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At its December 2023 meeting, the New England Fishery Management Council voted to submit Framework 38 to NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).  Pursuant to section 304(a) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, NMFS is drafting a proposed rule to approve and implement Framework 38. Framework 38 is a time-sensitive action that would set annual specifications for the Atlantic sea scallop fleet for the 2024 fishing year, including the annual catch limits for the limited access and limited access general category fleets, as well as days-at-sea allocations and sea scallop access area trip allocations. Framework 38 would implement specifications that would result in projected landings of 27.4 million lb, a 2.4 million-lb increase from the fishing year 2023 projected landings. However, during the development of Framework 38 current price information was added to the price projection model resulting in a decrease in the projected price for scallops in the 2024 fishing year. As a result, despite the increase in projected landings, it is predicted that there will be a decrease in total economic benefits in fishing year 2024. This is due primarily to a decrease in the projected price for scallops, specifically of U-10 scallops (larger scallops that had previously commanded a higher price) and not a result of additional regulations or requirements that would be implemented by Framework 38. Because of this, the economic impacts of the Framework 38 fishery specifications are expected to be negative for scallop vessels and small business entities compared to fishing year 2023. The increase in projected landings and the reduction in projected price is projected to result in a decrease in total economic benefits of $19.62 million using 2023. This is a time-sensitive regulatory action that sets annual catch limits for the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan. This action is routine and needed to fully open the scallop fishery for the 2024 fishing year, beginning April 1, 2024.  Framework 38 was developed by the Council with input from the scallop industry throughout its development. The increase in projected landings that Framework 38 would implement is expected by and supported by the industry. The specifications in this rule would only be in place for one year. If this action is delayed, opening the Scallop fishery by April 1, 2024, would require NMFS to implement default measures which are less preferable to industry and resource managers. The default measures would create confusion among the fleet because NMFS would be required to implement two different sets of measures that would change mid-season. The default measures could also have detrimental impacts to the conservation of important, but sensitive, scallop resources and could exacerbate the impact of the reduction in economic benefits to the scallop industry. They could also lead to reductions in future scallop harvests.