History of the Surfclam Ocean Quahog FMP Year Document Management Action 1977 Original FMP Established management of surfclam and ocean quahog fisheries through September 1979 Established quarterly quotas for surfclams Established annual quotas for ocean quahogs Established effort limitation, permit, and logbook provisions Instituted a moratorium on entry into the surfclam fishery for one year to allow time for the development of an alternative limited entry system such as a "stock certificate" program 1979a Amendment 1 Extended management authority through December 31, 1979 Maintained the moratorium 1979b Amendment 2 Extended the FMP through the end of 1981 Divided the surfclam portion of the management unit into the New England and Mid-Atlantic Area Introduced a "bad weather make up day" Maintained the moratorium in the Mid-Atlantic Area 1981 Amendment 3 Extended the FMP indefinitely Imposed a 5.5" surfclam minimum size limit in the Mid-Atlantic Area Expanded the surfclam fishing week in the Mid-Atlantic Area to Sunday - Thursday from Monday – Thursday Established a framework basis for quota setting Proposed a permit limitation system to replace the moratorium which was disapproved by NMFS NMFS extended the moratorium   1984 Amendment 4 Provided that any unharvested portion of a bimonthly allocation be added to the immediately following bimonthly allocation rather than being prorated over all remaining bimonthly periods and that trip and weekly limits be by vessel classes based on relative fishing power Amendment 4 was implemented on an emergency basis for 180 days beginning 1 July 1984 NMFS subsequently determined that the document was not structurally complete for review 1985 Amendment 5 Allowed for revision of the surfclam minimum size limit provision Extended the size limit throughout the entire fishery Instituted a requirement that cages be tagged 1986 Amendment 6 Divided the New England Area into the Nantucket Shoals and Georges Bank Areas, the dividing line being 69° N Longitude Combined the provisions of Amendment 4 with the Mid-Atlantic Council's Amendment 6 into one document Replaced the bimonthly quotas with quarterly quotas Eliminate the weekly landing limits for the Nantucket Shoals Area Clarified the quota adjustment provisions for the Nantucket Shoals and Georges Bank Areas Established one landing per trip provision 1987 Amendment 7 Changed the quota distribution on Georges Bank to equal quarterly quotas Revised the roll over provisions 1988 Amendment 8 Replaced the regulated fishing time system in the surfclam and ocean quahog fisheries with an individual transferable quota (ITQ) system 1996 Amendment 9 Revised the overfishing definitions for surfclams and ocean quahogs in response to a scientific review by NMFS 1998 Amendment 10 Provided management measures for the small artisanal fishery for ocean quahogs (mahogany clams) off the northeast coast of Maine 1998 Amendment 11 Achieved consistency among Mid-Atlantic and New England FMPs on vessel replacement and upgrade provisions, permit history transfer and splitting and renewal regulations for fishing vessels issued Northeast Limited Access Federal Fishery permits 1998 Amendment 12 Brought the FMP into compliance with the new and revised National Standards and other requirements of the 1996 Sustainable Fisheries Act Established a framework adjustment process Implemented an Operator Permit requirement for fishermen that did not already have them for other fisheries The Regional Administrator partially approved Amendment 12 with the exceptions of the proposed surfclam overfishing definition and the fishing gear impacts to EFH section.  Under development Amendment 13 Will address disapproved sections of Amendment 12 Last Updated:  April 04, 2008