Apr. 25—Federal regulators are once again halting scallop fishing operations in the Gulf of Maine, this time through the end of March 2026.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration paused scallop fishing on April 12, marking the first midseason closure since regulations were first put in place about 16 years ago. That pause lasted just under a week.
But on Friday, the agency announced a second closure, which takes effect at 12:01 a.m. Monday and lasts through the end of the fishing year, March 31, 2026.
The “final closure” impacts those who fish for scallops in federal waters, which begin 3 miles offshore in the gulf’s northern region, NOAA said in its announcement.
Certain fishers, including some collecting scallops for research and others who fish exclusively in state waters, will be exempted from the ban.
Vessels that have the proper monitoring systems and have crossed a specific boundary heading out to sea before 12:01 a.m. Monday may complete their trips and retain their haul, NOAA said.
Regulators established the Northern Gulf of Maine management area, which stretches from Boston to the Canadian border, in 2008, setting annual limits on how many scallops can be fished from the region.
The earlier closure was triggered when regulators failed to determine new limits for the 2025 season before fishers hit the default cap of about 315,000 pounds. During that time, crews harvested just over 405,000 pounds of scallops.
NOAA released an updated fishery management plan and allowed scallop fishers to return to the waters on Monday.
The new limit for this season is 675,563 pounds — about 270,000 more than had been caught before the first closure. Regulators expect that figure to be hit in the next few days.
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