Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 322 CMR - Division of Marine Fisheries › Title 322 CMR 6.00 - Regulation of Catches › Section 6.27 - Scup Fishery Management

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
(1)
Definitions
.
Commercial Fishermen
means any person
				fishing under the authority of a permit issued in accordance
				322
				CMR 7.01(2):
Commercial Fisherman Permits
for the purposes of sale, barter,
				or exchange, or to keep for personal use or family use any fish or shellfish
				caught under the authority of the commercial fisherman permit.
Commercial Scup Quota
means the
				allowable annual Massachusetts commercial harvest of scup pursuant to the ASMFC
				Interstate Scup, Black Sea Bass and Summer Flounder Management Plan.
Dealer
means any wholesale or retail
				seafood dealer permitted by the Director pursuant to M.G.L. c. 130, § 80,
				and 322 CMR
				7.01(3):
Dealer
				Permits
.
Director
means the Director of the
				Division of Marine Fisheries.
For-hire Vessel
means any vessel that
				holds a for-hire permit, issued in accordance with M.G.L. c. 130, § 17C,
				and 322 CMR
				7.10(5):
Permit
				Requirements Applicable to For-hire Vessels
, that is carrying paying
				customers for the purpose of recreational fishing.
Recreational Fishermen
means any
				person who harvesters or attempts to harvest fish for personal or family use,
				sport or pleasure, and which are not sold, bartered or exchanged.
Scup
means that species of fish known
				as
Stenotomus chrysops
.
Scup Pot
means any pot or trap that
				has six sides and at least two unobstructed escape vents or openings in the
				parlor section that are at least 31/10 inches in
				diameter or 2¼ inches square, and is set on the bottom of the ocean and
				designed to capture scup.
Total Length
means the greatest
				straight line length, in inches, measured on a fish with its mouth closed from
				the anterior most tip of the jaw or snout to the farthest extremity of the
				tail. For fish with a forked tail, the upper and lower fork may be squeezed
				together to measure the tail extremity.
(3)
Commercial Fishery
			 Management
.
(a)
Permit Requirements
. A regulated fishery permit
			 endorsement, issued by the Director pursuant to
			 322
			 CMR 7.01(4)(a):
Regulated Fishery Permit Endorsement
, is required to sell
			 scup, or to fish for, retain, possess or land scup in accordance with scup
			 commercial fishery regulations at
			 322
			 CMR 6.27(2).
(b)
Minimum Size
. It
			 is unlawful for any commercial fisherman or dealer to possess scup less than
			 nine inches in total length.
(c)
Winter I and Winter II Fishery
. During the Winter I
			 period of January 1st through April
			 30th and the Winter II period of October
			 1st through December
			 31st, it shall be unlawful for any vessel fishing
			 within the waters under the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth to possess,
			 retain, or land more than 2,000 pounds of scup per trip, or per calendar day.
			 Vessels with federal permits allowing the taking of scup from federal waters,
			 may exceed this state limit, provided:
1. the
			 scup were lawfully taken while fishing in federal waters;
2. the vessel is transiting through the
			 waters under the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth and makes no stops, except to
			 land fish in a Massachusetts port, unless otherwise directed to do so by
			 authorized law enforcement personnel, without limitation the Office of Law
			 Enforcement and the United States Coast Guard;
3. all fishing gear is out of the water and
			 properly stowed onboard the vessel; and
4. the vessel, crew, gear, and catch are
			 otherwise in compliance with all applicable federal regulations
(d)
Summertime
			 Fishery
. The summertime fishery occurs during the period of May
			 1st through September
			 30th and is subject to the commercial scup quota.
			 The commercial scup quota is managed through gear type specific trip limits,
			 seasons and fishing days.
1.
Weirs
. During this period commercial fishermen,
			 permitted in accordance with
			 322
			 CMR 7.01(4)(a):
Regulated Fishery Permit Endorsement
to operate a fish weir,
			 shall not be subject to daily possession limits or closed commercial fishing
			 days for scup caught in fish weirs. The weir fishery shall close when the
			 aggregate landings among all permitted weir fishermen reach 300,000 pounds of
			 scup.
2.
Trawlers
. During this period, commercial fishermen,
			 permitted in accordance with
			 322
			 CMR 7.01(4)(a):
Regulated Fishery Permit Endorsement
to fish for scup with
			 trawl gear may fish for, possess and land scup seven days per week. Trawlers
			 shall not land more than 10,000 pounds of scup per calendar week or possess
			 more than 10,000 pounds of scup at any one time. The calendar week shall begin
			 on Sunday at 12:01 A.M. and end on the following Saturday at 11:59
			 P.M.
3.
All Other Gear
			 Types
. Commercial fishermen, permitted in accordance with
			 322
			 CMR 7.01(4)(a):
Regulated Fishery Permit Endorsement
to fish for scup with any
			 other gear type including, but not limited to, hook and line and scup pots, are
			 subject to the following seasonal limits:
a.
May 1st through May
			 31st
. During this period, these
			 commercial fishermen may fish for, possess and land scup Sundays through
			 Thursdays and shall not possess or land more than 800 pounds of scup per
			 calendar day or per fishing trip, whichever period is longer. The possession
			 and landing of scup is prohibited on Fridays and Saturdays.
b.
June
			 1st through June
			 30th
. During this period, these
			 commercial fishermen may fish for, possess and land scup on Sundays, Tuesdays
			 and Wednesdays and shall not possess or land more than 400 pounds of scup per
			 calendar day or per fishing trip. The possession and landing of scup is
			 prohibited on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
c.
July
			 1st through September
			 30th
. During this period, these
			 commercial fishermen may fish for, possess and land scup seven days per week
			 and shall not possess or land more than 1,500 pounds of scup per calendar day
			 or per fishing trip.
4.
Quota Closure
. It shall be unlawful for commercial
			 fishermen to land or possess scup once the Director has determined that 100% of
			 the annual commercial scup quota has been reached. The quota closure will be
			 enacted and announced in accordance with the procedure set forth at
			 322
			 CMR 6.41(2)(c).
(e)
Trip Limit
			 Restrictions on Trawl Vessels
. Notwithstanding the state waters
			 trawl mesh minimum size restrictions at
			 322
			 CMR 4.06:
Use of Mobile
			 Gear
, vessels using trawls shall not possess more than 1,000 pounds of
			 scup from October 1st through April
			 14th, more than 2,000 pounds of scup from April
			 15th through June 15th,
			 nor more than 200 pounds of scup from June 16th
			 through September 30th, unless fishing with nets
			 that have a minimum mesh size of five inches diamond applied throughout the cod
			 end of the net for at least 75 continuous meshes forward of the terminus of the
			 net and all other nets are stowed and not available for immediate use.