Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 322 CMR - Division of Marine Fisheries › Title 322 CMR 4.00 - Fishing and Shellfish Equipment › Section 4.03 - Fish Weir Buffer Zone

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
(1)
Purpose
. Unlike mobile fishing gear that is used in
			 active pursuit of fish or fixed gear such as fish pots or gillnets that can be
			 moved to follow migrating fish, weirs, authorized by M.G.L. c. 130, § 29
			 and set in coastal waters with permission of appropriate cities or towns, are
			 completely stationary and dependent on fish coming to them. Since fish tend to
			 follow the weir's leader to the head (heart and bowl), they become concentrated
			 and attract other fishermen to the weir where fish are available and more
			 easily caught. This use of the weir's fish-attracting traits by other
			 fishermen; for example, by fishing in the bowl or heart or alongside the
			 leader, can interfere with the weir's operation and/or success and cause
			 conflicts on the water between weir and other fishermen. Consequently, to avoid
			 these conflicts, a reasonable buffer zone within which no person may conduct
			 commercial or recreational fishing, except the weir owner or those with the
			 owner's consent to remove fish and squid from the head(s), has been
			 established.
(2)
Definitions
.
Buffer Zone
means the area around the
				fish weir which is circumscribed by buoys attached to weir pole anchors. The
				zone's boundary around the bowl is defined by imaginary straight lines between
				the buoys. The zone's extension from the bowl towards shore and parallel to the
				leader is defined by imaginary straight lines between the buoys on either side
				of the bowl to buoys attached to leader pole anchors. The shoreward end of the
				zone is defined by an imaginary straight line between the leader pole anchor
				buoys 500 feet from the first leader pole at the entrance to the weir's heart.
				When a weir has two heads, the zone extends the entire distance from the most
				seaward head to leader pole buoys 500 feet shoreward of the first leader pole
				at the entrance to the most shoreward head.
Commercial Fishing
means fishing for
				purposes of sale, barter or exchange.
Fish Weir
(also known as pound net or
				fish trap) means a stationary or fixed maze of nets attached to poles anchored
				to the sea bed and comprised of the leader (line of poles with net attached)
				extending from near-shore seaward to the heart which is adjacent to the bowl
				where fish and squid accumulate. A weir may have two heads each with a heart
				and bowl.
Fishing
means to harvest, catch or
				take or attempt to harvest, catch or take any fish or squid.
Recreational Fishing
means fishing for
				purposes of personal or family use by angling or hook and line.
(3)
Marking
(a) Weirs
			 with one head shall have anchors marked on the surface by buoys tied to the end
			 of anchor lines of the most seaward pole of the bowl and of the poles on both
			 sides of the bowl. The shoreward extension of the zone along and parallel to
			 the leader shall be marked on the surface by buoys tied to the anchor at the
			 end of anchor lines on both sides of the leader 500 feet from the leader pole
			 at the entrance to the heart.
(b)
			 Weirs with two heads shall have anchors marked on the surface by buoys tied to
			 the end of the anchor line of the most seaward pole of the most seaward bowl
			 and tied to the ends of anchor lines of the poles on both sides of the two
			 heads' bowls. The shoreward extension of the zone along and parallel to the
			 leader shall be marked on the surface by buoys tied to the anchor at the end of
			 anchor lines on both sides of the leader 500 feet from the leader pole at the
			 entrance to the most shoreward head's heart.
(c) All buoys shall be 12 inches diameter,
			 orange, inflated balls marked with the weir number assigned by DMF. A weir with
			 one head shall be marked with five buoys. A weir with two heads shall be marked
			 with seven buoys.