Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Fishery

Resumen

Based on a request from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, NMFS is lifting the closure area referred to as the Northern Temporary Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning Closed Area for the harvest of bivalve molluscan shellfish. NMFS is taking this action because this area has not been subject to a toxic algal bloom for several years, and testing of bivalve shellfish has demonstrated toxin levels are well below those known to cause human illness. This action is expected to provide additional fishing opportunity for bivalves in the Gulf of Maine.