reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 130 - Marine Fish and Fisheries › Section 64 - Annual Fee for License

Section 64. Every such licensee or transferee shall pay to the city or town, on or before a date to be fixed by the aldermen, city council or selectmen, an annual fee of not less than five nor more than twenty-five dollars per acre, or part thereof. If any such fee is not paid within six months after it becomes due the license shall thereupon be forfeited.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 130 - Marine Fish and Fisheries › Section 65 - Annual Report of Shellfish Planted, Produced and Marketed; Estimate of Growing Shellfish; Forfeiture for Deficiency

Section 65. Every licensee or transferee of a license referred to in section fifty-seven shall submit on oath on or before February 28 in each year to the director and to the city council or selectmen of the city or town wherein the licensed area is situated a report of the total number of each kind of shellfish planted, produced or marketed during the preceding year upon or from such licensed area, and an estimate of the total number of each kind of shellfish at the time of such report planted or growing thereon. The city council or selectmen may specify a reasonable yearly market value to be produced by each shellfish project licensed pursuant to section fifty-seven. Failure of the licensed shellfish project to meet such a value for any three consecutive years thereafter may result in a forfeit of the shellfish aquaculture license and licensed area.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 130 - Marine Fish and Fisheries › Section 66 - Destruction or Removal of Marks or Bounds; Double Damages

Section 66. No person shall willfully injure, deface, destroy or remove any mark or bound used to define the extent of any shellfish license or grant, or place any unauthorized mark thereon, or tie or fasten any boat or vessel thereto. Any person who violates this section shall be liable in tort for double damages and costs to the licensee or transferee injured by the violation.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 130 - Marine Fish and Fisheries › Section 67 - Taking or Disturbing Shellfish From Licensed Grounds or Beds Without Consent

Section 67. No person shall, without the consent of the licensee or transferee, as the case may be: (i) work a dredge, oyster tongs, rake or other implement for the taking of shellfish of any description upon any shellfish grounds or beds covered by a license granted under section 57 or any corresponding provision of earlier law; (ii) in any way, disturb the growth of the shellfish thereon; (iii) discharge any substance which may directly or indirectly injure the shellfish upon any such grounds or beds; or (iv) while upon or sailing over any such grounds or beds, cast, haul, or have overboard any such dredge, tongs, rake or other implement for the taking of shellfish of any description, under any pretense or for any purpose.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 130 - Marine Fish and Fisheries › Section 68 - Digging, Taking or Carrying Away Shellfish From Licensed Waters, Flats or Creeks at Night

Section 68. No person shall dig, take or carry away any shellfish or shells between one half hour after sunset and one half hour before sunrise, by any method whatever, from any waters, flats or creeks as to which a license under section fifty-seven or corresponding provisions of earlier laws is outstanding. A licensee or transferee of such a license violating this section shall, in addition to all other penalties provided, forfeit his license and the shellfish remaining on the licensed premises.
No person shall, without the consent of the licensee or transferee, dig or take any shellfish or shells from any waters, flats or creeks described in a license granted under section 57 or any corresponding provision of earlier law, during the continuance of the license or of a renewal thereof.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 130 - Marine Fish and Fisheries › Section 69 - Seed Quahaugs, Clams or Oysters; Taking or Possession

Section 69. Whoever takes or has in his possession quahaugs or soft shelled clams or oysters smaller than the minimum size established by the director through regulations, hereinafter referred to as seed quahaugs, seed clams and seed oysters, to the amount of more than five percent of any batch, shall be punished in accordance with section two; provided, however, that it shall not be unlawful to take seed quahaugs, seed clams or seed oysters or have the same in possession under authority of a permit therefor, which the director is hereby authorized to grant, for a replanting in waters or flats within the commonwealth.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 130 - Marine Fish and Fisheries › Section 70 - Taking and Sale of Scallops; Adult and Seed Scallops; Culling

Section 70. No person shall take from the flats or coastal waters of the commonwealth scallops other than adult scallops, or sell or offer for sale or have in possession such scallops. For the purposes of this section an adult scallop shall be a scallop with a well-defined raised annual growth line, and any scallop without such line shall be deemed a ''seed'' scallop. Scallops taken from the coastal waters shall immediately be culled when taken, and all scallops other than adult scallops shall forthwith be returned alive to the coastal waters whence taken; but it shall not be unlawful to sell or have in possession scallops other than adult scallops unavoidably left in the catch after it has been culled, to the amount of not more than five per cent of the total catch remaining. All scallops taken in accordance with this section shall be taken ashore in the shell. This and section seventy-one shall not apply to seed and adult scallops carried by storm or tide from the natural beds and deposited on beaches and flats where, in the opinion of the director, they cannot survive, but the taking of said seed scallops and the taking and sale of said adult scallops may be authorized by him at any season of the year. The director shall promulgate rules and regulations governing the taking and sale of said seed and adult scallops by special permits, which he is empowered to issue without fee, or otherwise so as to prevent the sale of seed scallops at any time, or the sale of adult scallops between April first and the following October first, except as authorized herein.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 130 - Marine Fish and Fisheries › Section 71 - Close Season on Scallops

Section 71. Except as provided in sections seventy and seventy-three, no person shall take scallops between April first and the following October first from the flats or coastal waters of the commonwealth, or buy or sell or have in possession scallops so taken.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 130 - Marine Fish and Fisheries › Section 73 - Granting Modification in Respect to Close Season and Number of Scallops That May Be Taken; Petition; Investigation

Section 73. The provisions of sections seventy-one and seventy-two in respect to the open and close season, and in respect to the number of scallops that may be taken, may be temporarily modified if, on petition of the aldermen, city council or selectmen to the director, the director after investigation, determines that, owing to unusual circumstances, such modification is expedient. In that case, he may authorize, for a prescribed period, the aldermen, city council or selectmen to issue permits to inhabitants of their respective cities or towns to take scallops in such quantities and at such times as he deems expedient.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 130 - Marine Fish and Fisheries › Section 74a - Emergency Designation of Contaminated Shellfish Areas; Enforcement; Notice to Local Authorities

Section 74A. Both the department of public health and the division of marine fisheries shall have the authority immediately to designate shellfish areas as contaminated and that shellfish obtained therefrom are unfit for food and dangerous to the public health, in the event of an emergency as determined by either the department of public health or the division of marine fisheries. Such designation shall be reported to the division of law enforcement, and, in the case of a determination by the department of public health, to the division of marine fisheries, who shall take the necessary action to prevent the taking of shellfish from such area for human consumption and so notify local authorities in each instance. Such determination shall be in effect until subsequent examination, initiated not more than thirty days after the emergency has been determined, shows the shellfish from such area to be safe for human consumption and the said department or division which designated the emergency declares it to be over. In the event that the department of public health determines that there is an emergency, the commissioner of public health shall have the power to direct the activities of all employees of the division of marine fisheries who are regularly engaged in monitoring the condition of shellfish during that emergency.
This section shall not apply to scallops or conch unless scallops or conch are specifically included in such determination.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 130 - Marine Fish and Fisheries › Section 76 - Construction and Operation of Shellfish Purification Plants; Powers of Commissioner

Section 76. The director of the division of marine fisheries may construct and operate shellfish purification plants for the treatment of shellfish taken from areas determined under section seventy-four or any corresponding provisions of earlier laws, to be contaminated, and may operate such existing purification plants to serve such areas as he may deem necessary for these purposes. Said director may acquire by purchase, gift, lease or otherwise, or take by eminent domain under chapter seventy-nine, such land and buildings thereon as may be necessary for the purposes of this section. Said director or his designee shall have sole authority over the acceptance, treatment and discharge of shellfish at such plants, subject to the rules and regulations, which the department of public health is hereby authorized and directed to adopt, relative to the protection of the public health in the consumption of such shellfish.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 130 - Marine Fish and Fisheries › Section 77 - Cost of Operation

Section 77. For the purpose of partially defraying the costs of the operation and maintenance of shellfish purification plants, the division of marine fisheries shall charge the users of said service an amount which shall be determined annually by the commissioner of administration under the provision of section three B of chapter seven.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 130 - Marine Fish and Fisheries › Section 81 - Importation of Shellfish for Consumption; Certification; Labeling of Containers

Section 81. No person shall transport, or cause to be transported, into this commonwealth for consumption as food any shellfish taken or dug from areas outside the commonwealth, or sell, cause to be sold, or keep, offer or expose for sale for consumption as aforesaid any shellfish so taken or dug, unless such person has been certified by the regulatory authority in the United States or foreign country under the uniform sanitation requirements of the cooperative program for the certification of interstate shellfish shippers, nor shall any person transport or cause to be transported within this commonwealth any shellfish for consumption as food, unless the container of such shellfish shall, at all times while in such transportation, bear a label or tag legibly marked with the name and address of the producer and of the shipper thereof and the numbers of such certificates, and the name of the place where and the date when taken, nor shall any person counterfeit, alter, deface or tamper with any label or tag, and absence of such label or tag so marked or failure to allow an inspection shall be prima facie evidence of violation of this section; provided, that the foregoing provisions relative to transportation shall not apply to common carriers, their servants or agents.
Whoever violates any provision of this section shall be punished by a fine of not less than $400 and not more than $10,000 or by imprisonment for not more than three years, or both. The provisions of this section shall be enforced by the department of public health, local boards of health, the director and all officers qualified to serve criminal process; provided, that the provisions of this section and of section eighty-two shall not apply to shellfish taken from an area declared to be contaminated under the provisions of section seventy-four or corresponding provisions of earlier laws.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 130 - Marine Fish and Fisheries › Section 82 - Source of Supply of Shellfish; Tags or Labels; Contents; Record of Markings on Tags or Labels; Inspection

Section 82. No wholesale or retail dealer in shellfish, and no person holding a victualler's license, shall receive any shellfish unless the same bears a label or tag legibly marked with the source of supply, the date when taken, and either the certificate or permit number or the name and address of the producer or shipper, and all shellfish in transit shall bear such label or tag so marked. If such shellfish have been processed at a shellfish purification plant operated under the provisions of section seventy-six, the label or tag shall be so marked, and shall contain such other information as the director may by rule or regulation require. He shall for sixty days after receipt of such shellfish keep in his place of business a record of the markings on such tag or label, which record shall at all reasonable times be open to inspection by any representative of the division or of the department of public health. Whoever violates any provision of this section or fails or neglects to furnish the required label or tag or furnishes such a label or tag bearing false or misleading information or counterfeits, alters, defaces, or tampers with any label or tag shall be punished by a fine of not less than $400 and not more than $10,000 or by imprisonment for not more than three years, or both.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 130 - Marine Fish and Fisheries › Section 83 - Permit Fees; Types of Permits

Section 83. For the purposes of defraying the costs of the division's research, management and other activities including administrative and operating expenses, and the cost of issuing the following resident and nonresident permits and any inspections relative thereto, resident and nonresident permit fees, the amounts which shall be determined by the secretary of administration and finance under the provisions of section three B of chapter seven for the filing thereof, shall be paid to the director or his agent by the person to whom the same is issued for any calendar year or part thereof.
A. Commercial Fisherman (For the taking of fish for sale)
Individual (For named individual only)
Shellfish
Rod and Reel — Unlimited (For the sale of fin fish lawfully taken by rod and reel or by diving)
Boat (100 feet or more in total length) (60 to 99 feet in total length) (Up to 59 feet in total length)
Lobster (For the taking of lobsters for sale)
Seasonal Lobster
B. Wholesale Dealer (Any wholesaler dealing in fresh or raw fish)
C. Retail Dealer (Any retailer dealing in fresh or raw fish)
D. Special Permits
Non–Commercial Lobster and Crab (Up to 10 pots and/or diving privileges)
Master Digger
Subordinate Digger
Regulated Fishery (For fishing in special areas)
Domestic Processing Vessel
Foreign Processing Vessel
Other — Miscellaneous
E. Duplicate (Replacing Original).
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 130 - Marine Fish and Fisheries › Section 92 - Sale of Scallops; Soaked Scallops; Scallops Not in Shell; Marking of Containers; Common Carriers

Section 92. No person shall sell, exchange, transport or deliver and no person shall offer or expose for sale, exchange or delivery or have in their custody or possession with intent to sell, exchange, transport or deliver any scallops or sea scallops which have been soaked and shall tag such scallops in accordance with regulations promulgated by the director.
This section shall not apply to common carriers having scallops in possession for the purpose of transportation.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 130 - Marine Fish and Fisheries › Section 93 - Opening Ditches or Canals for Fisheries for Propagation of Herring, Alewives and Other Food Fish; Acquisition of Land and Waters; Regulation and Leasing of Fisheries

Section 93. A town may open ditches, sluiceways or canals into any pond within its limits not then in private possession for the introduction and propagation in such pond or in any part thereof of herring, alewives or other swimming marine food fish, and for the creation of fisheries for the same; and may take by eminent domain under chapter seventy-nine such land, waters and easements within its limits as may be necessary for such ditches, sluiceways and canals and for the construction and proper operation and use of such fishery and approaches thereto. A town creating such fishery shall own it, may make regulations concerning it, and may lease it for terms of not more than five years, on conditions mutually agreed upon.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 130 - Marine Fish and Fisheries › Section 94 - Petition by City and Town to Control and Regulate Public Fisheries for Alewives; Regulation and Lease of Fisheries

Section 94. The board of aldermen or the city council of any city wherein there is a public fishery for alewives, or the selectmen of a town, wherein there is such a fishery, if so authorized by their town, may petition the director for the right to control and regulate such fishery within their city or town and the director shall forthwith, after due notice and after a hearing held in such city or town, determine whether such control would be proper and reasonable and if the public interests therein would be best served thereby, and may thereupon deny the petition or grant it under such terms, subject to such regulations or restrictions not contrary to law as he may deem expedient.
Whenever such petition shall be granted said aldermen, city council or selectmen, as the case may be, may regulate and control such fishery and may lease it for terms of not more than five years on conditions mutually agreed upon, notwithstanding the provisions of special laws relating to such fishery in that particular locality but not contrary to terms, regulations or restrictions contained in the order of the director in granting such petition; provided, that any other city or town which deems that its fisheries are adversely affected by such an order may so petition the director, who shall thereupon stay the operation of his original order until he has considered the petition and shall thereafter, in a writing stating his reasons therefor, confirm, alter, amend or rescind such original order.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 130 - Marine Fish and Fisheries › Section 95 - Taking Fish From Fisheries Without Permission

Section 95. No person shall take, kill, haul onshore, disturb, injure, hinder or obstruct the passage of any herring, alewives or other swimming marine food fish in a fishery created by a city or town, without the permission thereof or that of its lessees, in a fishery legally established by a corporation, without the permission of such corporation or in a public fishery regulated and controlled by a city or town, contrary to its regulations.
Proceedings under this section shall be commenced within 30 days after the commission of the offense.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 130 - Marine Fish and Fisheries › Section 96 - Impairment of Private Property Rights; Contracts; Leasing at Public Auction

Section 96. Sections ninety-three, ninety-four and ninety-five shall not impair the private rights of any person under any law passed before April twenty-fifth, eighteen hundred and sixty-six, or under any contract existing on said date, or authorize a town to enter upon or build canals or sluiceways into a pond which is private property. Whenever in section ninety-three or section ninety-four authority is granted to lease alewife fisheries, such leasing shall be made at public auction, held in such city or town, each of such fisheries to be leased separately, and no such lease shall authorize the operation of any fishery thereunder subsequent to June fifteenth in any year. Notices of any auction hereunder shall be published and posted as provided by law for notices of town meetings, and every such lease shall terminate on June fifteenth.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 130 - Marine Fish and Fisheries › Section 98 - Shellfish Constables; Appointment; Powers and Duties; Notice of Appointment

Section 98. In each city and town bordering on coastal waters the mayor or the selectmen, as the case may be, shall appoint a person or persons, qualified by training and experience in the field of shellfishery management, as shellfish constables or deputy shellfish constables. A person having successfully completed the shellfish wardens training course at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy as certified by said academy, shall be considered qualified by training and experience in the field of shellfishery management and shall be eligible for appointment as a shellfish constable or deputy shellfish constable. Such shellfish constables and deputy shellfish constables shall be appointed for terms of three years, and may be reappointed. They shall, subject to the appointing authority, initiate, promote and manage shellfisheries in such city or town and shall make or cause to be made such studies as may be necessary to enhance the value of such shellfisheries. They shall enforce all statutes, ordinances, by-laws, rules and regulations relative to shellfish in such city or town. They shall, for the enforcement of sections thirty-one, thirty-seven, forty-one, forty-three and forty-four, have the authority granted to natural resource officers, subject to written rules and regulations of the commissioner. In the performance of his duties, a shellfish constable or deputy shellfish constable may request any person who he has cause to believe is engaged in unlawful shellfishing, is in unlawful possession of shellfish, or is in possession of shellfish unlawfully taken, to display forthwith for inspection all shellfish in his possession, and he may arrest without a warrant any person refusing or failing to comply with such request.
Upon the appointment of a shellfish constable or deputy shellfish constable under this section, the appointing authority shall forthwith notify the director of the division of marine fisheries and the director of the division of law enforcement.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 130 - Marine Fish and Fisheries › Section 100a - Striped Bass; Regulations

Section 100A. The director, with the approval of the marine fisheries advisory commission, shall, adopt rules and regulations relative to the taking, sale or possession of striped bass but in no instance shall any rule or regulation authorize the taking, sale or possession of striped bass measuring less than sixteen inches from the apex of the tail to the farthest extremity of the head.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 130 - Marine Fish and Fisheries › Section 100b - Taking Striped Bass; Methods; Traps

Section 100B. No person shall take, or attempt to take, with or by the use of a net, seine or any other contrivance of any kind or description, except hook and line, any striped bass within the jurisdiction of the commonwealth; provided, that it shall not be a violation of this section for any person to take striped bass by means of such seine, net or other contrivance, while fishing for other fish for the catching of which the use of such seine, net or other contrivance is permitted, if such striped bass is immediately returned to the waters from which taken.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 130 - Marine Fish and Fisheries › Section 100c - Shad; Methods of Taking

Section 100C. No person shall take, or attempt to take, with or by the use of a net, seine or any other contrivance of any kind or description, except by hook and line, any shad within the jurisdiction of the commonwealth; provided, that it shall not be a violation of this section for any person to take shad by means of such seine, net or other contrivance, while fishing for other fish for the catching of which the use of such seine, net or other contrivance is permitted, if such shad is immediately returned alive to the waters from which taken.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 130 - Marine Fish and Fisheries › Section 100d - Eels; Methods of Taking

Section 100D. No person shall take or attempt to take eels, Anguilla rostrata, by any contrivance other than by nets, pots, spears, or angling. The director is hereby authorized to establish rules and regulations governing the size, shape, mesh size, and manner of marking such nets or pots.
It shall be unlawful for a person to take or possess elvers or eels of a size less than 9 inches total length.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 130 - Marine Fish and Fisheries › Section 101a - Gray Seal; Protection

Section 101A. No person shall wilfully detain, hunt, kill or injure a gray seal (halichoerus gryphus), also called a Nantucket horsehead. Whoever violates any provision of this section shall be punished by a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 130 - Marine Fish and Fisheries › Section 104 - Effect on Special Statutes Relating to Fisheries in Particular Places

Section 104. This chapter shall not be deemed to affect any privileges granted in any special statute relating to fisheries in any particular place, except such provisions thereof as relate to shellfish and shellfisheries, to alewife fisheries, and to those activities which are the subject of rules and regulations under section seventeen A.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 130 - Marine Fish and Fisheries › Section 106 - Possessing, Selling, Offering for Sale, Trading or Distributing of Shark Fins Prohibited; Exceptions; Penalty for Violation

Section 106. (a) Except as provided in this section, no person shall possess, sell, offer for sale, trade or distribute a shark fin.
(b) A person who holds a license or permit to take or land sharks may separate a shark fin from a lawfully landed shark during the ordinary course of preparing the body of the shark for consumption, sale, trade or distribution; provided, however, that a shark fin so separated from the shark shall be immediately destroyed unless used by the person for the purposes of taxidermy.
(c) The division may issue a permit for the possession of a shark fin to a person conducting noncommercial, scientific research.
(d) A shark fin seized by the division through the enforcement of this section shall be destroyed by the division.
(e) Whoever violates this section shall be punished by a fine of not less than $500 nor more than $1,000 or by imprisonment for not more than 60 days or by both such fine and imprisonment; provided, however, that each shark fin possessed, sold, offered for sale, traded or distributed in violation of this section shall constitute a separate offense. A violation of this section by a person holding a commercial or recreational license or permit pursuant to this chapter may result in the suspension or revocation of such license or permit.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 131 - Inland Fisheries and Game and Other Natural Resources › Section 1a - Division of Fisheries and Wildlife; Board; Members

Section 1A. The division of fisheries and wildlife shall be within the department of fisheries, wildlife and environmental law enforcement in the executive office of environmental affairs and shall be under the supervision and control of the fisheries and wildlife board, hereinafter called the board, which shall consist of seven members to be appointed by the governor for terms of five years. Five board members shall be appointed from one of each of the five fish and game districts, at least one of whom shall have been actively engaged in farming on land owned by him for a period of not less than five years. Two board members shall be appointed at large, shall be particularly interested in the propagation, protection, research and management of wild birds and mammals and any, so-called, endangered species and one of whom shall be a wildlife biologist.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 131 - Inland Fisheries and Game and Other Natural Resources › Section 1b - Removal of Board Members

Section 1B. Board members may be removed by the governor, with the advice and consent of the council, after due notice and a hearing before the governor, for inefficiency, neglect of duty, misconduct in office or other cause. A copy of the charge against a board member shall be delivered to him not less than twenty-one days prior to the hearing, and he shall have the right to a public hearing and to appear in person and be represented by counsel at the hearing. Upon removal of any board member, the governor shall thereupon cause to be filed in the office of the state secretary a complete statement of all charges made against such board member, the findings thereon, and a complete record of the proceedings thereunder. The absence of a board member from three consecutive meetings, except for sickness supported by the certificate of a physician, shall be termed neglect of duty, and shall be a cause for removal as provided herein. In case of resignation, removal or death of a board member, his successor shall be appointed to fill the remainder of the unexpired term in the same manner and subject to the same qualifications as his predecessor.
Prior to removal for absences, however, the chairperson of the board shall certify the unexcused absence of the board member from 3 consecutive meetings by filing a certificate to that effect with the commissioner of the department of conservation and recreation and the secretary of the commonwealth. Upon the filing of such certificates, such a member's position shall be deemed vacant and the governor shall appoint a successor.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 131 - Inland Fisheries and Game and Other Natural Resources › Section 1d - Reimbursement

Section 1D. The board members shall serve without compensation, but shall be entitled to be reimbursed out of any funds available for the purpose, for their actual traveling and other expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of their official duties, but such reimbursement shall not in any fiscal year exceed three thousand dollars for the total aggregate expenses of all of the board members.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 131 - Inland Fisheries and Game and Other Natural Resources › Section 1e - Meetings

Section 1E. The members of the board shall meet in the commonwealth, within thirty days after their appointment, and once a month thereafter at such times and places in the commonwealth as they may from time to time determine. They shall at least annually choose a chairman and a secretary from among their members, and shall make the appointments required to be made by them in the manner herein provided. Four board members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, except in the case of the appointment or removal of the director of the division or the approval of the appointment or removal of the superintendent of the bureau of wildlife research and management as hereinafter provided for.
No appointment or removal of any person as director or superintendent shall be valid unless written notice of the meeting for such appointment or removal or approval thereof, setting forth the business to be transacted thereat, shall have been sent by registered mail, to each board member, at least twenty-one days prior to such meeting, and then only by the affirmative vote of three or more members present and voting.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 131 - Inland Fisheries and Game and Other Natural Resources › Section 1f - Director

Section 1F. The director of the division of fisheries and wildlife shall be appointed and may be removed by the board of the division of fisheries and wildlife and the position of director shall not be subject to the provisions of chapter thirty-one. The director, subject to the approval of the fisheries and wildlife board, may appoint, without regard for the provisions of chapter thirty-one, an assistant director for natural heritage and endangered species and may assign to such assistant director appropriate duties related to the area of natural heritage and endangered species protection and management. The director and assistant director shall be qualified by training and experience to conduct the duties assigned to them. The director, with the approval of the board, may employ such experts, clerks and other employees from time to time, and for such periods as he may determine to be necessary for its operations.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 131 - Inland Fisheries and Game and Other Natural Resources › Section 1g - Director; Powers and Duties

Section 1G. The director shall, under the control of the board, have charge of, direct and supervise all matters relative to the division and the employees therein. He shall carry out the policies promulgated from time to time by the board, shall prepare the annual budget of the division, and shall file the same pursuant to section three of chapter twenty-nine, and within ninety days after the end of each fiscal year, he shall render a complete detailed report of all activities, revenue and expenditures of the division to the board, the general court and the governor and council.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 131 - Inland Fisheries and Game and Other Natural Resources › Section 1h - Bureau of Wildlife Research and Management

Section 1H. There shall be in the division of fisheries and wildlife, under the control of a director, a bureau of wildlife research and management headed by a superintendent, who shall not be subject to the provisions of chapter thirty-one and who shall be appointed by the director, with the approval of the board, and may be removed by him with like approval. He shall be qualified by training and experience to conduct the duties of his office. The superintendent shall, with the approval of the director, provide for all beneficial forms of wildlife; he shall co-operate with the University of Massachusetts and with federal agencies in all matters pertaining to wildlife research and management, and shall supervise and manage all wildlife sanctuaries which are under the management or control of the division. For the purposes of this section, the word ''wildlife'' means birds, mammals and inland fish.
The superintendent, subject to the approval of the director, shall conduct such scientific studies as he may deem necessary in the work of the bureau, and, subject to like approval, shall collect, classify and designate such studies, data and information as in his opinion will tend to promote the objects of said bureau.
There shall be a state ornithologist in the bureau of wildlife research and management appointed by the director with the approval of the board. He shall advise and consult with the superintendent concerning the avifauna of the commonwealth.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 131 - Inland Fisheries and Game and Other Natural Resources › Section 1i - Damage by Moose or Deer

Section 1I. It shall be the responsibility of the division to provide technical assistance and advice regarding the control or elimination of damage by moose or deer to property which is deemed to be actively devoted to agricultural or horticultural uses as defined by sections one and two of chapter sixty-one A. The director of the division, or his designee, shall respond to all requests for assistance made under the provisions of this section within fifteen days of the receipt of such requests.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 131 - Inland Fisheries and Game and Other Natural Resources › Section 2a - Wildland Acquisition Account

Section 2A. There is hereby established within the Inland Fisheries and Game Fund, a wildland acquisition account which shall be credited monies received from the sale of wildland conservation stamps, the portion of the fees for sporting, fishing, trapping and hunting licenses to be credited under the provisions of section 2C, contributions thereto and any grant monies from the federal government or other public and private sources.
Said account, subject to appropriation, shall be used only for the purchase of land containing wildlife habitat and for costs directly related to the administration of the wildlands stamp program.
The director may contract with the seller of wildlands for installment payments provided that the total of all such installment payments does not exceed seventy-five percent of the previous year's income to the wildlands acquisition account. Acquisition of all lands so purchased shall be made with the advice and consent of the fisheries and wildlife board. All such lands shall be acquired exclusively for protection and management of wildlife habitat and shall be available for fishing, trapping, and hunting.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 131 - Inland Fisheries and Game and Other Natural Resources › Section 2b - Deposit of Revenues; Interest

Section 2B. The state treasurer shall receive and deposit all revenues transmitted to him under provisions of sections 2A and 2C in such a manner that will ensure the highest rate of interest available consistent with the safety of the Inland Fisheries and Game Fund, and all interest accrued shall be deposited into the Inland Fisheries and Game Fund.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 131 - Inland Fisheries and Game and Other Natural Resources › Section 2c - George L. Darey Inland Fisheries and Game Fund; Funding Sources; Appropriations

Section 2C. Monies received by the commonwealth from license fees, permit fees and from any and all sources pertaining to inland fishing, hunting and trapping from permit fees under section 22A, from any sale authorized in section 6 and sums received by the commonwealth from the federal government as reimbursement, grants in aid or other receipts on account of activities of the division, shall be credited on the books of the commonwealth to a fund to be known as the George L. Darey Inland Fisheries and Game Fund except that sums received for natural heritage and endangered species programs shall be credited to the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Fund, established in section 35D of chapter 10; provided, however, that $1 from the sale of each sporting, fishing, trapping and hunting license shall be credited to the wildland acquisition account established in section 2A. All unexpended balances remaining in the George L. Darey Inland Fisheries and Game Fund at the end of each fiscal year shall be appropriated only for the purposes of developing, maintaining, managing, operating and administering the division of fisheries and wildlife. The fund, subject to appropriation, shall be used only as follows:-
(1) for the payment of general administrative expenses of the division;
(2) for acquiring, maintaining or leasing public fishing rights on land, on inland streams and ponds, including stream management and the creation of new ponds;
(3) for acquiring, maintaining or leasing public hunting rights on land;
(4) for biological surveys of inland waters;
(5) for propagation of game birds and fish;
(6) for salvaging and distributing game birds and fish;
(7) for acquisition and maintenance of wildlife sanctuaries and fish and wildlife management areas;
(8) for maintaining water resources to provide an adequate water supply for wildlife;
(9) for maintaining sources of food for game birds;
(10) for payment not to exceed 50 per cent of the amount necessary for personal services and other expenses for and on account of the enforcement of laws relating directly to inland fisheries and game, such amounts to be determined by the commissioner of administration;
(11) for the acquisition, by purchase, lease, easement or license, of land or interests therein critical to nongame wildlife and endangered species for the multiple purposes of protecting and enhancing nongame wildlife and encouraging compatible wildlife uses;
(12) for the management, inventory, preservation, protection, perpetuation, and enhancement of nongame wildlife and endangered species in the commonwealth;
(13) for supplementing funds provided to the natural heritage and endangered species program for the purpose of aiding in the protection of rare, threatened and endangered species in the commonwealth; and
(14) for other general purposes of the division.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 131 - Inland Fisheries and Game and Other Natural Resources › Section 3 - Disposition of Fines, Penalties and Forfeitures

Section 3. All fines, penalties and forfeitures recovered in prosecutions under the laws relative to fish, birds and mammals shall be equally divided between the county where such prosecution is made and the city or town where the offence is committed; provided, that if the complaining officer is receiving compensation from the commonwealth, such fines, penalties and forfeitures shall be paid to the commonwealth and credited to the Inland Fisheries and Game Fund.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 131 - Inland Fisheries and Game and Other Natural Resources › Section 5 - Open Seasons; Rules and Regulations

Section 5. The director shall declare an open season on fish, birds, reptiles, amphibians or mammals in any county where such open season seems advisable, and may make rules and regulations relating to the time and length of such open season, bag limits, possession limits, methods of taking, time and methods of reporting and all other matters pertaining to such open season as he may deem necessary and expedient, and may suspend or modify the open season whenever in his opinion such action becomes necessary.
The director shall establish rules and regulations providing for an annual two-day deer hunt for paraplegics and no fee shall be charged for a special hunting license issued to a paraplegic under the provisions of this section. The director shall determine the dates and area for said hunt; provided, however, that no paraplegic deer hunt shall be authorized in any area where hunting is prohibited by any special or general law.
Rules and regulations made under authority of this section shall be subject to the approval of the fisheries and wildlife board as defined in section seven of chapter twenty-one, not less than three members of which, together with the director, shall hold a public hearing with regards thereto, and such rules and regulations shall be subject to the provisions of section thirty-seven of chapter thirty.
The director, without hearing, but with the approval of the fisheries and wildlife board, may adopt regulations declared by him to be emergency regulations necessary for the immediate management or control. Such emergency regulations may be limited in time but shall not remain in effect for a period longer than ninety days.
Except as provided in rules and regulations made under authority of this section, and except as otherwise provided in this chapter, a person shall not fish, hunt or trap or have in his possession any fish, bird, reptile, amphibian, mammal or carcass or part thereof, but this section shall not be construed to prohibit the hunting, taking or possession of any English sparrow, crow, jay, starling, chipmunk, fox, flying squirrel, red squirrel, porcupine, skunk, weasel, wildcat or woodchuck whenever such hunting, taking or possession is otherwise lawful.