April 16, 2025 — U.S. regulators were forced to close the Northern Gulf of Maine scallop fishery less than two weeks into the season as fishers wait for the Trump administration to approve new quotas.
The New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) approved new scallop quotas for the 2025/2026 seasons under Amendment 39 in December 2024, establishing a quota for the Northern Gulf of Maine federal fishery of 675,563 pounds for 2025 and a quota of 506,672 pounds for 2026. However, those quotas have not yet received final approval from the federal government.