Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 190 / Tuesday, October 5, 2021 / Proposed Rules 54903 

C. Description and Estimate of the 

Number of Small Entities to Which the 

Third Mandatory Data Collection Will 

Apply 

The RFA directs agencies to provide 

a description of, and where feasible, an 

estimate of the number of small entities 

that may be affected by the Third 

Mandatory Data Collection. The RFA 

generally defines the term ‘‘small 

entity’’ as having the same meaning as 

the terms ‘‘small business,’’ ‘‘small 

organization,’’ and ‘‘small governmental 

jurisdiction.’’ In addition, the term 

‘‘small business’’ has the same meaning 

as the term ‘‘small-business concern’’ 

under the Small Business Act. Pursuant 

to 5 U.S.C. 601(3), the statutory 

definition of a small business applies 

‘‘unless an agency, after consultation 

with the Office of Advocacy of the 

Small Business Administration and after 

opportunity for public comment, 

establishes one or more definitions of 

such term which are appropriate to the 

activities of the agency and publishes 

such definition(s) in the Federal 

Register.’’ A ‘‘small-business concern’’ 

is one which: (1) Is independently 

owned and operated; (2) is not 

dominant in its field of operation; and 

(3) satisfies any additional criteria 

established by the SBA. 

Regulatory Flexibility Analyses were 

incorporated in a 2020 document and 

the 2021 ICS Order. In those analyses, 

the Commission described in detail the 

small entities that might be affected. 

Accordingly, in this document, for the 

Supplemental IRFA, WCB/OEA hereby 

incorporate by reference the 

descriptions and estimates of the 

number of small entities from these 

previous Regulatory Flexibility 

Analyses. 

D. Description of Projected Reporting, 

Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance 

Requirements for Small Entities 

The WCB/OEA document seeks 

comments on the specifics of the Third 

Mandatory Data Collection to ensure 

calling services rates, charges, and 

practices are just and reasonable. The 

Third Mandatory Data Collection 

requires ICS providers to submit, among 

other things, data and other information 

on calls, demand, operations, company 

and contract information, information 

about facilities served, revenues, site 

commission payments, and ancillary 

fees. 

E. Steps Taken To Minimize the 

Significant Economic Impact on Small 

Entities and Significant Alternatives 

Considered 

The RFA requires an agency to 

describe any significant alternatives that 

it has considered in reaching its 

proposed approach, which may include 

the following four alternatives (among 

others): ‘‘(1) The establishment of 

differing compliance or reporting 

requirements or timetables that take into 

account the resources available to small 

entities; (2) the clarification, 

consolidation, or simplification of 

compliance and reporting requirements 

under the rules for such small entities; 

(3) the use of performance rather than 

design standards; and (4) an exemption 

from coverage of the rule, or any part 

thereof, for such small entities.’’ WCB/ 

OEA will consider all of these factors 

when WCB/OEA receive substantive 

comment from the public and 

potentially affected entities. 

The Third Mandatory Data Collection 

is a one-time request and does not 

impose a recurring obligation on 

providers. Because the Commission’s 

2021 ICS Order requires all ICS 

providers to comply with the mandatory 

data collection, the collection will affect 

smaller as well as larger ICS providers. 

The Commission has taken steps to 

ensure that the data collection template 

is competitively neutral and not unduly 

burdensome for any set of providers. 

Additionally, the WCB/OEA document 

asks whether there are ways of 

minimizing the burden of the data 

collection on providers while still 

ensuring that the Commission collects 

all the data needed to meet its goals. 

WCB/OEA will consider the economic 

impact on small entities, as identified in 

comments filed in response to the WCB/ 

OEA document and this Supplemental 

IRFA, in reaching its final conclusions 

and finalizing the instructions and the 

template for the Third Mandatory Data 

Collection. 

F. Federal Rules That May Duplicate, 

Overlap, or Conflict With the Proposed 

Rules 

None. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Daniel Kahn, 

Associate Bureau Chief, Wireline Competition 

Bureau. 

[FR Doc. 2021–21781 Filed 10–4–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No.: 210916–0190] 

RIN 0648–BK68 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery; 

Amendment 21 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to approve 

and implement through regulations 

measures included in Amendment 21 to 

the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery 

Management Plan, which the New 

England Fishery Management Council 

adopted and submitted to NMFS for 

approval. This action would allow for 

more controlled access to the scallop 

resource by the limited access and 

limited access general category fleets 

and increase monitoring to a growing 

directed scallop fishery in Federal 

waters, including the Northern Gulf of 

Maine Management Area. These 

proposed management measures are 

intended to promote conservation of the 

scallop resource in the Northern Gulf of 

Maine Management Area and to manage 

total removals from the area by all 

fishery components. Amendment 21 

would also expand flexibility in the 

limited access general category 

individual fishing quota fishery to 

reduce impacts of potential decreases in 

ex-vessel price and increases in 

operating costs. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

November 4, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: The Council has prepared a 

draft Environmental Assessment (EA) 

for this action that describes the 

proposed measures Amendment 21 to 

the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery 

Management Plan (FMP) and other 

considered alternatives and analyzes the 

impacts of the proposed measures and 

alternatives. The Council submitted a 

draft of the amendment to NMFS that 

includes the draft EA, a description of 

the Council’s preferred alternatives, the 

Council’s rationale for selecting each 

alternative, and a Regulatory Impact 

Review (RIR). Copies of supporting 

documents used by the New England 

Fishery Management Council, including 

the EA and RIR, are available from: 

Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director, 


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New England Fishery Management 

Council, 50 Water Street, Newburyport, 

MA 01950 and accessible via the 

internet in documents available at: 

https://www.nefmc.org/library/ 

amendment-21. 

You may submit comments, identified 

by NOAA–NMFS–2021–0065, by the 

following method: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 

www.regulations.gov and enter NOAA– 

NMFS–2021–0065 in the Search box. 

Click the ‘‘Comment’’ icon, complete 

the required fields, and enter or attach 

your comments. 

Instructions: Comments sent by any 

other method or received after the end 

of the comment period, may not be 

considered by NMFS. All comments 

received are a part of the public record 

and will generally be posted for public 

viewing on www.regulations.gov 

without change. All personal identifying 

information (e.g., name, address, etc.), 

confidential business information, or 

otherwise sensitive information 

submitted voluntarily by the sender will 

be publicly accessible. NMFS will 

accept anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/ 

A’’ in the required fields if you wish to 

remain anonymous). 

Comments regarding the burden-hour 

estimates or other aspects of the 

collection-of-information requirements 

contained in this proposed rule may be 

submitted to www.reginfo.gov/public/ 

do/PRAMain. Find this particular 

information collection by selecting 

‘‘Currently under 30-day Review—Open 

for Public Comments’’ or by using the 

search function. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Travis Ford, Fishery Policy Analyst, 

(978) 281–9233, travis.ford@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Atlantic sea scallop fishery is 

prosecuted along the east coast from 

Maine to Virginia, although most fishing 

activity takes place between 

Massachusetts and New Jersey. 

Management measures were first 

adopted in 1982, but there have been 

several major revisions to the 

management program in the subsequent 

decades. 

Development of the Limited Access 

General Category Fishery 

The Council established the general 

category component as an open access 

permit category in 1994 while 

developing a limited access program for 

qualifying vessels (now the limited 

access component). Through 

Amendment 11 to the Scallop FMP (73 

FR 20090, April 14, 2008), the Council 

transitioned the general category 

component from open access to limited 

access in order to limit fishing mortality 

and control fleet capacity. The Council’s 

vision for the Limited Access General 

Category (LAGC) component was a fleet 

made up of relatively small vessels, 

with possession limits to maintain the 

historical character of this fleet and 

provide opportunities to various 

participants, including vessels from 

smaller coastal communities. 

Amendment 11 established three LAGC 

permit categories, which allowed for 

continued participation in the general 

category fishery at varying levels. 

Vessels that met qualifying criteria were 

issued an LAGC individual fishing 

quota (IFQ) permit and allocated quota 

based on the ‘contribution factor’ (i.e. if 

they fished longer and landed more 

during the qualification period, they 

received a higher allocation). General 

category permit holders that did not 

meet the qualifying criteria for an LAGC 

IFQ permit were eligible to receive 

either an LAGC Northern Gulf of Maine 

(NGOM) permit or LAGC incidental 

permit. Limited access vessels that 

fished under general category rules and 

qualified under the same IFQ 

qualification criteria were issued LAGC 

IFQ permits and allocated a portion (0.5 

percent) of the total scallop allocation. 

Unlike vessels with only LAGC IFQ 

permits, limited access vessels that also 

qualified for an LAGC IFQ permit were 

not allowed to transfer quota to or from 

other vessels. 

Northern Gulf of Maine Management 

Area 

The Council also established the 

Northern Gulf of Maine (NGOM) 

Management Area and permit category 

through Amendment 11. The area was 

established to enable continued fishing 

and address concerns related to 

conservation, administrative burden, 

and enforceability of scallop fishing 

within the Gulf of Maine. Amendment 

11 authorized vessels with either an 

LAGC NGOM permit or LAGC IFQ 

permit to fish within the NGOM 

Management Area at a 200 lb per day 

(91 kg per day) trip limit until the fleet 

reaches the annual total allowable catch 

(TAC) for the area. The Council did not 

recommend restrictions on limited 

access vessels fishing in the NGOM 

because the improved management and 

abundance of scallops in the major 

resource areas on Georges Bank and in 

the Mid-Atlantic region made access to 

Gulf of Maine scallops less important 

for the limited access boats and general 

category boats from other regions. From 

2008 through 2017, limited access 

vessels were able to operate in the 

NGOM management area under days-atsea (DAS) management as long as the 

LAGC TAC had not been caught. The 

initial measures were intended to allow 

directed scallop fishing in the NGOM, 

and the Council envisioned that 

management of this area would be 

reconsidered if the scallop population 

and fishery in the NGOM grew in the 

future. 

For each of the years 2009 through 

2015, the NGOM TAC of 70,000 lb 

(31,751 kg) was not caught, and the 

fishery remained open for the entire 

year. In fishing years 2016 and 2017, 

there was a notable increase in effort in 

the NGOM management area by both 

LAGC and limited access vessels fishing 

the large year class of scallops on 

Stellwagen Bank, located mostly within 

the NGOM. Monitoring removals by the 

limited access component in the NGOM 

was challenging because vessels could 

fish both inside and outside NGOM 

management area while fishing under 

DAS management on the same trip. 

In response to the increase in effort 

and landings in the NGOM area in 2016 

and 2017, the Council developed the 

following problem statement for the 

Federal scallop fishery in the NGOM 

management area: Recent high landings 

and unknown biomass in the NGOM 

Scallop Management Area underscore 

the critical need to initiate surveys and 

develop additional tools to better 

manage the area and fully understand 

total removals. 

Recent actions have developed 

measures that allow managers to track 

fishing effort and landings by all 

components from the NGOM 

management area. The NGOM TAC is 

now based on recent survey 

information, with separate TACs for the 

limited access and LAGC components. 

These measures were intended to be a 

short-term solution to allow controlled 

fishing in the NGOM management area 

until NGOM issues could be addressed 

more holistically, as this action 

proposes to do. 

Limited Access General Category 

Individual Fishing Quota Possession 

Limits 

The initial general category 

possession limit was set at 400 lb (181 

kg) per trip through Amendment 4 (59 

FR 2757; January 19, 1994). In 2007, 

Amendment 11 maintained the general 

category possession limit of 400 lb (181 

kg) for qualifying IFQ vessels. 

Amendment 15 (76 FR 43746, July 21, 

2011) increased the LAGC IFQ 

possession limit to 600 lb (272 kg) 

following concerns from industry 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 190 / Tuesday, October 5, 2021 / Proposed Rules 54905 

members that the 400-lb (181-kg) 

possession limit was not economically 

feasible due to increased operating 

costs. The 200-lb (91-kg) trip limit 

increase was not expected to change the 

nature of the ‘‘day boat’’ fishery and 

would keep the LAGC IFQ component 

consistent with the vision statement laid 

out by the Council in Amendment 11. 

The Council recently completed a 

program review of the LAGC IFQ fishery 

and analyzed the impacts of changes to 

IFQ trip limits. This review found that 

increasing the possession limit for IFQ 

trips would increase flexibility in 

fishing decisions, which could improve 

safety. Further, a higher possession limit 

would provide increased fishing 

revenue and vessel profit. The results of 

the program review are summarized in 

the Amendment 21 scoping document, 

which can be found at this website: 

https://www.nefmc.org/library/ 

amendment-21. 

Quota Transfers by Limited Access/ 

LAGC IFQ Vessels 

Amendment 15 allowed LAGC IFQ 

permit holders to permanently transfer 

some or all of their quota allocation to 

another LAGC IFQ permit holder while 

retaining the permit itself. During 

development of Amendment 15, the 

Council considered an option that 

would have included limited access 

permit holders that also have LAGC IFQ 

permits (combo vessels) in this 

allowance; however, the Council 

decided against this option so as not to 

change the overall 5-percent and 0.5- 

percent allocations specified in 

Amendment 11. For example, if a 

combo vessel permanently transferred 

quota to an LAGC IFQ-only vessel, the 

5-percent allocation would be expected 

to increase and would have implications 

on quota accumulation caps that apply 

to LAGC IFQ-only permit holders (i.e. 5- 

percent maximum for owners, 2.5- 

percent maximum for individual 

vessels). 

Summary of Amendment 21 

The Council initiated Amendment 21 

to consider adjusting the management of 

the NGOM to allow for more controlled 

access by the limited access and LAGC 

components, to increase monitoring to 

support a growing directed scallop 

fishery in Federal waters, and to 

consider adjusting the LAGC IFQ 

program to support overall economic 

performance while allowing for 

continued participation in the general 

category fishery at varying levels. To 

address these issues, the Council 

approved Amendment 21 at its 

September 2020 meeting. Amendment 

21 would: 

• Change the Annual Catch Limit 

(ACL) flow chart to account for biomass 

in the NGOM as part of the Overfishing 

Limit (OFL) and the Acceptable 

Biological Catch (ABC) to be consistent 

with other portions of scallop resource 

management; 

• Develop landing limits for all 

permit categories in the NGOM and 

establish an 800,000-lb (362,874 kg) 

NGOM Set-Aside trigger for the NGOM 

directed fishery, with a sharing 

agreement for access by all permit 

categories for allocation above the 

trigger. Allocation above the trigger 

would be divided, with 5 percent for the 

NGOM fleet and 95 percent for limited 

access and LAGC IFQ fleets; 

• Expand the scallop observer 

program to monitor directed scallop 

fishing in the NGOM by using a portion 

of the NGOM allocation to off-set 

monitoring costs; 

• Allocate 25,000 lb (11,340 kg) of the 

NGOM allocation to increase the overall 

Scallop Research Set-Aside (RSA) and 

support Scallop RSA compensation 

fishing; 

• Increase the LAGC IFQ possession 

limit to 800 lb (363 kg) per trip only for 

access area trips; 

• Prorate the daily observer 

compensation rate in 12-hour 

increments for observed LAGC IFQ trips 

longer than 1 day; and 

• Allow for temporary transfers of 

IFQ from limited access vessels with 

IFQ to LAGC IFQ-only vessels. 

It is the Council’s intent for 

Amendment 21 that the proposed 

measures become effective in 

concordance with updated 

specifications for fishing year 2022, 

which are currently under development 

through Framework Adjustment 34 to 

the Scallop FMP and have a target 

implementation date of April 1, 2022. If 

the implementation of Framework 

Adjustment 34 is delayed beyond April 

1, 2022, the default measures, 

specifications, and possession limits for 

fishing year 2022 developed in 

Framework Adjustment 33 to the 

Scallop FMP (86 FR 27042, May 19, 

2021) would still apply. 

Proposed Measures 

Accounting for the NGOM as Part of the 

ABC and ACL 

Amendment 21 would modify the 

ACL flowchart to account for the scallop 

biomass in the NGOM as part of the 

legal limits in the fishery by adding 

biomass from the area into calculations 

of the OFL and ABC. This action would 

move the accounting of the NGOM ACL 

from only within the OFL into the OFL 

and ABC/ACL for the entire fishery 

(Figure 1). By including exploitable 

scallop biomass from the NGOM as part 

of the scallop OFL and ABC, the ACL 

and sub-ACLs for the limited access and 

LAGC IFQ, and the limited access 

Annual Catch Target (ACT) would 

increase. The observer set-aside would 

also increase with the NGOM as part of 

the OFL/ABC. The ABC/ACL would be 

reduced by the NGOM Set-Aside value, 

along with the Research and Observer 

Set-Asides and incidental catch (Figure 

1). The Council would set specifications 

for the NGOM though future 

specifications actions. 

The Council would use the following 

approach to include the NGOM in the 

ACL flowchart: 

1. Exploitable biomass from surveyed 

areas of the NGOM would be estimated; 

2. The contribution to the OFL would 

be calculated at the fishing mortality (F) 

rate equal to the estimate of F of 

Maximum Sustainable Yield (FMSY) for 

Georges Bank from the most recent 

research or management track 

assessment, unless direct estimates of 

FMSY for the Gulf of Maine are available; 

and 

3. Combining OFL values from areas 

on Georges Bank/Mid Atlantic and the 

NGOM could be done in a single model 

(e.g., add the NGOM to the Scallop Area 

Management Simulator model), or as 

separate calculations. The method 

would, in part, be determined by the 

available data. 

Incorporating the NGOM into the ACL 

flowchart would have no impact on 

limited access DAS, or any other fishery 

allocation that is part of the Annual 

Projected Landings (APL). 

Including the NGOM in the OFL and 

ABC would allow the fishery’s overall 

limits to change with biomass in the 

NGOM. This would create a mechanism 

to increase the LAGC IFQ and limited 

access ACTs by accounting for biomass 

in the NGOM. In addition, incorporating 

the biomass from the NGOM into the 

ACL flowchart would increase the 

allocation that is available for the 

fishery’s observer set-aside program. 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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54906 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 190 / Tuesday, October 5, 2021 / Proposed Rules 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

Creating the NGOM Total Allowable 

Limit 

Amendment 21 would require that the 

Council set an overall Total Allowable 

Limit (TAL) for the NGOM management 

area for all permit categories. If NGOM 

survey data are available, the NGOM 

TAL would be developed using a 

projection method to estimate 

exploitable biomass in upcoming fishing 

years. The allowable landings would be 

set by applying an F rate ranging from 

F=0.15 to F=0.25 to exploitable biomass 

in open areas of the NGOM, as specified 

by the Council. A portion of the NGOM 

TAL would be added to the fishery wide 

RSA (described below). In addition, one 

percent of the NGOM’s contribution to 

the fishery-wide ABC would be 

removed from the NGOM TAL to off-set 

monitoring costs (described below). 

NGOM Set-Aside and NGOM Annual 

Projected Landings 

The remaining portion of NGOM TAL 

after contributions to the fishery-wide 

observer and RSAs are removed would 

then be allocated to the NGOM SetAside up to the NGOM Set-Aside trigger 

(800,000 lb (362,874 kg)). The NGOM 

Set-Aside would support a directed 

LAGC fishery (including NGOM and 

LAGC IFQ permitted vessels) in the 

NGOM Management Area at a 

possession limit of 200 lb (91 kg) per 

vessel per day. If there is additional 

allocation available above the 800,000- 

lb (362,874-kg) trigger, the allocation 

above the trigger would be shared 

between the NGOM Set-Aside (5 percent 

of the allocation above the trigger) and 

the NGOM APL (95 percent of the 

allocation above the trigger) for 

allocating to the limited access and 

LAGC IFQ fleets. The NGOM APL 

would then be added to the overall APL 

to increase allocations for the limited 

access and LAGC IFQ fleets. If there is 

allocation above the NGOM Set-Aside 

trigger, the Council would determine 

the methods of how the NGOM APL 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1EP05OC21.004</GPH>

0 

.,, 

,-

v 

)> 

D:1 

n 

j State Waters Catch 

OFL = F of 0.61 

Reduced b 

ABC= ACL (F of 0 .. 45) 

H Reduced by LAOC incidental catch, observer and RSA set asides, NGOM Se.t-Aside 

;; 

r- ACL after set-asides 

V 

Allocate sub-ACLs to LA and LAOC IFQ 

LA Sub-ACl 

(94.5%) 

Reduced for Manageme.nt Uncertainty 

LA Sub-ACT (F=0.39} 

LAGC IFQ 

sub-ACl = sub-ACT 

(5.5%} 

Figure 1 -- Example of Scallop Legal Limits (OFL, ABC, and ACL) With the 

NGOM Incorporated Into Estimates of the OFL and ABC. 
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 190 / Tuesday, October 5, 2021 / Proposed Rules 54907 

could be harvested by the limited access 

and LAGC IFQ components in a 

subsequent specifications package or 

framework adjustment. 

The trip limit for LAGC vessels 

fishing the NGOM Set-Aside (i.e., 

NGOM and IFQ vessels) would be 200 

lb (91 kg) per vessel per day. Landings 

from LAGC IFQ vessels fishing the 

NGOM Set-Aside would be deducted 

from their IFQ as well as from the 

NGOM Set-Aside. LAGC vessels with 

incidental catch permits (LAGC 

Category C) would be permitted to land 

up to 40 lb (18 kg) per day while fishing 

on non-scallop trips in the NGOM if the 

area is open for LAGC vessels fishing 

against the NGOM Set-Aside. Scallop 

landings by vessels with LAGC 

incidental permits would not count 

against the NGOM Set-Aside. Incidental 

catch from the area would be tracked as 

part of the final year-end catch 

accounting. 

For catch accounting purposes, all 

landings from the NGOM would be 

included in the review of year-end catch 

data. 

NGOM Accountability Measures 

Any overage of NGOM Set-Aside or 

NGOM APL allocations fished inside 

the NGOM Management Area would be 

subject to a pound-for-pound payback in 

a subsequent fishing year after an 

overage is determined. If reliable data 

are available to calculate an overage 

(Year 1), NMFS may implement these 

accountability measures (AMs) in the 

following fishing year (Year 2) through 

the rulemaking process for updated 

fishery specifications. If reliable data are 

not available in time for the start of the 

following fishing year, then the AMs 

would be implemented 2 years after the 

overage occurred (Year 3). Data may not 

be available by the start of the following 

fishing year because NMFS does not 

complete final catch accounting until 

June of the following fishing year. For 

example, if an overage occurred in 

fishing year 2021, NMFS would not 

have the final accounting data until June 

of fishing year 2022. The AMs could 

then be implemented at the April 1 start 

of fishing year 2023. 

This approach to allocating the 

scallop resource in the NGOM would 

promote resource conservation by 

setting limits on total removals from the 

NGOM and implementing AMs for all 

permit categories fishing in the area. 

The NGOM Set-Aside approach, 

combined with options to grow the size 

of this set-aside with increasing 

biomass, would preserve and support a 

directed LAGC fishery in Federal waters 

in the NGOM, and distribute allocations 

to all permit types as the biomass in the 

area grows. This would allow for vessellevel allocations to the limited access 

and LAGC IFQ fleets, while setting aside 

allocation for LAGC NGOM permits to 

access the fishery on a first-come, firstserve basis. The set-aside approach 

would promote conservation in the 

management unit by setting a landings 

limit for all components of the fishery. 

Expanding the Scallop Industry-Funded 

Observer Program to the NGOM 

Amendment 21 would expand the 

observer call-in requirement to all 

scallop vessels operating in the NGOM, 

including NGOM-permitted vessels. 

This expansion of the call-in 

requirement would facilitate observer 

coverage in the NGOM Management 

Area. 

This action would remove one 

percent of the NGOM ABC from the 

NGOM TAL to offset monitoring costs 

for vessels fishing in this area. This 

allocation would be removed from the 

NGOM TAL before allocating to the 

NGOM set-aside. This allocation could 

be used to support monitoring of all 

permit categories that have access to the 

NGOM Management Area. The NGOM 

monitoring set-aside would be added to 

the fishery-wide observer set-aside that 

is calculated as one percent of the ABC. 

The scallop observer program would 

be expanded to cover directed scallop 

trips in Federal waters in the NGOM 

Management Area. Scallop trips by 

LAGC vessels in the NGOM are 

currently not covered by the observer 

program. This expanded program would 

utilize the cumulative allocation of the 

NGOM observer set-aside and the 

observer set-aside to support observer 

coverage in the scallop fishery. All 

compensation allocation for all observed 

trips would come out of the same pool, 

and NMFS would administer a single 

scallop observer program. At a 

minimum, observer coverage levels for 

the NGOM Management Area would be 

set to meet Standard Bycatch Reporting 

Methodology requirements. 

The amount of daily compensation 

available for LAGC trips in the NGOM 

may vary from the daily compensation 

rate for LAGC IFQ vessels that have a 

higher trip limit. Vessels selected to 

carry an observer would be able to land 

the full amount of the daily observer 

compensation rate in addition to the 

NGOM trip limit. For example, if the 

daily compensation rate is set at 100 lb 

(45 kg), vessels with observers would be 

able to land 300 lb (136 kg) that trip. 

Expanding the observer call-in 

requirement to the NGOM Management 

Area would facilitate the deployment of 

observers on directed scallop trips in 

Federal waters. Allowing vessels to land 

the daily observer compensation rate in 

addition to the trip limit is consistent 

with existing regulations for limited 

access and LAGC IFQ vessels when 

those vessels carry observers. Expanding 

the observer call-in requirement to 

directed scallop fishing in the NGOM 

means that monitoring requirements 

will be consistent for all scallop permit 

types across the entirety of the Atlantic 

sea scallop resource within the U.S. 

Exclusive Economic Zone. 

NGOM Research Set-Aside 

Amendment 21 would set-aside 

25,000 lb (11,340 kg) from the NGOM 

TAL to support RSA compensation 

fishing in the NGOM management area 

and increase the overall allocation 

available for the scallop RSA program. 

The total amount of RSA available 

would be the sum of the NGOM RSA 

and the existing 1.25 million-lb 

(566,990-kg) fishery-wide RSA (i.e., 

1.275 million lb (573,330 kg)). 

RSA compensation fishing in the 

NGOM management area would be 

allowed. Although, NGOM RSA will be 

combined with the overall RSA, RSA 

compensation fishing in the NGOM 

would be capped at the available NGOM 

RSA, i.e., 25,000 lb (11,340 kg). Any 

vessels that are awarded NGOM RSA 

compensation would be required to 

declare into the area and fish 

exclusively within the NGOM 

Management Area. Compensation 

fishing in the NGOM Management Area 

could be done to support any research 

project awarded through the Scallop 

RSA. However, projects focusing on 

research in the NGOM would have the 

first opportunity to fish compensation 

allocation in the NGOM. NMFS would 

administer this process. 

This action would not mandate that 

NGOM RSA be harvested strictly in the 

NGOM Management Area. Vessels 

allocated NGOM RSA would have an 

option to fish NGOM RSA in the NGOM 

or in any other area available to RSA 

compensation fishing. 

Using a portion of the NGOM TAL to 

increase the size of the overall Scallop 

RSA program would allow for the 

funding of additional scallop-related 

research and provide opportunities for 

vessels to complete compensation 

fishing within the NGOM management 

unit. Limiting the amount of RSA 

compensation fishing that can occur in 

the NGOM is consistent with the goal of 

accurately monitoring catch in the 

management area. 

Because 25,000 lb (11,340 kg) is a 

relatively small proportion of the 

current RSA, increasing the set-aside by 

this amount may have limited biological 

implications if the allocation can be 


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fished in any area open to compensation 

fishing. This would maintain some of 

the flexibility of the RSA program, 

while increasing the allocation available 

to support research. Further, a 25,000-lb 

(11,340-kg) set-aside is consistent with 

recent RSA awards that focused on 

research in the NGOM area. 

Limited Access General Category 

Individual Fishing Quota Possession 

Limit 

Amendment 21 would increase the 

LAGC IFQ possession limit to 800 lb 

(363 kg) for access area trips and 

maintain the 600-lb (172-kg) possession 

limit for open area trips. The LAGC IFQ 

component has been subject to a 

possession limit since the program’s 

inception through Amendment 11. 

Interest in increasing the 600-lb (172-kg) 

trip limit through this action is based on 

the continued increase of operating 

expenses, which are principally driven 

by fuel costs associated with longer 

steam times. For LAGC IFQ vessels that 

elect to do so, transiting farther offshore 

to fish access areas with higher landings 

per unit of effort and improved meat 

yield leads to increased trip costs due to 

higher fuel expenses associated with 

longer steam times. Increasing the 

access area possession limit would 

reduce the overall number of trips and 

combined steam time needed to harvest 

quota from offshore access areas, 

thereby reducing overall trip costs (i.e., 

fuel) and operating expenses (i.e., vessel 

maintenance) relative to the current 

600-lb (172-kg) limit. Increasing the 

access area possession limit could offer 

LAGC IFQ vessels more flexibility with 

regard to timing access area trips around 

weather conditions, which could 

potentially improve safety in this 

component of the fishery. 

Observer Compensation Available for 

LAGC IFQ Vessels 

Amendment 21 would make LAGC 

IFQ vessels eligible for additional 

compensation when carrying an 

observer on board and fishing trips 

longer than 1 day (24 hours). The daily 

compensation rate, as determined by 

NMFS, would be prorated at 12-hour 

increments for trips exceeding 24 hours. 

The amount of compensation a vessel 

could receive on one trip would be 

capped at 2 days (48 hours) and vessels 

fishing longer than 48 hours would not 

receive additional compensation 

allocation. For example, if the observer 

compensation rate is 200 lb/day (90.7 

kg/day) and an LAGC IFQ vessel 

carrying an observer departs on July 1 

at 2200 and lands on July 3 at 0100, the 

length of the trip would equal 27 hours, 

or 1 day and 3 hours. In this example, 

the LAGC IFQ vessel would be eligible 

for 1 day plus 12 hours of compensation 

allocation, i.e., 300 lb (136 kg). An 

LAGC IFQ vessel would be able to 

harvest the trip limit and the daily 

compensation rate on the observed trip, 

or the vessel could harvest any unfished 

compensation on a subsequent trip 

while adhering to the commercial 

possession limit. 

Aligning the amount that vessels can 

be compensated when carrying an 

observer with the length of a typical 

LAGC IFQ trip would reduce the risk of 

observer bias in the LAGC IFQ fishery. 

Currently, LAGC IFQ vessels are 

allowed 1 day of compensation for 

carrying an observer regardless of the 

length of a trip but are required to 

assume the cost of having the observer 

on board even when a trip exceeds the 

1-day limit. Prorating in this method 

would make the level of compensation 

to a vessel more accurate with regard to 

the cost of carrying an observer on board 

for the full length of a trip. In addition, 

it would reduce the incentive for vessels 

to fish longer trips for the purpose of 

receiving additional compensation. 

Relieving vessels of the additional cost 

burden for trips of over 1 day would 

reduce the likelihood that fishing 

behavior would be different for 

observed trips versus unobserved trips. 

Temporary Transfer of IFQ From 

Limited Access Vessels With IFQ 

(Combo Vessels) to LAGC IFQ-Only 

Vessels 

Amendment 21 would allow 

temporary transfers of IFQ from combo 

vessels to LAGC IFQ-only permits and 

would maintain the existing prohibition 

on transferring quota in to combo 

vessels. This action would not change 

how IFQ is allocated. Quota 

accumulation caps would remain 

consistent with the limits established 

through Amendment 15 for LAGC IFQonly permits, regardless of any 

additional quota that may become 

available through one-way, temporary 

transfers from combo vessels. An 

individual LAGC IFQ permit still would 

not be able to hold more than 2.5 

percent of the IFQ allocated to the 

LAGC IFQ component in a year and an 

ownership entity still cannot hold more 

than 5 percent of the IFQ allocated to 

the LAGC IFQ component in a year. 

Allowing one-way, temporary 

transfers from combo vessels to LAGC 

IFQ-only permits would increase the 

overall level of quota available to LAGC 

IFQ-only vessels, and it would not 

require changes to how allocations are 

estimated and distributed among the 

two fleets. Increasing the pool of quota 

that would be available to the LAGC 

IFQ-only fishery through temporary 

transfers could increase the level of 

participation for vessels currently in the 

fishery or potentially lead to more 

participation in terms of active vessels. 

Increasing potential harvest for existing 

participants and/or supporting 

additional vessels in the IFQ fishery 

would be expected to improve the 

overall performance of this component 

of the fishery. Allowing temporary 

transfers would give combo vessels the 

choice to lease out some or all of their 

quota on an annual basis. 

Specifications and Framework 

Adjustment Process 

The regulations at § 648.55 list 

management measures that may be 

changed or implemented through 

specifications or framework actions. 

During the development of Amendment 

21, the Council identified a list of 

specific issues that may be addressed 

through future specifications actions or 

framework adjustments. The existing 

scallop regulations would not need to be 

expanded to address concepts that the 

Council would like to adjust through a 

specifications package or a framework 

adjustment in the future. The Council’s 

list included: 

1. § 648.55(f)(25) Set-asides for 

funding research; 

a. Contribution of RSA percentage 

and/or assigned pounds from the NGOM 

allocation. 

2. § 648.55(f)(31) Modifications to 

provisions associated with observer setasides; observer coverage; observer 

deployment; observer service provider; 

and/or the observer certification 

regulations; 

a. Observer set-aside percentage from 

the NGOM Allocation. 

3. § 648.55(f)(35) Adjustments to the 

Northern Gulf of Maine scallop fishery 

measures; 

a. Partition the NGOM into multiple 

sub-areas with separate allocations; 

b. Partition the NGOM Set-Aside is 

multiple seasons; 

c. Modify the F rate used to set the 

NGOM TAL; and 

d. Harvest methods of the NGOM APL 

by the IFQ and limited access boats. 

4. § 648.55(f)(37) Increases or 

decreases in the LAGC possession limit; 

a. Accounting for access area trips in 

the LAGC IFQ fishery. 

5. § 648.55(f)(38) Adjustments to 

aspects of ACL management, including 

accountability measures; 

a. Modify how the NGOM is 

accounted for in the calculation of OFL, 

ABC, and ACLs. 

In addition, the Council clarified that 

it could develop options for electronic 

monitoring to replace at-sea monitors in 


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a future framework based on existing 

language in these existing regulations: 

1. § 648.55(f)(31) Modifications to 

provisions associated with observer setasides; observer coverage; observer 

deployment; observer service provider; 

and/or the observer certification 

regulations; 

2. § 648.55(g) Industry-funded 

monitoring programs. Fishery 

management plans (FMPs) managed by 

the New England Fishery Management 

Council (New England Council), 

including Atlantic Herring, Atlantic 

Salmon, Atlantic Sea Scallops, Deep-Sea 

Red Crab, Northeast Multispecies, and 

Northeast Skate Complex, may include 

industry-funded monitoring (IFM) 

programs to supplement existing 

monitoring required by the Standard 

Bycatch Reporting Methodology 

(SBRM), Endangered Species Act, and 

the Marine Mammal Protection Act. IFM 

programs may use observers, monitors, 

including at-sea monitors and portside 

samplers, and electronic monitoring to 

meet specified IFM coverage targets. 

The ability to meet IFM coverage targets 

may be constrained by the availability of 

Federal funding to pay NMFS cost 

responsibilities associated with IFM. 

Identifying a list of changes that may 

be made to the FMP in subsequent 

specification packages or framework 

adjustments would give the Council 

flexibility to address specific issues 

without initiating an amendment to the 

FMP. This list is intended to capture the 

range of issues that could be taken up 

in a later action and was discussed 

during the development of Amendment 

21, but is not intended to limit the range 

of issues that could be addressed under 

existing regulatory authority. 

Regulatory Adjustments and Corrections 

Under Regional Administrator Authority 

NMFS is proposing several changes 

consistent with section 305(d) of the 

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. These 

adjustments do not make any 

substantive changes to the implications 

of the current regulations. First, NMFS 

would revise § 648.14(i) to more clearly 

define the prohibitions based on the 

scallop regulations at § 648 Subpart D. 

As a result, this proposed rule includes 

revisions to the regulatory text that 

would reorganize and condense 

references to possession limits and 

restrictions. The specific regulations 

being revised or removed are specified 

in Table 1. Second, in §§ 648.2, 

648.14(i), 648.52, 648.55, and 648.59, 

NMFS would make revisions to 

consistently reference the Scallop 

Access Area Program throughout the 

regulations. Third, in § 648.14(i)(x), 

NMFS would clarify the presumption 

related to where scallops are caught (i.e., 

Federal/state waters), not whether a 

vessel has a Federal scallop permit. 

Fourth, NMFS would update 

§§ 648.14(i)(x)(3)(iv)(B) and 648.52(a)(1) 

with a corrected reference to § 648.10(f). 

Fifth, in § 648.52(b), (c), (d), (e), (f), 

NMFS would add headings for 

consistency across paragraphs. Sixth, in 

§ 648.52(f), NMFS would remove 

duplicative possession limit language 

for IFQ vessels. Seventh, in 

§ 648.53(h)(3)(i)(A) and (B), NMFS 

would clarify that the IFQ accumulation 

cap applies to the annual IFQ allocation, 

not the IFQ sub-ACL. Eighth, in 

§ 648.53(h)(5)(i) and (ii), NMFS would 

clarify that these regulations apply to 

IFQ permit holders regardless of 

whether the permit is in confirmation of 

permit history (CPH). Ninth, in 

§ 648.59(b)(4), to promote safety at sea, 

NMFS would allow vessels to enter or 

exit a Scallop Access Area more than 

once per trip if there is a compelling 

safety reason. 

Finally, due to the extensive 

regulatory changes in this action, we are 

updating references throughout the 

scallop regulations that will change 

based on the proposed regulatory 

adjustments. We have included a 

summary of all of the proposed 

regulatory changes in this rule in Table 

1. 

TABLE 1—SUMMARY OF PROPOSED REGULATORY CHANGES TO 50 CFR PART 648 

Section Authority Summary of proposed changes 

§§ 648.2, 648.14(i), 648.52, 648.55, 648.59 .................... 305(d) ................................. Changing to consistently reference the Scallop Access 

Area Program throughout the regulations. 

§ 648.14(i)(iii) .................................................................... 305(d) ................................. Clarifying possession limits and restrictions which are 

already described in §§ 648.52 and 648.59. 

§ 648.14(i)(x) ..................................................................... 305(d) ................................. Clarifying the presumption related to where scallops are 

caught (i.e., Federal/state waters), not whether a vessel has a Federal scallop permit. 

§ 648.14(i)(x)(3)(iii)(C) and (D) ......................................... 305(d) ................................. Clarifying possession limits and restrictions which are 

already described in § 648.52 for LAGC vessels in 

the NGOM are clearly stated later in the section specific to IFQ and NGOM vessels. Deleting to remove 

duplicative text. 

§§ 648.14(i)(x)(3)(iv)(B), 648.52(a)(1) ............................... 305(d) ................................. Updating with corrected reference to § 648.10(f). 

§ 648.14(i)(x)(4)(i)(A) ......................................................... 305(d) and Amendment 21 Revising IFQ possession and landing regulations based 

on Amendment 21 measures. Clarify regulations by 

referencing IFQ possession limits for open and access areas in § 648.52(a). 

§ 648.14(i)(x)(4)(i)(C) ........................................................ Amendment 21 ................... Updating NGOM landings and possession regulations 

with Amendment 21 language (i.e., NGOM SetAside). 

§ 648.14(i)(x)(4)(i)(D) and (G) ........................................... 305(d) ................................. Reducing duplicative language around possession and 

landing limits that are clearly stated later in 

§ 648.52(a) and (c). 

§ 648.14(i)(x)(5)(ii) ............................................................. 305(d) ................................. Clarifying by cutting duplicative landings and possession prohibition, and referencing NGOM possession 

limit that is clearly stated in § 648.52(a). 

§ 648.14(i)(x)(5)(iii) ............................................................ Amendment 21 ................... Updating NGOM regulations with Amendment 21 language (i.e., NGOM Set-Aside). 


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TABLE 1—SUMMARY OF PROPOSED REGULATORY CHANGES TO 50 CFR PART 648—Continued 

Section Authority Summary of proposed changes 

§ 648.14(i)(x)(6) ................................................................. 305(d) ................................. Clarifying regulations by removing duplicative landing 

and possession limit prohibition for incidental permits, 

and referencing incidental possession limit that is 

clearly stated in § 648.52. 

§ 648.52(a)(1) and (2) ....................................................... Amendment 21 ................... Updating regulations with LAGC IFQ possession limits 

for open and access area trips. 

§ 648.52(a)(2) .................................................................... Amendment 21 ................... Clarifying that default access area trips in fishing year 

2022 will be subject to the 600-lb (272-kg) trip limit. 

§ 648.52(b), (c), (d), (e), (f) ............................................... 305(d) ................................. Adding headings for consistency. 

§ 648.52(a)(2) .................................................................... Amendment 21 ................... Making in-shell possession limit consistent with increased LAGC IFQ access area trip limit. 

§ 648.52(b) ........................................................................ Amendment 21 ................... Updating NGOM regulations with Amendment 21 language (i.e., NGOM Set-Aside). 

§ 648.52(f) ......................................................................... 305(d) ................................. Removing duplicative possession limit language for IFQ 

vessels. 

§ 648.53(a)(3)(ii) ................................................................ Amendment 21 ................... Updating APL language to incorporate NGOM catch 

limit measures. 

§ 648.53(a)(8) .................................................................... Amendment 21 ................... Adding language describing NGOM TAL and allocation 

structure. 

§ 648.53(g)(1) .................................................................... Amendment 21 ................... Including NGOM contribution to observer set-aside. 

§ 648.53(h)(3)(i)(A) and (B) .............................................. 305(d) ................................. Clarifying that the IFQ accumulation cap applies to the 

annual IFQ allocation, not the IFQ sub-ACL. 

§ 648.53(h)(5)(i) and (ii) .................................................... 305(d) ................................. Clarifying that these regulations apply to IFQ permit 

holders regardless of whether permit is in CPH. 

§ 648.53(h)(5)(i)(B) ............................................................ Amendment 21 ................... Specifying that temporary transfers from combo vessels 

to IFQ-only are allowed. 

§ 648.53(h)(5)(ii)(A) and (iii) .............................................. Amendment 21 ................... Clarifying that combo vessels are prohibited from permanently transferring or receiving IFQ. 

§ 648.55(a)(1) .................................................................... Amendment 21 ................... Updating language to reflect NGOM catch limits. 

§ 648.56(d) ........................................................................ Amendment 21 ................... Including NGOM contribution to RSA. 

§ 648.59(b)(4) .................................................................... 305(d) ................................. Adjusting to promote safety at sea. 

Classification 

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

Magnuson-Stevens Act, the NMFS 

Assistant Administrator has made a 

preliminary determination that this 

proposed rule is consistent with the 

FMP, other provisions of the MagnusonStevens Act, and other applicable law, 

subject to further consideration after 

public comment. 

This proposed rule has been 

determined to be not significant for 

purposes of Executive Order 12866. 

The Chief Council for Regulation of 

the Department of Commerce certified 

to the Chief Council for Advocacy of the 

Small Business Administration that this 

proposed rule, if adopted, would not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. 

During the development of preferred 

alternatives in Amendment 21, NMFS 

and the Council considered ways to 

reduce the regulatory burden on and 

provide flexibility to the regulated 

community. The measures that would 

be implemented by the preferred 

alternatives related to NGOM 

allocations and the LAGC IFQ 

possession limit in access areas, along 

with other Amendment 21 actions, 

would increase the economic benefits 

on small entities both in the short- and 

long-term. The proposed action for the 

NGOM allocation would adjust landing 

limits and related research and observer 

set-asides based on annual scallop 

surveys in the NGOM area, leading to 

increased harvest and wider fishery 

participation in the future. However, 

there would be no change to the LAGC 

IFQ allocation when increasing the 

LAGC IFQ possession limit in access 

areas. 

Overall, the preferred alternatives in 

Amendment 21 would ensure that catch 

levels are sustainable, reduce the risk of 

overfishing, and maximize yield and 

economic benefits. The establishment of 

the NGOM Set-Aside and the increase to 

the LAGC IFQ access area possession 

limit are expected to have an immediate 

positive economic gain with potential 

for increased fishing participants/ 

participation or effort, particularly in 

the NGOM area when there are more 

scallop fishing opportunities. The 

preferred alternatives in other actions of 

Amendment 21 also have overall 

positive economic effects benefitting 

both small and large entities. 

As a result, an initial regulatory 

flexibility analysis is not required and 

none has been prepared. 

This proposed rule contains a 

collection-of-information requirement 

subject to review and approval by Office 

of Management and Budget (OMB) 

under the Paperwork Reduction Act 

(PRA). This rule revises the existing 

requirements for the collection of 

information OMB Control No. 0648– 

0546 by expanding the number of 

vessels required to carry observers and 

call-in to the observer program. Prior to 

Amendment 21, NGOM-permitted 

vessels were not required to carry 

observers. Amendment 21 would 

require that NGOM vessels call in to the 

observer program and, when selected, 

procure and carry an observer. 

Expanding the observer call-in 

requirement to directed scallop fishing 

in the NGOM means that monitoring 

requirements will be consistent for all 

scallop permit types across the entirety 

of the Atlantic sea scallop resource 

within the U.S. Exclusive Economic 

Zone. This proposed change would 

increase the number of respondents by 

110 (512 respondents to 622 

respondents). This would result in an 

additional 933 (5,252 hours to 6,185 

hours) burden hours and an additional 

$5,608 ($44,937 to $50,545) in total 

annual cost burden to the respondents. 

Public reporting burden for calling into 

the observer program is estimated to 

average 10 minutes, including the time 

for reviewing instructions, searching 

existing data sources, gathering and 

maintaining the data needed, and 


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completing and reviewing the collection 

of information. 

Public comment is sought 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. Submit 

comments on these or any other aspects 

of the collection of information at 

www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. 

Find this particular information 

collection by selecting ‘‘Currently under 

Review—Open for Public Comments’’ or 

by using the search function and 

entering the OMB Control Number 

0648–0546. 

Notwithstanding any other provisions 

of the law, no person is required to 

respond or, nor shall any person by 

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. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648 

Fisheries, Fishing, Recordkeeping and 

reporting requirements. 

Dated: September 16, 2021. 

Samuel D. Rauch, III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, 50 CFR part 648 is proposed 

to be amended as follows: 

PART 648—FISHERIES OF THE 

NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 648 

continues to read as follows: 

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

■ 2. In § 648.2, revise the definition of 

‘‘Open areas’’ to read as follows: 

§ 648.2 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

Open areas, with respect to the 

Atlantic sea scallop fishery, means any 

area that is not subject to restrictions of 

the Scallop Access Area Program 

specified in §§ 648.59 and 648.60, the 

Northern Gulf of Maine Management 

Area specified in § 648.62, Habitat 

Management Areas specified in 

§ 648.370, Dedicated Habitat Research 

areas specified in § 648.371, the Frank 

R. Lautenberg Deep-Sea Coral Protection 

Area described in § 648.372, or the New 

England Deep-Sea Coral Protection Area 

in § 648.373. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. Amend § 648.14 by: 

■ a. Revising paragraphs (i)(1)(iii) and 

(x), (i)(2)(vi) introductory text, and 

(i)(2)(vi) (C), (D), and (E); 

■ b. Removing paragraphs (i)(3)(iii)(C) 

and (D); 

■ c. Revising paragraph (i)(3)(iv)(B), 

(i)(3)(v)(C) and (D), (i)(4)(i)(A); 

■ d. Removing and reserving paragraph 

(i)(4)(i)(B); 

■ e. Revising paragraph (i)(4)(i)(C); 

■ f. Removing and reserving paragraph 

(i)(4)(i)(D); 

■ g. Removing paragraphs (i)(4)(i)(G) 

and (H); 

■ h. Revising paragraphs (i)(4)(ii)(A) and 

(B); 

■ i. Removing and reserving paragraph 

(i)(5)(ii); 

■ j. Revising paragraph (i)(5)(iii); and 

■ k. Removing paragraph (i)(6). 

The revisions read as follows: 

§ 648.14 Prohibitions. 

* * * * * 

(i) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(iii) Possession and landing. Fish for, 

land, or possess on board a vessel per 

trip, or possess at any time prior to a 

transfer to another person for a 

commercial purpose, other than solely 

for transport on land in excess of any of 

the possession and/or landing limits 

described in §§ 648.52 and 648.59. 

* * * * * 

(x) Presumption. For purposes of this 

section, the following presumption 

applies: Scallops that are possessed or 

landed at or prior to the time when the 

scallops are received by a dealer, or 

scallops that are possessed by a dealer, 

are deemed to be harvested from the 

EEZ, unless the preponderance of 

evidence demonstrates that such 

scallops were harvested by a vessel 

fishing exclusively for scallops in state 

waters. 

* * * * * 

(2) * * * 

(vi) Scallop Rotational Area 

Management Program and Scallop 

Access Area Program requirements. 

(C) Fish for, possess, or land scallops 

in or from a Scallop Access Area in 

excess of the vessel’s remaining specific 

allocation for that area as specified in 

§ 648.59(b)(3) or the amount permitted 

to be landed from that area. 

(D) Possess more than 50 bu (17.6 hL) 

of in-shell scallops outside the 

boundaries of a Scallop Access Area by 

a vessel that is declared into the Scallop 

Access Area Program as specified in 

§ 648.59. 

(E) Fish for, possess, or land scallops 

in or from any Scallop Access Area 

without an observer on board, unless 

the vessel owner, operator, or manager 

has received a waiver to carry an 

observer for the specified trip and area 

fished. 

* * * * * 

(3) * * * 

(iv) * * * 

(B) Fail to comply with any 

requirement for declaring in or out of 

the LAGC scallop fishery or other 

notification requirements specified in 

§ 648.10(f). 

* * * * * 

(v) * * * 

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

in excess of 40 lb (18.1 kg) of shucked 

scallops at any time in or from any 

Scallop Access Area specified at 

§ 648.60, unless declared into the 

Scallop Access Area Program. 

(D) Fish for, possess, or land scallops 

in or from any Scallop Access Area 

without an observer on board, unless 

the vessel owner, operator, or manager 

has received a waiver to carry an 

observer for the specified trip and area 

fished. 

* * * * * 

(4) * * * 

(i) * * * 

(A) Fish for or land per trip, or 

possess at any time, in excess of the 

possession and landing limits described 

in § 648.52(a). 

* * * * * 

(C) Declare into the NGOM scallop 

management area and fish against the 

NGOM Set-Aside after the effective date 

of a notification published in the 

Federal Register stating that after the 

NGOM Set-Aside 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, or unless the vessel is 

participating in the scallop RSA 

program as specified in § 648.56. 

* * * * * 

(ii) * * * 

(A) Have an ownership interest in 

vessels that collectively are allocated 

more than 5 percent of the total IFQ 

scallop APL as specified in 

§ 648.53(a)(9). 

(B) Have an IFQ allocation on an IFQ 

scallop vessel of more than 2.5 percent 

of the total IFQ scallop APL as specified 

in § 648.53(a)(9). 

* * * * * 

(5) * * * 

(iii) Fish for, possess, or land scallops 

in state or Federal waters of the NGOM 


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management area after the effective date 

of notification in the Federal Register 

that the LAGC share of the NGOM SetAside 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, or unless the vessel is 

participating in the scallop RSA 

program as specified in § 648.56. 

* * * * * 

■ 4. In § 648.52, revise paragraphs (a) 

through (f) to read as follows: 

§ 648.52 Possession and landing limits. 

(a) IFQ trips. 

(1) Open area trips. A vessel issued an 

IFQ scallop permit that is declared into 

the IFQ scallop fishery in the open area, 

as specified in § 648.10(f), or on a 

properly declared NE multispecies, 

surfclam, or ocean quahog trip (or other 

fishery requiring a VMS declaration) 

and not fishing in a scallop access area, 

unless as specified in paragraph (g) of 

this section or exempted under the state 

waters exemption program described in 

§ 648.54, may not possess or land, per 

trip, more than 600 lb (272 kg) of 

shucked scallops, or possess more than 

75 bu (26.4 hL) of in-shell scallops 

shoreward of the VMS Demarcation 

Line. Such a vessel may land scallops 

only once in any calendar day. Such a 

vessel may possess up to 100 bu (35.2 

hL) of in-shell scallops seaward of the 

VMS Demarcation Line on a properly 

declared IFQ scallop trip, or on a 

properly declared NE multispecies, 

surfclam, or ocean quahog trip, or other 

fishery requiring a VMS declaration, 

and not fishing in a scallop access area. 

(2) Access areas trips. A vessel issued 

an IFQ scallop permit that is declared 

into the IFQ Scallop Access Area 

Program, as specified in § 648.10(f), may 

not possess or land, per trip, more than 

800 lb (363 kg) of shucked scallops, or 

possess more than 100 bu (35.2 hL) of 

in-shell scallops shoreward of the VMS 

Demarcation Line. Such a vessel may 

land scallops only once in any calendar 

day. Such a vessel may possess up to 

100 bu (35.2 hL) of in-shell scallops 

seaward of the VMS Demarcation Line 

on a properly declared IFQ scallop 

access area trip. Vessels fishing the 2022 

default access area trips shall be subject 

to a 600-lb (272-kg) possession limit, as 

described in § 648.59(g)(3)(v). 

(b) NGOM trips. A vessel issued an 

NGOM scallop permit, or an IFQ scallop 

permit that is declared into the NGOM 

scallop fishery and fishing against the 

NGOM Set-Aside as described in 

§ 648.62, unless exempted under the 

state waters exemption program 

described under § 648.54, may not 

possess or land, per trip, more than 200 

lb (90.7 kg) of shucked scallops, or 

possess more than 25 bu (8.81 hL) of inshell scallops shoreward of the VMS 

Demarcation Line. Such a vessel may 

land scallops only once in any calendar 

day. Such a vessel may possess up to 50 

bu (17.6 hL) of in-shell scallops seaward 

of the VMS demarcation line on a 

properly declared NGOM scallop fishery 

trip. 

(c) Incidental trips. A vessel issued an 

Incidental scallop permit, or an IFQ 

scallop permit that is not declared into 

the IFQ scallop fishery or on a properly 

declared NE multispecies, surfclam, or 

ocean quahog trip or other fishery 

requiring a VMS declaration as required 

under § 648.10(f), unless exempted 

under the state waters exemption 

program described under § 648.54, may 

not possess or land, per trip, more than 

40 lb (18.1 kg) of shucked scallops, or 

possess more than 5 bu (1.76 hL) of inshell scallops shoreward of the VMS 

Demarcation Line. Such a vessel may 

land scallops only once in any calendar 

day. Such a vessel may possess up to 10 

bu (3.52 hL) of in-shell scallops seaward 

of the VMS Demarcation Line. 

(d) Limited access vessel access area 

trips. Owners or operators of vessels 

with a limited access scallop permit that 

have properly declared into the Scallop 

Access Area Program as described in 

§ 648.59 are prohibited from fishing for 

or landing per trip, or possessing at any 

time, scallops in excess of any sea 

scallop possession and landing limit set 

by the Regional Administrator in 

accordance with § 648.59(b)(5). 

(e) Limited access vessel open area inshell scallop possession limit. Owners 

or operators of vessels issued limited 

access permits are prohibited from 

fishing for, possessing, or landing per 

trip more than 50 bu (17.6 hl) of in-shell 

scallops shoreward of the VMS 

Demarcation Line, unless when fishing 

under the state waters exemption 

specified under § 648.54. 

(f) Limited access vessel access area 

in-shell scallop possession limit. A 

limited access vessel that is declared 

into the Scallop Area Access Program as 

described in § 648.59, may not possess 

more than 50 bu (17.6 hL) of in-shell 

scallops outside of the Access Areas 

described in § 648.60. 

* * * * * 

■ 5. Amend § 648.53 by: 

■ a. Revising paragraphs (a)(3)(ii), (8), 

(g)(1), (h)(3)(i)(A) and (B), (5)(i), 

(5)(ii)(A), and (5)(iii); and 

■ b. Adding paragraph (a)(9). 

The revisions and addition read as 

follows: 

§ 648.53 Overfishing limit (OFL), 

acceptable biological catch (ABC), annual 

catch limits (ACL), annual catch targets 

(ACT), annual projected landings (APL), 

DAS allocations, individual fishing quotas 

(IFQ). 

(a) * * * 

(3) * * * 

(ii) APL. The APL shall be equal to the 

combined projected landings by the 

limited access and LAGC IFQ, in open 

areas, access areas, and Northern Gulf of 

Maine management area after set-asides 

(RSA, NGOM, and observer) and 

incidental landings are accounted for, 

for a given fishing year. Projected 

scallop landings are calculated by 

estimating the landings that will come 

from open area, access area, and 

Northern Gulf of Maine effort combined 

for both limited access and LAGC IFQ 

fleets. These projected landings shall 

not exceed the overall ABC/ACL and 

ACT, as described in paragraph (a) of 

this section. 

* * * * * 

(8) Northern Gulf of Maine Total 

Allowable Landings (TAL). The NGOM 

TAL is the landings available for harvest 

from the NGOM Management Area. The 

TAL shall be set by applying a fishing 

mortality rate of F=0.15 to F=0.25 to 

exploitable biomass estimated from 

open areas of the NGOM. 

(i) NGOM Observer Set-Aside. The 

NGOM TAL shall be reduced by 1 

percent to off-set monitoring costs for 

vessels fishing in this area. The NGOM 

monitoring set-aside would be added to 

the fishery-wide observer set-aside, as 

described in paragraph (g) of this 

section. 

(ii) NGOM Research Set-Aside. The 

NGOM TAL shall be reduced by 25,000 

lb (11,340 kg) to be added to the fisherywide research set-aside, as described in 

§ 648.56(d). 

(iii) Northern Gulf of Maine Set-Aside. 

The NGOM Set-Aside shall be the 

portion of the NGOM TAL that is 

available for harvest by the LAGC IFQ 

and NGOM fleets at 200 lb (91 kg) per 

trip per day as set through 

specifications. After the observer and 

research set-asides are removed, the first 

800,000 lb (362,874 kg) of the NGOM 

TAL shall be allocated to the NGOM 

Set-Aside. For all allocation above 

800,000 lb (362,874 kg), 5 percent shall 

go to the NGOM Set-Aside, and 95 

percent shall go to the NGOM Annual 

Projected Landings. 

(iv) NGOM APL. The NGOM APL 

shall be the portion of the NGOM TAL 

that is available for harvest for the 

limited access and LAGC IFQ fleets set 

through specifications after the observer 

and research set-asides are removed and 

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NGOM TAL are allocated to the NGOM 

Set-Aside. For all allocation above 

800,000 lb (362,874 kg), 5 percent shall 

go to the NGOM set-aside, and 95 

percent shall go to the NGOM APL. The 

method in which the limited access and 

LAGC IFQ components will access the 

NGOM APL will be determined in 

future specifications. 

(9) Scallop fishery catch limits. The 

following catch limits will be effective 

for the 2021 and 2022 fishing years: 

TABLE 1 TO PARAGRAPH (a)(9)—SCALLOP FISHERY CATCH LIMITS

Catch limits 2021 

(mt) 

2022 

(mt) 1

OFL .......................................................................................................................................................................... 45,392 41,926 

ABC/ACL (discards removed) ................................................................................................................................. 30,517 28,074 

Incidental Catch ....................................................................................................................................................... 23 23 

RSA .......................................................................................................................................................................... 567 567 

Observer Set-Aside ................................................................................................................................................. 305 281 

ACL for fishery ......................................................................................................................................................... 29,622 27,203 

Limited Access ACL ................................................................................................................................................ 27,993 25,707 

LAGC Total ACL ...................................................................................................................................................... 1,629 1,496 

LAGC IFQ ACL (5 percent of ACL) ......................................................................................................................... 1,481 1,360 

Limited Access with LAGC IFQ ACL (0.5 percent of ACL) .................................................................................... 148 136 

Limited Access ACT ................................................................................................................................................ 24,260 22,279 

APL (after set-asides removed) ............................................................................................................................... 17,269 (1) 

Limited Access APL (94.5 percent of APL) ............................................................................................................. 16,319 (1) 

Total IFQ Annual Allocation (5.5 percent of APL) 2 ................................................................................................ 950 712 

LAGC IFQ Annual Allocation (5 percent of APL) 2 .................................................................................................. 863 648 

Limited Access with LAGC IFQ Annual Allocation (0.5 percent of APL) 2 ............................................................. 86 65 

1The catch limits for the 2022 fishing year are subject to change through a future specifications action or framework adjustment. This includes 

the setting of an APL for 2022 that will be based on the 2021 annual scallop surveys. The 2022 default allocations for the limited access component are defined for DAS in paragraph (b)(3) of this section and for access areas in § 648.59(b)(3)(i)(B). 2As specified in paragraph (a)(6)(iii)(B) of this section, the 2022 IFQ annual allocations are set at 75 percent of the 2021 IFQ Annual 

Allocations. 

* * * * * 

(g) * * * 

(1) To help defray the cost of carrying 

an observer, 1 percent of the ABC/ACL 

defined in paragraph (a)(3) of this 

section and 1 percent of the NGOM 

ABC/ACL shall be set aside to be used 

by vessels that are assigned to take an 

at-sea observer on a trip. This observer 

set-aside is specified through the 

specifications or framework adjustment 

process defined in § 648.55. 

* * * * * 

(h) * * * 

(3) * * * 

(i) * * * 

(A) Unless otherwise specified in 

paragraphs (h)(3)(i)(B) and (C) of this 

section, a vessel issued an IFQ scallop 

permit or confirmation of permit history 

shall not be issued more than 2.5 

percent of the IFQ-only annual 

allocation to the IFQ scallop vessels as 

described in paragraph (a)(6) of this 

section. 

(B) A vessel may be initially issued 

more than 2.5 percent of the IFQ-only 

annual allocation allocated to the IFQ 

scallop vessels as described in 

paragraph (a)(6) of this section, if the 

initial determination of its contribution 

factor specified in accordance with 

§ 648.4(a)(2)(ii)(E) and paragraph 

(h)(2)(ii) of this section, results in an 

IFQ that exceeds 2.5 percent of the IFQonly annual allocation to the IFQ 

scallop vessels as described in 

paragraph (a)(6) of this section. A vessel 

that is allocated an IFQ that exceeds 2.5 

percent of the IFQ-only annual 

allocation to the IFQ scallop vessels as 

described in paragraph (a)(6) of this 

section, in accordance with this 

paragraph (h)(3)(i)(B), may not receive 

IFQ through an IFQ transfer, as 

specified in paragraph (h)(5) of this 

section. All scallops that have been 

allocated as part of the original IFQ 

allocation or transferred to a vessel 

during a given fishing year shall be 

counted towards the vessel cap. 

* * * * * 

(5) * * * 

(i) Temporary IFQ transfers. (A) IFQonly vessels. Subject to the restrictions 

in paragraph (h)(5)(iii) of this section, 

the owner of an IFQ scallop vessel (and/ 

or IFQ scallop permit in confirmation of 

permit history) not issued a limited 

access scallop permit may temporarily 

transfer (e.g., lease) its entire IFQ 

allocation, or a portion of its IFQ 

allocation, to another IFQ scallop vessel 

(and/or IFQ scallop permit in 

confirmation of permit history) not 

issued a limited access scallop permit. 

Temporary IFQ transfers shall be 

effective only for the fishing year in 

which the temporary transfer is 

requested and processed. IFQ can be 

temporarily transferred more than once 

(i.e., re-transferred). For example, if a 

vessel temporarily transfers IFQ to a 

vessel, the transferee vessel may retransfer any portion of that IFQ to 

another vessel. There is no limit on how 

many times IFQ can be re-transferred in 

a fishing year. The Regional 

Administrator has final approval 

authority for all temporary IFQ transfer 

requests. 

(B) Limited access vessels with LAGC 

IFQ. Subject to the restrictions in 

paragraph (h)(5)(iii) of this section, the 

owner of a limited access vessel with 

LAGC IFQ (and/or a limited access 

permit with LAGC IFQ in confirmation 

of permit history) may temporarily 

transfer (e.g., lease) its entire IFQ 

allocation, or a portion of its IFQ 

allocation, to an IFQ-only scallop vessel 

that does not have a limited access 

permit. Temporary IFQ transfers shall 

be effective only for the fishing year in 

which the temporary transfer is 

requested and processed. IFQ can be 

temporarily transferred more than once 

(i.e., re-transferred). The Regional 

Administrator has final approval 

authority for all temporary IFQ transfer 

requests. 

* * * * * 

(ii) * * * 

(A) Subject to the restrictions in 

paragraph (h)(5)(iii) of this section, the 

owner of an IFQ scallop vessel (and/or 

IFQ scallop permit in confirmation of 

permit history) not issued a limited 

access scallop permit may transfer IFQ 

permanently to or from another IFQ 

scallop vessel (and/or IFQ scallop 


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permit in confirmation of permit 

history) not issued a limited access 

scallop permit. Any such transfer 

cannot be limited in duration and is 

permanent as to the transferee, unless 

the IFQ is subsequently permanently 

transferred to another IFQ scallop 

vessel. IFQ may be permanently 

transferred to a vessel and then be retransferred (temporarily transferred (i.e., 

leased) or permanently transferred) by 

such vessel to another vessel in the 

same fishing year. There is no limit on 

how many times IFQ can be retransferred in a fishing year. Limited 

access vessels with LAGC IFQ permits 

are prohibited from permanently 

transferring or receiving IFQ. 

* * * * * 

(iii) IFQ transfer restrictions. The 

owner of an IFQ scallop vessel (and/or 

IFQ scallop permit in confirmation of 

permit history) not issued a limited 

access scallop permit may transfer that 

vessel’s IFQ to another IFQ scallop 

vessel, regardless of whether or not the 

vessel has fished under its IFQ in the 

same fishing year. Requests for IFQ 

transfers cannot be less than 100 lb (46.4 

kg), unless that the transfer reflects the 

total IFQ amount remaining on the 

transferor’s vessel, or the entire IFQ 

allocation. IFQ may be temporarily or 

permanently transferred to a vessel and 

then temporarily re-transferred (i.e., 

leased) or permanently re-transferred by 

such vessel to another vessel in the 

same fishing year. There is no 

restriction on how many times IFQ can 

be re-transferred. A transfer of an IFQ 

may not result in the sum of the IFQs 

on the receiving vessel exceeding 2.5 

percent of the allocation to IFQ-only 

scallop vessels. A transfer of an IFQ, 

whether temporary or permanent, may 

not result in the transferee having a total 

ownership of, or interest in, general 

category scallop allocation that exceeds 

5 percent of the allocation to IFQ-only 

scallop vessels. Limited access scallop 

vessels that are also issued an IFQ 

scallop permit may not permanently 

transfer or receive IFQ. Further, they 

may not temporarily receive IFQ. 

* * * * * 

■ 6. In § 648.55, revise paragraphs (a)(1) 

and (f) introductory text to read as 

follows: 

§ 648.55 Specifications and framework 

adjustments to management measures. 

(a) * * * 

(1) The Scallop Plan Development 

Team (PDT) shall meet at least every 2 

years to assess the status of the scallop 

resource and to develop and 

recommend the following specifications 

for a period of up to 2 years, as well as 

second or third-year default measures, 

for consideration by the New England 

Fishery Management Council’s Atlantic 

Sea Scallop Oversight Committee and 

Advisory Panel: OFL, overall ABC/ACL, 

sub-ACLs, sub-ACTs, DAS open area 

allocations, possession limits, 

modifications to rotational area 

management (e.g., schedule, rotational 

closures and openings, seasonal 

restrictions, modifications to 

boundaries, etc.), access area limited 

access poundage allocations and LAGC 

IFQ fleet-wide trip allocations, annual 

incidental catch target TAC, and NGOM 

TAL. 

* * * * * 

(f) Framework adjustments. The 

Council may at any time initiate a 

framework adjustment to add or adjust 

management measures within the 

Scallop FMP if it finds that action is 

necessary to meet or be consistent with 

the goals and objectives of the FMP. The 

Council shall develop and analyze 

appropriate management actions over 

the span of at least two Council 

meetings. To address interactions 

between the scallop fishery and sea 

turtles and other protected species, such 

adjustments may include proactive 

measures including, but not limited to, 

the timing of Sea Scallop Access Area 

openings, seasonal closures, gear 

modifications, increased observer 

coverage, and additional research. The 

Council shall provide the public with 

advance notice of the availability of 

both the proposals and the analyses, and 

opportunity to comment on them prior 

to and at the second Council meeting. 

The Council’s recommendation on 

adjustments or additions to management 

measures may include specifications 

measures specified in paragraph (a) of 

this section, which must satisfy the 

criteria set forth § 648.53(a) in order to 

prevent overfishing of the available 

biomass of scallops and ensure that OY 

is achieved on a continuing basis. Other 

measures that may be changed or 

implemented through framework action 

include: 

* * * * * 

■ 7. In § 648.56, revise paragraph (d) is 

to read as follows: 

§ 648.56 Scallop research. 

* * * * * 

(d) Available RSA allocation shall be 

1.275 million lb (578 mt) annually, 

which shall be deducted from the ABC/ 

ACL specified in § 648.53(a) prior to 

setting ACLs for the limited access and 

LAGC fleets, as specified in 

§ 648.53(a)(3) and (4), respectively. 

Approved RSA projects shall be 

allocated an amount of scallop 

allocation that can be harvested in open 

areas, available access areas, and the 

NGOM. The specific access areas that 

are open to RSA harvest and the amount 

of NGOM allocation to be landed 

through RSA harvest shall be specified 

through the framework process as 

identified in § 648.59(e)(1). In a year in 

which a framework adjustment is under 

review by the Council and/or NMFS, 

NMFS shall make RSA awards prior to 

approval of the framework, if 

practicable, based on total scallop 

allocation needed to fund each research 

project. Recipients may begin 

compensation fishing in open areas 

prior to approval of the framework, or 

wait until NMFS approval of the 

framework to begin compensation 

fishing within approved access areas. 

* * * * * 

■ 8. In § 648.59, revise the section title 

and paragraphs (a) introductory text, 

(a)(3), (b)(4), (g)(3)(i), and (4)(ii) to read 

as follows: 

§ 648.59 Scallop Rotational Area 

Management Program and Scallop Access 

Area Program requirements. 

(a) The Scallop Rotational Area 

Management Program consists of 

Scallop Rotational Areas, as defined in 

§ 648.2. Guidelines for this area rotation 

program (i.e., when to close an area and 

reopen it to scallop fishing) are 

provided in § 648.55(a)(6). Whether a 

rotational area is open or closed to 

scallop fishing in a given year, and the 

appropriate level of access by limited 

access and LAGC IFQ vessels, are 

specified through the specifications or 

framework adjustment processes 

defined in § 648.55. When a rotational 

area is open to the scallop fishery, it is 

called an Access Area and scallop 

vessels fishing in the area are subject to 

the Scallop Access Area Program 

Requirements specified in this section. 

Areas not defined as Scallop Rotational 

Areas specified in § 648.60, Habitat 

Management Areas specified in 

§ 648.370, or areas closed to scallop 

fishing under other FMPs, are governed 

by other management measures and 

restrictions in this part and are referred 

to as Open Areas. 

* * * * * 

(3) Transiting a Scallop Access Area. 

Any sea scallop vessel that has not 

declared a trip into the Scallop Access 

Area Program may enter a Scallop 

Access Area, and possess scallops not 

caught in the Scallop Access Areas, for 

transiting purposes only, provided the 

vessel’s fishing gear is stowed and not 

available for immediate use as defined 

in § 648.2. Any scallop vessel that has 

declared a trip into the Scallop Area 

Access Program may not enter or be in 

another Scallop Access Area on the 


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same trip except such vessel may transit 

another Scallop Access Area provided 

its 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 Scallop Rotational Area, 

as defined in § 648.60(d), 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. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(4) Area fished. While on a Scallop 

Access Area trip, a vessel may not fish 

for, possess, or land scallops in or from 

areas outside the Scallop Access Area in 

which the vessel operator has declared 

the vessel will fish during that trip, and 

may not enter or exit the specific 

declared Scallop Access Area more than 

once per trip unless there is a 

compelling safety reason. A vessel on a 

Scallop Access Area trip may not enter 

or be in another Scallop Access Area on 

the same trip except such vessel may 

transit another Scallop Access Area as 

provided for under paragraph (a)(3) of 

this section. 

* * * * * 

(g) * * * 

(3) * * * 

(i) An LAGC scallop vessel authorized 

to fish in the Scallop Rotational Areas 

specified in § 648.60 or in paragraph 

(g)(3)(iv) of this section may land 

scallops, subject to the possession limit 

specified in § 648.52(a)(2), 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. All LAGC IFQ 

access area trips must be taken in the 

fishing year that they are allocated (i.e., 

there are no carryover trips). The total 

number of LAGC IFQ trips in an Access 

Area is specified in the specifications or 

framework adjustment processes 

defined in § 648.55. 

* * * * * 

(4) * * * 

(ii) Other species. Unless issued an 

LAGC IFQ scallop permit and fishing 

under an approved NE multispecies 

SAP under NE multispecies DAS, an 

LAGC IFQ vessel fishing in the Closed 

Area I, Closed Area II, Closed Area II 

Extension, and Nantucket Lightship 

Rotational Areas specified in § 648.60, 

and the Nantucket Lightship North 

Scallop Access Area specified in 

paragraph (g)(3)(iv) of this section is 

prohibited from possessing any species 

of fish other than scallops and 

monkfish, as specified in 

§ 648.94(c)(8)(i). Such a vessel may fish 

in an approved SAP under § 648.85 and 

under multispecies DAS in the scallop 

access area, provided that it has not 

declared into the Scallop Access Area 

Program. Such a vessel is prohibited 

from fishing for, possessing, or landing 

scallops. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2021–20462 Filed 10–4–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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