan 

Development Team (PDT) shall evaluate 

the overage and determine if the fishing 

mortality rate associated with total 

landings by the limited access scallop 

fleet is less than 0.34. On or about 

September 1 of each year, the Scallop 

PDT shall notify the Council of its 

determination, and the Council, on or 

about September 30, shall make a 

recommendation, based on the Scallop 

PDT findings, concerning whether to 

invoke the limited access AM exception. 

If NMFS concurs with the Scallop PDT’s 

recommendation to invoke the limited 

access AM exception, in accordance 

with the APA, the limited access AM 

shall not be implemented. If NMFS does 

not concur, in accordance with the 

APA, the limited access AM shall be 

implemented as soon as possible after 

September 30 each year. 

* * * * * 

(f) * * * 

(3) Limited access scallop vessels 

fishing under the DAS program and 

landing scallops at a port located at or 

south of 39° N. Lat. If landing scallops 

at a port located at or south of 39° N. 

lat., a limited access vessel participating 

in the scallop DAS program may end its 

DAS trip once shoreward of the VMS 

Demarcation Line at or south of 39° N. 

lat. by declaring out of the scallop 

fishery. Once declared out of the scallop 

fishery, the vessel may cross seaward of 

the VMS Demarcation Line and steam to 

ports at or south of 39° N. lat., to land 

scallops while not on a DAS, provided 

that the vessel complies with the 

following requirements: 

(i) The vessel must submit a Scallop 

Pre-landing Notification Form, as 

specified at § 648.10(f)(4)(iv); 

(ii) The vessel’s fishing gear is stowed 

and not available for immediate use as 

defined in § 648.2; 

(iii) The vessel must return directly to 

port and offload scallops; 

(iv) The vessel must land scallops at 

a port located at or south of 39° N. lat.; 

and 

(v) The vessel may not possess inshell scallops. 

(g) Set-asides for observer coverage. 

(1) To help defray the cost of carrying 

an observer, 1 percent of the ABC/ACL 

specified in paragraph (a)(1) of this 

section shall be set aside to be used by 

vessels that are assigned to take an atsea observer on a trip. The total TAC for 

observer set aside is 254 mt in fishing 

year 2015, and 318 mt in fishing year 

2016. 

* * * * * 

■ 6. In § 648.54, paragraphs (a)(4) and 

(b) through (g) are revised, and 

paragraph (h) is added, to read as 

follows: 

§ 648.54 State waters exemption. 

(a) * * * 

(4) The Regional Administrator has 

determined that the State of Maine has 

a scallop fishery conservation program 

for its scallop fishery that does not 

jeopardize the biomass and fishing 

mortality/effort limit objectives of the 

Scallop FMP. A vessel fishing in State 

of Maine waters may fish under the 

State of Maine state waters exemption, 

subject to the exemptions specified in 

paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, 

provided the vessel is in compliance 

with paragraphs (e) through (g) of this 

section. 

(b) Limited access scallop vessel 

exemption. Any vessel issued a limited 

access scallop permit is exempt from the 

DAS requirements specified in 

§ 648.53(b) while fishing exclusively 

landward of the outer boundary of the 

waters of a state that has been issued a 

state waters exemption under paragraph 

(a)(4) of this section, provided the vessel 

complies with paragraphs (f) through (h) 

of this section. 

(c) Gear and possession limit 

restrictions. Any vessel issued a limited 

access scallop permit, an LAGC NGOM, 

or an LAGC IFQ scallop permit is 

exempt from the minimum twine top 

mesh size for scallop dredge gear 

specified in § 648.51(b)(2) and (b)(4)(iv) 

while fishing exclusively landward of 

the outer boundary of the waters of the 

State of Maine under the state waters 

exemption specified in paragraph (a)(4) 

of this section, provided the vessel is in 

compliance with paragraphs (d) through 

(g) of this section. 

(d) NGOM closure exemption. Any 

vessel issued a Federal scallop permit 

may be exempt from the regulations 

specified in § 648.52(b)(2) requiring that 

once the NGOM Federal hard TAC is 

reached, no vessel issued a scallop 

permit may fish in the NGOM area. This 

exemption, which a state must apply for 

through the process specified in 

paragraph (a) of this section, would 

allow vessels to continue to fish for 

scallops within a state’s waters inside 

the NGOM. A state applying for this 

exemption must clarify to which scallop 

permit types this exemption would 

apply. 

(e) Notification requirements. Vessels 

fishing under the exemptions specified 

in paragraph (b) and/or (c) of this 

section must notify the Regional 

Administrator in accordance with the 

provisions of § 648.10(e). 

(f) Restriction on fishing in the EEZ. 

A vessel fishing under a state waters 

exemption may not fish in the EEZ 

during the time in which it is fishing 

under the state waters exemption, as 

declared under the notification 

requirements of this section. 

(g) Duration of exemption. An 

exemption expires upon a change in the 

vessel’s name or ownership, or upon 

notification through VMS by the 

participating vessel’s owner. 

(h) Applicability of other provisions of 

this part. A vessel fishing under the 

exemptions provided by paragraph (b) 

and/or (c) of this section remains subject 

to all other requirements of this part. 

■ 7. Section 648.58 is revised to read as 

follows: 

§ 648.58 Rotational Closed Areas. 

(a) Closed Area I Closed Area. No 

vessel may fish for scallops in, or 

possess or land scallops from, the area 

known as the Closed Area I Closed Area. 

No vessel may possess scallops in the 

Closed Area I Closed Area, unless such 

vessel is only transiting the area as 

provided in paragraph (e) of this 

section. The Closed Area I Closed Area 

is defined by straight lines connecting 

the following points in the order stated 

(copies of a chart depicting this area are 

available from the Regional 

Administrator upon request), and so 

that the line connecting points CAIA3 

and CAIA4 is the same as the portion of 

the western boundary line of Closed 

Area I, defined in § 648.81(a)(1), that 

lies between points CAIA3 and CAIA4: 

Point Latitude Longitude Note 

CAIA1 .. 41°26′ N. 68°30′ W. 

CAIA2 .. 40°58′ N. 68°30′ W. 

CAIA3 .. 40°54.95′ N. 68°53.37′ W. (1) 

CAIA4 .. 41°04′ N. 69°01′ W. (1) 

CAIA1 .. 41°26′ N. 68°30′ W. 

1From Point CAIA3 to Point CAIA4 along 

the western boundary of Closed Area I, defined in § 648.81(a)(1). 

(b) Closed Area II Closed Area. No 

vessel may fish for scallops in, or 

possess or land scallops from, the area 

known as the Closed Area II Closed 

Area. No vessel may possess scallops in 

the Closed Area II Closed Area. The 

Closed Area II Closed Area is defined by 

straight lines, except where noted, 

connecting the following points in the 

order stated (copies of a chart depicting 

this area are available from the Regional 

Administrator upon request): 


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Point Latitude Longitude Note 

CAIIA1 41°00′ N. 67°20′ W. 

CAIIA2 41°00′ N. 66°35.8′ W. 

CAIIA3 41°18.45′ N. (1) (2) 

CAIIA4 41°30′ N. (3) (2) 

CAIIA5 41°30′ N. 67°20′ W. 

CAIIA1 41°00′ N. 67°20′ W. 

1The intersection of 41°18.45′ N. lat. and 

the U.S.-Canada Maritime Boundary, approximately 41°18.45′ N. lat. and 66°24.89′ W. 

long. 2From Point CAIIA3 connected to Point 

CAIIA4 along the U.S.-Canada Maritime 

Boundary. 3The intersection of 41°30′ N. lat. and the 

U.S.-Canada Maritime Boundary, approximately 41°30′ N. lat., 66°34.73′ W. long. 

(c) Nantucket Lightship Closed Area. 

No vessel may fish for scallops in, or 

possess or land scallops from, the area 

known as the Nantucket Lightship 

Closed Area. No vessel may possess 

scallops in the Nantucket Lightship 

Closed Area, unless such vessel is only 

transiting the area as provided in 

paragraph (e) of this section. The 

Nantucket Lightship Closed Area is 

defined by straight lines connecting the 

following points in the order stated 

(copies of a chart depicting this area are 

available from the Regional 

Administrator upon request), 

Point Latitude Longitude 

NLAA1 ......... 40°50′ N. 69°30′ W. 

NLAA2 ......... 40°50′ N. 69°00′ W. 

NLAA3 ......... 40°33′ N. 69°00′ W 

NLAA4 ......... 40°33′ N. 68°48′ W 

NLAA5 ......... 40°20′ N. 68°48′ W 

NLAA6 ......... 40°20′ N. 69°30′ W. 

NLAA1 ......... 40°50′ N. 69°30′ W. 

(d) Elephant Trunk Closed Area. No 

vessel may fish for scallops in, or 

possess or land scallops from, the area 

known as the Elephant Trunk Closed 

Area. No vessel may possess scallops in 

Elephant Trunk Closed Area. The 

Elephant Trunk Closed Area is defined 

by straight lines connecting the 

following points in the order stated 

(copies of a chart depicting this area are 

available from the Regional 

Administrator upon request). 

Point Latitude Longitude 

ETCA 1 ........ 38°50′ N. 74°20′ W. 

ETCA 2 ........ 38°50′ N. 73°40′ W. 

ETCA 3 ........ 38°40′ N. 73°40′ W. 

ETCA 4 ........ 38°40′ N. 73°50′ W. 

ETCA 5 ........ 38°30′ N. 73°50′ W. 

ETCA 6 ........ 38°30′ N. 74°20′ W. 

ETCA 1 ........ 38°50′ N. 74°20′ W. 

(e) Transiting. No vessel possessing 

scallops may enter or be in the area(s) 

specified in paragraphs (a) and (c) of 

this section unless the vessel is 

transiting the area and the vessel’s 

fishing gear is stowed and not available 

for immediate use as defined in § 648.2, 

or there is a compelling safety reason to 

be in such areas without such gear being 

stowed. A vessel may only transit the 

Closed Area II Closed Area, as described 

in paragraph (b) of this section, or the 

Elephant Trunk Closed Area, as 

described in paragraph (d) of this 

section, if there is a compelling safety 

reason for transiting the area and the 

vessel’s fishing gear is stowed and not 

available for immediate use as defined 

in § 648.2. 

(f) Vessels fishing for species other 

than scallops. A vessel may fish for 

species other than scallops within the 

closed areas specified in paragraphs (a) 

through (d) of this section as allowed in 

this part, provided the vessel does not 

fish for, catch, or retain scallops or 

intend to fish for, catch, or retain 

scallops. Declaration through VMS that 

the vessel is fishing in the LAGC scallop 

fishery is deemed to be an intent to fish 

for, catch, or retain scallops. 

8. In § 648.59: 

a. Paragraph (a) is added; 

b. Paragraphs (b) introductory text, 

(b)(1), (b)(3), (c) introductory text, and 

(c)(1) are revised; 

c. Paragraph (c)(2) is removed and 

reserved; 

d. Paragraphs (c)(3), (d) introductory 

text, and (d)(1) are revised; and 

e. Paragraphs (d)(2) and (e) are 

removed and reserved. 

The addition and revisions read as 

follows: 

§ 648.59 Sea Scallop Access Areas. 

(a) Mid-Atlantic Scallop Access Area. 

(1) Beginning March 1, 2015, through 

February 28, 2017 (i.e., fishing years 

2015 and 2016), a vessel issued a 

scallop permit may not fish for, possess, 

or land scallops in or from the area 

known as the Mid-Atlantic Access Area 

unless the vessel is participating in, and 

complies with the requirements of, the 

area access program described in 

§ 648.60. The Mid-Atlantic Access Area 

is comprised of the following scallop 

access areas: The Delmarva Scallop 

Access Area, as described in paragraph 

(a)(2) of this section; the Elephant Trunk 

Scallop Access Area, as described in 

paragraph (a)(3) of this section; and the 

Hudson Canyon Scallop Access Area, as 

described in paragraph (a)(4) of this 

section. 

(2) Delmarva Scallop Access Area. 

The Delmarva Scallop Access Area is 

defined by straight lines connecting the 

following points in the order stated 

(copies of a chart depicting this area are 

available from the Regional 

Administrator upon request): 

Point Latitude Longitude 

DMV1 ........... 38°10′ N. 74°50′ W. 

DMV2 ........... 38°10′ N. 74°00′ W. 

DMV3 ........... 37°15′ N. 74°00′ W. 

DMV4 ........... 37°15′ N. 74°50′ W. 

DMV1 ........... 38°10′ N. 74°50′ W. 

(i) Season. A vessel issued a scallop 

permit may not fish for, possess, or land 

scallops in or from the area known as 

the Delmarva Sea Scallop Access Area, 

described in paragraph (a)(2) of this 

section, during the period of March 1, 

2016, through March 31, 2016. 

(ii) [Reserved] 

(3) Elephant Trunk Scallop Access 

Area. The Elephant Trunk Scallop 

Access Area is defined by straight lines 

connecting the following points in the 

order stated (copies of a chart depicting 

this area are available from the Regional 

Administrator upon request): 

Point Latitude Longitude 

ETAA1 ......... 38°30′ N. 74°20′ W. 

ETAA2 ......... 38°30′ N. 73°50′ W. 

ETAA3 ......... 38°40′ N. 73°50′ W. 

ETAA4 ......... 38°40′ N. 73°40′ W. 

ETAA5 ......... 38°50′ N. 73°40′ W. 

ETAA6 ......... 38°50′ N. 73°30′ W. 

ETAA7 ......... 38°10′ N. 73°30′ W. 

ETAA8 ......... 38°10′ N. 74°20′ W. 

ETAA1 ......... 38°30′ N. 74°20′ W. 

(4) Hudson Canyon Scallop Access 

Area. The Hudson Canyon Scallop 

Access Area is defined by straight lines 

connecting the following points in the 

order stated (copies of a chart depicting 

this area are available from the Regional 

Administrator upon request): 

Point Latitude Longitude 

H1 ................ 39°30′ N. 73°10′ W. 

H2 ................ 39°30′ N. 72°30′ W. 

H3 ................ 38°30′ N. 73°30′ W. 

H4 ................ 38°50′ N. 73°30′ W. 

H5 ................ 38°50′ N. 73°42′ W. 

H1 ................ 39°30′ N. 73°10′ W. 

(b) Closed Area I Scallop Access Area. 

(1) From March 1, 2015, through 

February 28, 2017 (i.e., fishing years 

2015 and 2016), a vessel issued a 

scallop permit may not fish for, possess, 

or land scallops in or from, the area 

known as the Closed Area I Scallop 

Access Area, described in paragraph 

(b)(3) of this section, unless transiting in 

accordance with paragraph (f) of this 

section. A vessel issued both a NE 

multispecies permit and an LAGC 

scallop permit may not fish in an 

approved SAP under § 648.85 and under 

multispecies DAS in the scallop access 

area, unless it complies with restrictions 

in paragraph (b)(5)(ii)(C) of this section. 

* * * * * 


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(3) The Closed Area I Scallop Access 

Area is defined by straight lines 

connecting the following points in the 

order stated (copies of a chart depicting 

this area are available from the Regional 

Administrator upon request), and so 

that the line connecting points CAIA3 

and CAIA4 is the same as the portion of 

the western boundary line of Closed 

Area I, defined in § 648.81(a)(1), that 

lies between points CAIA3 and CAIA4: 

Point Latitude Longitude Note 

CAIA1 .. 41°26′ N. 68°30′ W. 

CAIA2 .. 40°58′ N. 68°30′ W. 

CAIA3 .. 40°54.95′ N. 68°53.37′ W. (1) 

CAIA4 .. 41°04′ N. 69°01′ W. (1) 

CAIA1 .. 41°26′ N. 68°30′ W. 

1From Point CAIA3 to Point CAIA4 along 

the western boundary of Closed Area I, defined in § 648.81(a)(1). 

* * * * * 

(c) Closed Area II Scallop Access 

Area. (1) From March 1, 2015, through 

February 28, 2017 (i.e., fishing years 

2015 and 2016), a vessel issued a 

scallop permit may not fish for, possess, 

or land scallops in or from, the area 

known as the Closed Area II Access 

Area, described in paragraph (c)(3) of 

this section, unless transiting in 

accordance with paragraph (f) of this 

section. A vessel issued both a NE 

multispecies permit and an LAGC 

scallop permit may not fish in an 

approved SAP under § 648.85 and under 

multispecies DAS in the scallop access 

area, unless it complies with restrictions 

in paragraph (c)(5)(ii)(C) of this section. 

(2) [Reserved] 

(3) The Closed Area II Scallop Access 

Area is defined by straight lines, except 

where noted, connecting the following 

points in the order stated (copies of a 

chart depicting this area are available 

from the Regional Administrator upon 

request): 

Point Latitude Longitude Note 

CAIIA1 41°00′ N. 67°20′ W. 

CAIIA2 41°00′ N. 66°35.8′ W. 

CAIIA3 41°18.45′ N. (1) (2) 

CAIIA4 41°30′ N. (3) (2) 

CAIIA5 41°30′ N. 67°20′ W. 

CAIIA1 41°00′ N. 67°20′ W. 

1The intersection of 41°18.45′ N. lat. and 

the U.S.-Canada Maritime Boundary, approximately 41°18.45′ N. lat. and 66°24.89′ W. 

long. 2From Point CAIIA3 connected to Point 

CAIIA4 along the U.S.-Canada Maritime 

Boundary. 3The intersection of 41°30′ N. lat. and the 

U.S.-Canada Maritime Boundary, approximately 41°30′ N. lat., 66°34.73′ W. long. 

* * * * * 

(d) Nantucket Lightship Scallop 

Access Area. (1) From March 1, 2015, 

through February 28, 2017 (i.e., fishing 

years 2015 and 2016), a vessel issued a 

scallop permit may not fish for, possess, 

or land scallops in or from the area 

known as the Nantucket Lightship 

Access Area, described in paragraph 

(d)(3) of this section, unless transiting 

pursuant to paragraph (f) of this section. 

A vessel issued both a NE multispecies 

permit and an LAGC scallop permit may 

not fish in an approved SAP under 

§ 648.85 and under multispecies DAS in 

the scallop access area, unless it 

complies with restrictions in paragraph 

(d)(5)(ii)(C) of this section. 

* * * * * 

■ 9. In § 648.60, paragraphs (a)(1), (a)(3), 

(a)(5)(i), (a)(9), (c), (e)(1), and (g)(3)(i) are 

revised to read as follows: 

§ 648.60 Sea scallop access area program 

requirements. 

(a) * * * 

(1) VMS. Each vessel participating in 

the Sea Scallop Access Area Program 

must have installed on board an 

operational VMS unit that meets the 

minimum performance criteria specified 

in §§ 648.9 and 648.10, and paragraphs 

(a)(9) and (f) of this section. 

* * * * * 

(3) Sea Scallop Access Area 

Allocations—(i) Limited access vessel 

allocations. (A) Except as provided in 

paragraph (c) of this section, paragraphs 

(a)(3)(i)(B) through (E) of this section 

specify the total amount of scallops, in 

weight, that a limited access scallop 

vessel may harvest from Sea Scallop 

Access Areas during applicable seasons 

specified in § 648.59. A vessel may not 

possess or land in excess of its scallop 

allocation assigned to specific Sea 

Scallop Access Areas, unless authorized 

by the Regional Administrator, as 

specified in paragraph (d) of this 

section, unless the vessel owner has 

exchanged an area-specific scallop 

allocation with another vessel owner for 

additional scallop allocation in that 

area, as specified in paragraph (a)(3)(ii) 

of this section. A vessel may harvest its 

scallop allocation, as specified in 

paragraph (a)(3)(i)(B) of this section, on 

any number of trips in a given fishing 

year, provided that no single trip 

exceeds the possession limits specified 

in paragraph (a)(5) of this section, 

unless authorized by the Regional 

Administrator, as specified in 

paragraphs (c) and (d) of this section, 

(B) Full-time scallop vessels. (1) In 

fishing year 2015, each full-time vessel 

shall have a total of 51,000 lb (23,133 

kg) of scallops that may be harvested 

from the Mid-Atlantic Access Area, as 

defined in § 648.59(a). 

(2) For the 2016 fishing year, each 

full-time vessel shall have a total of 

17,000 lb (7,711 kg) of scallops that may 

be harvested from the Mid-Atlantic 

Access Area, as defined in § 648.59(a), 

starting on April 1, 2016. 

(C) Part-time scallop vessels. (1) For 

the 2015 fishing year, each part-time 

scallop vessel shall have a total of 

20,400 lb (9,253 kg) of scallop that may 

be harvested from the Mid-Atlantic 

Access Area, as defined in § 648.59(a). 

(2) For the 2015 fishing year, each 

part-time scallop vessel shall have a 

total of 10,200 lb (4,627 kg) of scallop 

that may be harvested from the MidAtlantic Access Area, as defined in 

§ 648.59(a), starting on April 1, 2016. 

(D) Occasional scallop vessels. (1) For 

the 2015 fishing year, each occasional 

scallop vessel shall have a total of 4,250 

lb (1,928 kg) of scallop that may be 

harvested from the Mid-Atlantic Access 

Area, as defined in § 648.59(a). 

(2) For the 2016 fishing year, each 

occasional scallop vessel shall have a 

total of 1,420 lb (644 kg) of scallop that 

may be harvested from the Mid-Atlantic 

Access Area, as defined in § 648.59(a), 

starting on April 1, 2016. 

(ii) One-for-one area access allocation 

exchanges. The owner of a vessel issued 

a limited access scallop permit may 

exchange unharvested scallop pounds 

allocated into one access area for 

another vessel’s unharvested scallop 

pounds allocated into another Sea 

Scallop Access Area. These exchanges 

may only be made for the amount of the 

current trip possession limit, as 

specified in paragraph (a)(5) of this 

section. For example, if the access area 

trip possession limit for full-time 

vessels is 17,000 lb (7,711 kg), a fulltime vessel may exchange no less than 

17,000 lb (7,711 kg), from one access 

area for no more or less than 17,000 lb 

(7,711 kg) allocated to another vessel for 

another access area. In addition, these 

exchanges may be made only between 

vessels with the same permit category: 

A full-time vessel may not exchange 

allocations with a part-time vessel, and 

vice versa. Vessel owners must request 

these exchanges by submitting a 

completed Access Area Allocation 

Exchange Form at least 15 days before 

the date on which the applicant desires 

the exchange to be effective. Exchange 

forms are available from the Regional 

Administrator upon request. Each vessel 

owner involved in an exchange is 

required to submit a completed Access 

Area Allocation Form. The Regional 

Administrator shall review the records 

for each vessel to confirm that each 

vessel has enough unharvested 

allocation remaining in a given access 

area to exchange. The exchange is not 

effective until the vessel owner(s) 

receive a confirmation in writing from 


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the Regional Administrator that the 

allocation exchange has been made 

effective. A vessel owner may exchange 

equal allocations up to the current 

possession limit between two or more 

vessels under his/her ownership. A 

vessel owner holding a Confirmation of 

Permit History is not eligible to 

exchange allocations between another 

vessel and the vessel for which a 

Confirmation of Permit History has been 

issued. 

* * * * * 

(5) Possession and landing limits—(i) 

Scallop possession limits. Unless 

authorized by the Regional 

Administrator, as specified in paragraph 

(d) of this section, after declaring a trip 

into a Sea Scallop Access Area, a vessel 

owner or operator of a limited access 

scallop vessel may fish for, possess, and 

land, per trip, scallops, up to the 

maximum amounts specified in the 

table in this paragraph (a)(5). No vessel 

declared into the Access Areas as 

described in § 648.59(a) through (e) may 

possess more than 50 bu (17.62 hL) of 

in-shell scallops outside of the Access 

Areas described in § 648.59(a) through 

(e). 

Fishing year 

Permit category possession limit 

Full-time Part-time Occasional 

2015 ....................... 17,000 lb (57,711 kg) ........................... 10,200 lb (4,627 kg) ............................. 1,420 lb (644 kg). 

2016 ....................... 17,000 lb (57,711 kg) ........................... 10,200 lb (4,627 kg) ............................. 1,420 lb (644 kg). 

* * * * * 

(9) Reporting. The owner or operator 

must submit scallop catch reports 

through the VMS, as specified in 

§ 648.10(f)(4)(i), and limited access 

scallop access area pre-landing 

notification forms, as specified in 

§ 648.10(f)(4)(iii). 

* * * * * 

(c) Access area scallop allocation 

carryover. Unless otherwise specified in 

§ 648.59, a limited access scallop vessel 

operator may fish any unharvested 

Scallop Access Area allocation from a 

given fishing year within the first 60 

days of the subsequent fishing year if 

the Access Area is open. For example, 

if a full-time vessel has 7,000 lb (3,175 

kg) remaining in the Mid-Atlantic 

Access Area at the end of fishing year 

2015, that vessel may harvest 7,000 lb 

(3,175 kg) from its 2016 fishing year 

scallop access area allocation during the 

first 60 days that the Mid-Atlantic 

Access Area is open in fishing year 2016 

(March 1, 2016, through April 29, 2017). 

Unless otherwise specified in § 648.59, 

if an Access Area is not open in the 

subsequent fishing year, then the 

unharvested scallop allocation would 

expire at the end of the fishing year that 

the scallops were allocated. 

* * * * * 

(e) Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside 

Harvest in Access Areas—(1) Access 

Areas available for harvest of research 

set-aside (RSA). Unless otherwise 

specified, RSA may be harvested in any 

access area that is open in a given 

fishing year, as specified through a 

framework adjustment and pursuant to 

§ 648.56. The amount of scallops that 

can be harvested in each access area by 

vessels participating in approved RSA 

projects shall be determined through the 

RSA application review and approval 

process. The access areas open for RSA 

harvest for fishing years 2015 and 2016 

are: 

(i) 2015: The Mid-Atlantic Scallop 

Access Area, as specified in § 648.59(a). 

(ii) 2016: None. 

* * * * * 

(g) * * * 

(3) LAGC IFQ Access Area Trips. (i) 

An LAGC scallop vessel authorized to 

fish in the Access Areas specified in 

§ 648.59(a) through (e) may land 

scallops, subject to the possession limit 

specified in § 648.52(a), unless the 

Regional Administrator has issued a 

notice that the number of LAGC IFQ 

access area trips have been or are 

projected to be taken. The total number 

of LAGC IFQ trips in a specified Access 

Area for fishing year 2015 and 2016 are: 

Access area 2015 2016 

Mid-Atlantic Access Area 2,065 602 

Closed Area 1 ................... 0 0 

Closed Area 2 ................... 0 0 

Nantucket Lightship .......... 0 0 

* * * * * 

■ 10. In § 648.61, paragraph (a)(4) is 

revised to read as follows: 

§ 648.61 EFH closed areas. 

(a) * * * 

(4) Closed Area I Habitat Closure 

Areas. The restrictions specified in 

paragraph (a) of this section apply to the 

Closed Area I Habitat Closure Areas, 

Closed Area I-North and Closed Area ISouth, which are the areas bounded by 

straight lines connecting the following 

points in the order stated, and so that 

the lines connecting Point CIN4 to Point 

CIN1, and Point CIS4 to Point CIS1 is 

the same as the portion of the western 

boundary line of Closed Area I, defined 

in paragraph (a)(1) of this section, that 

lies between those points: 

CLOSED AREA I—NORTH HABITAT

CLOSURE AREA

Point Latitude Longitude Note 

CIN1 .... 41°30′ N. 69°23′ W. 

CIN2 .... 41°30′ N. 68°30′ W. 

CIN3 .... 41°26′ N. 68°30′ W. 

CIN4 .... 41°04′ N. 69°01′ W. (1) 

CIN1 .... 41°30′ N. 69°23′ W. (1) 

1From Point CIN4 back to Point CIN1 along 

the western boundary of Closed Area I, defined in § 648.81(a)(1). 

CLOSED AREA I—SOUTH HABITAT

CLOSURE AREA

Point Latitude Longitude Notes 

CIS1 ... 40°54.95′ N. 68°53.37′ W. 

CIS2 ... 40°58′ N. 68°30′ W. 

CIS3 ... 40°45′ N. 68°30′ W. 

CIS4 ... 40°45′ N. 68°45′ W. (1) 

CIS1 ... 40°54.95′ N. 68°53.37′ W. (1) 

1From Point CIS4 back to Point CIS1 along 

the western boundary of Closed Area I, defined in § 648.81(a)(1). 

* * * * * 

■ 11. In § 648.64, paragraph (a) is 

revised to read as follows: 

§ 648.64 Yellowtail flounder sub-ACLs and 

AMs for the scallop fishery. 

(a) As specified in § 648.55(d), and 

pursuant to the biennial framework 

adjustment process specified in 

§ 648.90, the scallop fishery shall be 

allocated a sub-ACL for the Georges 

Bank and Southern New England/MidAtlantic stocks of yellowtail flounder. 

The sub-ACLs are specified in 

§ 648.90(a)(4)(iii)(C) of the NE 

multispecies regulations. 

* * * * * 

■ 12. In § 648.65, paragraph (b)(3)(ii) is 

revised to read as follows: 

§ 648.65 Windowpane flounder sub-ACLs 

and AMs for the scallop fishery. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 


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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 76 / Tuesday, April 21, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 22135 

(3) * * * 

(ii) The maximum hanging ratio for a 

net, net material, or any other material 

on the top of a scallop dredge (twine 

top) possessed or used by vessels fishing 

with scallop dredge gear does not 

exceed 1.5:1 overall. An overall hanging 

ratio of 1.5:1 means that the twine top 

is attached to the rings in a pattern of 

alternating 2 meshes per ring and 1 

mesh per ring (counted at the bottom 

where the twine top connects to the 

apron), for an overall average of 1.5 

meshes per ring for the entire width of 

the twine top. For example, an apron 

that is 40 rings wide subtracting 5 rings 

one each side of the side pieces, 

yielding 30 rings, would only be able to 

use a twine top with 45 or fewer meshes 

so that the overall ratio of meshes to 

rings did not exceed 1.5 (45 meshes/30 

rings = 1.5). 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2015–09199 Filed 4–20–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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