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At the request of the Food and Drug Administration, this action lifted the closure area referred to as the Northern Temporary Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning Closed Area for bivalve harvesting. This included the fishery for Atlantic surfclam, ocean quahog, as well as mussels. Both the Northern and Southern Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning Closed Areas will remain closed to the harvest of whole or roe on scallops and gastropods. This request was based on the premise that the area has not been subject to a toxic algal bloom for several years, and testing of bivalve shellfish has demonstrated toxin levels well below those known to cause human illness. In addition, the Food and Drug Administration has developed an agreement with the State of Massachusetts to conduct Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning monitoring of bivalves from the area in accordance with currently accepted Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning testing procedures.