Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 322 CMR - Division of Marine Fisheries › Title 322 CMR 6.00 - Regulation of Catches › Section 6.43 - Atlantic Menhaden Management

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
(1)
Purpose
. The purpose of
			 322
			 CMR 6.43 is to comply with the Atlantic
			 States Marine Fisheries Commission's Interstate Fishery Management Plan for
			 Atlantic Menhaden to manage the Atlantic menhaden fishery in a manner that is
			 biologically, economically, socially and ecologically sound, while protecting
			 the resource and those who benefit from it.
(2)
Definitions
.
Atlantic Menhaden
means that species
				known as
Brevoortia tyrannus
or commonly referred to as pogy
				or bunker.
Bait Dealer
means any person issued a
				bait dealer permit in accordance with
				322
				CMR 7.01(3)(g):
Bait
				Dealer.
Barrel
means a standard cylindrical
				container with a liquid capacity of 55 gallons or a volume of 7.35 cubic
				feet.
Carrier Vessel
means a support vessel
				that is not equipped to catch Atlantic menhaden and is used or intended to be
				used to receive Atlantic menhaden caught by another vessel and transports that
				Atlantic menhaden to port for landing.
Commercial Fisher
means any person
				permitted in accordance with M.G.L. c. 130, § 80 and
				322
				CMR 7.01(2)  to retain,
				possess, and land Atlantic menhaden for purpose of sale, barter, or exchange or
				who keeps for personal or family use any Atlantic menhaden taken under the
				authority of said permit.
Declare
means to file an advisory
				notification with the
Massachusetts Register
and publish it
via
the Marine Fisheries electronic mailing list and
				website.
Director
means the Director of the
				Division of Marine Fisheries.
Division
means the Division of Marine
				Fisheries.
Episodic Events Set Aside
means the 1%
				of the total allowable catch of Atlantic menhaden that is set aside for use by
				the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut
				and New York when certain conditions exist as established in the Interstate
				Fishery Management Plan.
Fish Tote
means a standard rectangular
				container measuring 28 inches by 16 inches by 11 inches.
Land
means to transfer or attempt to
				transfer the catch of Atlantic menhaden onto any land, pier, wharf, dock or
				other artificial structure, or for a fishing vessel with any Atlantic menhaden
				onboard to tie up to any dock, pier or other artificial structure.
Non-Directed Gear
means pound nets,
				anchored or stake gillnets, trammel nets, drift gillnets, trawls, fishing
				weirs, fyke nets, and floating fish traps.
Purse Seine
means any vertical wall of
				netting with floats on the top and weights at the bottom that is deployed to
				surround a school of fish and encloses fish in the netting by drawing together
				and tightening the bottom of the net.
Quota
means the Commonwealth of
				Massachusetts annual commercial Atlantic menhaden quota adopted by the Atlantic
				States Marine Fisheries Commission and amended by required paybacks and
				authorized quota transfers and rollovers.
Small-Scale Directed Gear
means cast
				nets, traps (excluding floating fish traps), pots, haul seines, hook and line,
				bag nets, hoop nets, hand lines, and bait nets.
Trip
means the time period that begins
				when a vessel departs from any land, pier, wharf, dock or other artificial
				structure to carry out commercial fishing operations, including the at-sea
				transfer and transport of fish, and that ends with a return to any land, pier,
				wharf, dock or other artificial structure.
Trip Limit
means the maximum lawful
				amount of Atlantic menhaden that a commercial fisher may retain, possess, or
				land within the waters under the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth or sell,
				barter or exchange or offer for sale barter or exchange. Trip limits apply per
				trip or calendar day, whichever period of time is longer and are applied to the
				vessel named on the commercial fishing permit regardless of the number of
				commercial fishing permits or letters of authorization carried on board the
				vessel.
(3)
Regulated Fishery Permit Endorsement Requirement
. It
			 shall be unlawful for any commercial fisher or vessel to retain, possess, or
			 land Atlantic menhaden in excess of 6,000 pounds per trip or per calendar day,
			 whichever period is longer, without a regulated commercial fishery permit
			 endorsement for Atlantic menhaden issued by the Director, in accordance with
			 322
			 CMR 7.01(4)(a):
Regulated Fishery Permit Endorsement
and managed pursuant to
			 322
			 CMR 7.06:
Limited Entry
			 Permits
.
(4)
Commercial Fishing during Quota Managed Period
.
(a)
January
			 1st through May
			 14th
.
1.
Gear
			 Restrictions
. From January 1st through
			 May 14th, commercial fishers may only retain,
			 possess, and land Atlantic menhaden taken by Non-Directed Gear or Small Scale
			 Directed Gear. During this period, it shall be unlawful to retain, possess, or
			 land menhaden taken by purse seine. It shall be
prima facie
evidence that a commercial fisher is fishing with a purse seine, in violation
			 of 322 CMR
			 6.43(4)(a)1., if the vessel
			 is rigged for purse seining or a purse seine is onboard the vessel and there
			 are Atlantic menhaden onboard the vessel.
2.
Trip Limit
. From
			 January 1st through May
			 14th, the trip limit of Atlantic menhaden for all
			 commercial fishers shall be 6,000 pounds. During this period, all Atlantic
			 menhaden fishing shall occur within the waters under the jurisdiction of the
			 Commonwealth. It shall be unlawful for any commercial fisher to land Atlantic
			 menhaden more than once per calendar day.
Exception
. For Atlantic menhaden
				caught in a permitted fish weir by commercial fishers who have been issued a
				regulated fishery permit endorsements for Atlantic menhaden, the trip limit
				shall be 120,000 pounds.
3.
Storage Requirement
. All Atlantic menhaden shall be
			 brought onboard the vessel, and upon retention, be immediately stored in level
			 filled barrels or fish totes. A level filled fish tote shall be the equivalent
			 of 117 pounds of Atlantic menhaden; a level filled barrel shall be the
			 equivalent of 350 pounds of Atlantic menhaden; and 51-level filled fish totes
			 or 17-level filled barrels of Atlantic menhaden shall be the equivalent of
			 6,000 pounds of Atlantic menhaden.