Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 322 CMR - Division of Marine Fisheries › Title 322 CMR 6.00 - Regulation of Catches › Section 6.40 - Tautog Fishery Limits

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
(1)
Purpose and Scope
. Tautog may be found in the waters
			 off of Nova Scotia to Georgia, with a majority of U.S. landings occurring in
			 state-waters between Cape Cod and Chesapeake Bay. Tautog are targeted by both
			 commercial and recreational fishers along the coast. The tautog resource is
			 managed under the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's Interstate
			 Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Tautog. Amendment 1 to the FMP delineates the
			 stock into four regional management units based on biology, fishery
			 characteristics, and limited coast-wide movement. Massachusetts is in a
			 regional management unit with the state of Rhode Island. States within a
			 regional management unit work together to implement similar management measures
			 across jurisdictions. Amendment 1 also mandates that all coastal states
			 implement a commercial fisher tautog tagging program in an effort to address
			 illegal harvest and sale of tautog.
(2)
Definitions
.
Commercial Fisher
means any person who
				catches, retains, possesses or lands tautog for the purpose of sale, barter or
				exchange or keeps for personal or family use any tautog taken under the
				authority of a commercial fishing permit and regulated tautog fishery permit
				endorsement issued in accordance with M.G.L. c. 130, § 80, and
				322
				CMR 7.01:
Form, Use and Contents of
				Permits.
Dealer
means any person permitted in
				accordance with M.G.L. c. 130, § 80, and
				322
				CMR 7.01(3):
Coastal
				Lobster Permit and Trap Allocation Transfer Programs
to process,
				distribute, sell or resell fish.
Closed Commercial Season
means that
				period when commercial fishing is prohibited, including that period between
				January 1st and August
				31st and after the quota closure through December
				31st.
Director
means the Director of the
				Division of Marine Fisheries.
Division
means the Division of Marine
				Fisheries.
High Grade
means the discarding of a
				legal-sized fish previously captured and retained in favor of larger
				legal-sized fish.
Open Commercial Season
means that
				period when commercial fishing is allowed that begins on September
				1st and ends on December
				31st or when the Director projects 100% of the quota
				is taken and the fishery is closed through Declaration of Closure issued in
				accordance with
				322
				CMR 6.41(2), whichever
				occurs first.
Primary Purchase
means the first
				commercial transaction by sale, barter or exchange of any tautog after it is
				harvested.
Quota
means the Commonwealth's annual
				total allowable commercial landings of tautog authorized by the Atlantic States
				Marine Fisheries Commission.
Recreational Fisher
means any person
				authorized pursuant to M.G.L. c. 130, § 17C and
				322
				CMR 7.10:
Recreational Saltwater
				Fishing Permits
to take or attempt to take finfish for personal or
				family use, sport or pleasure and which are not sold, traded or
				bartered.
Tautog
means that species of fish
				known as
Tautoga onitis.
Tautog ID Tags
means the lockable,
				single-use, tamper evident, and nontransferable metal tags to be affixed to the
				operculum of tautog retained by commercial fishers. Tautog ID tags are labeled
				with the year, state code, and a unique identification number traceable to the
				commercial tautog regulated fishery permit endorsement holder to whom they were
				issued.
(3)
Minimum Size
. It shall be unlawful for any person to
			 possess a tautog that measures less than 16 inches in total length for longer
			 than is necessary for immediate measurement and return to the sea.
(4)
Recreational Fishery
			 Limits
. The following seasons and following recreational fishing
			 possession limits apply:
(a)
January 1st through March
			 31st
. It shall be unlawful for a
			 recreational fisher to possess or land any tautog.
(b)
April
			 1st through May
			 31st
. It shall be unlawful for a
			 recreational fisher to possess or land more than three tautog per calendar
			 day.
(c)
June
			 1st through July
			 31st
. It shall be unlawful for a
			 recreational fisher to possess or land more than one tautog per calendar
			 day.
(d)
August
			 1st through October
			 14th
. It shall be unlawful for a
			 recreational fisher to possess or land more than three tautog per calendar
			 day.
(e)
October
			 15th through December
			 31st
. It shall be unlawful for a
			 recreational fisher to possess or land more than five tautog per calendar
			 day.
(f)
Maximum
			 Possession Limit for Anglers Onboard a Private Vessel
. The
			 possession limits set at
			 322
			 CMR 6.40(4)(a) through (e)
			 shall apply per person per calendar day with a maximum of ten fish per vessel
			 per calendar day. This maximum possession limit shall not apply to anglers
			 fishing onboard for-hire vessels permitted in accordance with
			 322
			 CMR 7.10(5):
Permit
			 Requirements Applicable to For-hire Vessels.
(g)
Trophy Fish
			 Limit
. During the period of April 1st
			 through December 31st, when recreational fishers may
			 lawfully retain, possess, and land tautog, it shall be unlawful for a
			 recreational fisher to retain, possess, or land more than one tautog with a
			 total length measuring 21 inches or greater per calendar day. Upon retaining
			 one fish with a total length measuring 21 inches or greater it shall be
			 unlawful to retain any additional tautog measuring 21 inches or greater for a
			 period of time longer than is necessary for immediate measurement and return to
			 the sea. It shall be unlawful to high grade tautog.