Effective at 0001 on
July 4, we are closing the Mid-Atlantic Scallop Access Area to the Limited Access General Category (LACG) Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) scallop fleet. We project that the 2016 LAGC IFQ has reached the Mid-Atlantic Access Area trip limit. The area will remain closed to the LAGC IFQ fleet for the remainder of the 2016 fishing year through
February 28, 2017. Vessels that have complied with the observer notification requirements, declared a trip into the Mid-Atlantic Scallop Access Area using the correct Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) code, and crossed the VMS demarcation line before 0001
July 4, 2016, may complete their trip and retain and land scallops caught from the Mid-Atlantic Scallop Access Area. For more details, read the
notice (pdf) as filed this afternoon in the
Federal Register and the
permit holder bulletin (pdf). To review the Atlantic Sea Scallop management areas, check out our
story map. 17:23
