Commercial
striped bass fishery rules (322 CMR 6.07)
regarding daily catch limits,
season start date, and dealer requirements for imported fish, were
amended. The four-day
fishing week, (formerly Sunday through Wednesday) was shifted to
Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The daily catch limit on
Sunday was reduced to five fish but remains at 30 fish during Tuesday
through Thursday. No-fishing days will be Monday, Fridays, &
Saturdays. The commercial
fishery will open on Tuesday, July 12th. Dealers will be allowed to
import documented (tagged) non-conforming (legally caught in the state
of origin but < 34”) whole striped bass prior to the July 12
season opening and again beginning five days after the close of the
season. During the commercial season (and five days following the
closure) all bass in the possession of dealers must meet the
Commonwealth’s 34” minimum size.
These
actions were taken to reduce the rate the overall quota will be
consumed and to improve availability of fresh bass for weekend
markets, retail outlets (retail dealers, restaurants), and consumers
on a year-round basis.
Commercial
fishing for groundfish while engaged in for-hire fishing will be
prohibited (322 CMR 7.01). This
regulation complements similar federal rules but will not impact any
other species outside of the multispecies groundfish complex
(including cod, haddock, and flounders), nor does it prohibit a
properly permitted for-hire vessel from fishing commercially when it
is not engaged in for-hire activity.
Commercial
scup possession limits (322 CMR 6.28) were increased from 300 to 400
lbs. for trawlers during the period May through October period; and
from 100 to 200 lbs. for all other gear types during the black sea
bass open fishing days from May 1 through July 31.
This rule is intended to allow retention of scup by-catch by potters
and hook-and-line fishermen while fishing for black sea bass.
On days the black sea bass fishery is closed, no directed scup
fishing or retention is allowed by fishermen deploying these gears.
Massachusetts’ commercial scup fishery during May – October
is managed through state-by-state quotas allocated by the Atlantic
States Marine Fisheries Commission.
Recreational
fishing rules were amended for summer flounder (fluke), black sea bass
and scup. Minimum
size for fluke was increased from 16.5” to 17.”
Black sea
bass closed seasons (formerly Dec. 1
– May 9 & Sept. 8 – 21) were eliminated. Scup minimum size was
increased from 10 to 10 ½”. The scup open fishing season (formerly
Jan. 1- October 6) was shortened to a 4 month period from May 1
through August 31. Scup bag limits were reduced to 25 fish per angler,
and 50 per vessel for private vessels with 2 or more anglers aboard.
Anglers on for-hire vessels will be allowed 60 fish per angler
during May and June only; otherwise 25-fish per angler. These actions
were taken to comply with interstate plan mandates.
Commercial
trawling regulations for waters south of
Cape
Cod
and the islands were amended. The
commercial squid season when small-mesh trawling is allowed, formerly
ending on May 31, was extended through June 9th. The
summer-time allowance for the use of 4 1/2” mesh during the June
through October period in waters south of Cape Cod and the islands was
eliminated (322 CMR 6.22, 8.07, & 8.08).
Area-specific
commercial sea herring limits were adopted to comply with the
interstate plan, and an annual specification process was established
to enable adjustment of area-specific fishery limits as established by
the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (322 CMR 9.00). While
DMF previously had adopted regulations governing Management Area 1A,
other area-specific regulations such as for Management Area 1B had not
been adopted. The approved adjustment process will enable DMF to file
notices with interested parties when NOAA Fisheries and ASMFC have
approved changes to the commercial fishery.
The
finning of spiny dogfish will be prohibited, consistent with mandates
of the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Spiny Dogfish.
Additionally, a declaratory process was adopted for enacting annual
specifications governing spiny dogfish as approved by the Atlantic
States Marine Fisheries Commission (322 CMR 6.35). For
purposes of this regulation, finning refers to the removal of fins and
subsequent discarding of the remainder of the spiny dogfish to the
sea. It does not affect normal processing of dogfish.
New
prohibitions on the retention of certain coastal shark species (322
CMR 6.37):
Basking
sharks (Cetorhinus maximus),
dusky sharks (Carcharhinus
obscurus), sand tiger sharks (Carcharias
taurus), and white sharks (Carcharodon
carcharias). Any of these shark species caught incidental to
fisheries directed toward other species must be released to ensure
maximum probability of survival.
This action was taken to complement similar federal
conservation measures.
No
action was taken on proposals to restrict river herring catch and
sale. DMF and the MFAC
will continue to develop changes to the recreational winter flounder
regulations in compliance with the ASMFC approved plan. No changes
were enacted to commercial summer flounder trip limits or seasons.