Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery; Closure of the Delmarva Access Area

Zusammenfassung

NMFS issues this temporary rule under its authority to implement emergency measures under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). This emergency rule closes the Delmarva Scallop Access Area (Delmarva) to all scallop vessels for the remainder of the 2012 scallop fishing year and reallocates unused 2012 limited access full-time vessel (FT) scallop Delmarva trips to the Closed Area I Access Area (CAI). Closing Delmarva will prevent high levels of fishing effort in this area, which could have reduced long-term scallop biomass and yield from Delmarva, and could have compromised the overall success of the scallop area rotational management program. This emergency action reallocates 2012 Delmarva trips to CAI to ensure equity in trip allocations and to minimize economic impacts of closing the Delmarva. The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) recommended that NMFS take this action quickly in order to minimize any fishing effort in the Delmarva, and ensure the industry is aware of any allocation adjustments as soon as possible before CAI opens on June 15, 2012.