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September 29, 2023
NOAA Fisheries has approved federal management measures for the lobster fishery that complement the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American Lobster.
At the recommendation of the Atlantic State Marine Fisheries Commission, we are implementing new measures for the federal American lobster fishery. Measures include:
1. In Area 2, ownership caps would restrict most entities to 800 traps, effective May 1, 2025. An entity with an allocation that exceeded this limit as of May 1, 2022 would be capped at their 2022 trap allocation and may not purchase additional traps.
2. In Area 3, a maximum trap cap reduction and a new, aggregate ownership cap with proportionate reductions that would allow entities to own five times the number of the maximum trap cap.
Trap Reduction Year
Maximum Trap Cap
Aggregate Ownership Cap
2023 (current limits)
An entity with an allocation that exceeded this limit as of May 1, 2022 would be capped at their 2022 trap allocation and may not purchase additional traps. We are implementing these measures with a 1-year delay.
3. Mandatory electronic harvester reporting using the federal electronic vessel trip report (eVTR) for all federal lobster permit holders beginning April 1, 2024. This reporting requirement will include five additional lobster-specific data elements.
A map of the lobster management areas is available here.
We are requesting additional comment on the maximum trap cap reductions for Area 3 and the ownership caps for Areas 2 and 3.
Read the final rule as filed in the Federal Register and the bulletin available on our website. Please submit your comments through our online portal and enter “NOAA-NMFS2022-0032” in the Search box. Click on the “Comment” icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments. Comments are due by December 1, 2023.
Fishing Industry: Contact Allison Murphy, Regional Office, 978-281-9122