Atlantic Surfclam

The Atlantic surfclam fishery is managed by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, with NOAA Fisheries serving as the implementing body for rules and regulations within the fishery. This fishery was established in 1977, and with the exception of the Maine mahogany quahog zone portion of the fishery, has operated under an individual transferable quota (ITQ) management system since 1990.

The fishing year runs from January 1 through December 31, with NOAA Fisheries jurisdiction covering from Maine to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.

There are five areas closed to harvesting of Atlantic surfclams. For more information on these areas, visit our Surfclam/Ocean Quahog Closed Area page.

Specifications/Quotas

The Atlantic Surfclam Fishery Management Plan (FMP) requires the annual specification of catch and harvest limits for up to three years at a time. If specifications are not in place at the start of the fishing year, the existing specifications roll over until new regulations are finalized.

Current Atlantic Surfclam Specifications (January 1-December 31, 2019)

Conversions

• 1 metric ton (mt) = 2,204.622 pounds (lb)
• 1 Atlantic surfclam bushel = 17 lb

Inseason Actions

There are provisions for the closing or opening of areas inseason, pending review.

Accountability Measures (AM)

If the ACL for Atlantic surfclam is exceeded, and the overage can be attributed to one or more ITQ allocation holder(s), the full amount of the overage will be deducted from the appropriate ITQ allocation in the following fishing year. Any amount of an ACL overage that cannot be otherwise attributed to an ITQ allocation holder will be deducted from the ACL in the following fishing year.

• 1977 – Original FMP for Atlantic surfclam and ocean quahog approved.
• 1979 – Amendment 1 extended the moratorium in surfclam fishery through 1979.
• 1979 – Amendment 2 extended the FMP through 1981, divided the surfclam portion of the management unit into the New England and Mid-Atlantic Area, and introduced a “bad weather make up day.”
• 1981 – Amendment 3 extended the FMP indefinitely; also imposed a 5.5-inch minimum size limit, expanded fishing week, and put quota setting on a framework basis.
• 1984 – Amendment 4 increased maximum clam quotas and altered allocation distribution methods. It was implemented on an emergency basis for 180 days beginning 1 July 1984, but was subsequently determined structurally complete for review.
• 1985 – Amendment 5 extended size limit and required 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.
• 1987 – Amendment 7 changed the quota distribution on Georges Bank to equal quarterly quotas.
• 1988 – Amendment 8 established an ITQ system; also allowed minimum size to be suspended from year to year, merged the New England and Mid-Atlantic areas into one management area, and authorized an experimental fishery for information purposes.
• 1991 – Size limit suspended for the year's fishing season due to the relatively low abundance of pre-recruit-sized clams (less than 4.3 inches) and the likely incentive under Amendment 8 to target beds of larger surfclams.
• 1996 – Amendment 9 revised overfishing definitions in response to scientific review by NMFS.
• 1998 – Amendment 10 placed a moratorium on entry to the Maine EEZ fishery.
• 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.
• 1999 – Amendment 12 established new overfishing definitions, identified and described essential fish habitat, added framework adjustment procedure, and implemented operator permits.
• 2004 – Amendment 13 revised surfclam overfishing definition, addressed gear impacts to EFH, allowed for multi-year quotas, provided for a reversal of the suspension of the surfclam size limit, and allowed implementation of a mandatory vessel monitoring system (VMS).
• 2005 – Industry has lowest harvest since 2000, at 2.744 million bushels of surfclams, 81% of the 3.4 million bushel quota, due to market conditions.
• 2008 – Amendment 14 implemented standardized bycatch reporting methodology across Mid-Atlantic fisheries.
• 2008 – Framework 1 requires a vessel monitoring system (VMS) for vessels participating in the surfclam fishery to monitor closed areas and borders between state and Federal jurisdiction.
• 2011 – Amendment 16 specified mechanisms to set acceptable biological catch (ABC), annual catch limits (ACLs), and accountability measures (AMs).
• 2013 – Regulatory Amendment reopened a portion of the George Bank paralytic shellfish poisoning closed area to Atlantic surfclam and ocean quahog harvesting. To harvest in the reopened area vessels must follow a paralytic shellfish poisoning protocol.
• 2015 – Amendment 15 implemented Standardized Bycatch Reporting Methodology.
• 2015 – Amendment 18 eliminated the requirement for vessel owners to submit "did not fish" reports for the time periods when their vessel was not fishing; removed some restrictions for vessel listings on Federal fishing permits.
• 2016 – Amendment 17 established a cost recovery program for the ITQ fishery; changes how biological reference points are incorporated into the FMP.
• 2017 – Amendment 19 implemented management measures to prevent the development of new, and the expansion of existing, commercial fisheries on certain forage species in the Mid-Atlantic.

The most recent stock assessment update for Atlantic surfclam was in 2016, where the stock was declared not overfished and overfishing was not occurring. The next assessment for surfclam is scheduled for 2020.

Research, Surveys, & Data

Atlantic Surfclam Stock Statuses Based on Most Recent (2016) Stock Assessment