View Rule

This action would remove the current prohibition on commercial fishing vessels landing both surfclams and ocean quahogs on the same fishing trip, which has prevented the industry from accessing fishing grounds where the species are mixed together. The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council initiated this amendment to the Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Fishery Management Plan (FMP) at the request of the fishing industry. The prevalence of mixed beds of surfclams and ocean quahogs has been increasing for several years and the fishing industry is finding it increasingly difficult to land only one species on a trip in many areas.  Industry leaders have stated that failing to implement this action, and allow access to the mixed clam beds, could threaten the continued viability of the fishing vessels and processors in the vertically integrated surfclam and ocean quahog fisheries, which had a combined ex-vessel value of $56M in 2023. NMFS would implement this amendment under the authority specified at 304(b) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.  The implementing regulations for this amendment would remove the current prohibition on landing both species on the same trip and would establish a monitoring program to ensure accurate accounting of Individual Transferable Quota (ITQ) allocations for both species being landed, in order to preserve the value of the industry’s long-term investments in the ITQ system. Development of this new monitoring program will necessitate a delay between the decision on the FMP amendment and the implementing rule. The industry has applied for and received an exempted fishing permit to allow fishing in areas with mixed catch while developing the details of the monitoring program.