322 CMR, § 6.19

Current through Register 1533, October 25, 2024

Section 6.19 - Edible Crab Management

(1)Definitions. For the purpose of 322 CMR 6.19, the following words shall have the following meaning:

Asian Shore Crab means that species of crustacean known as Hemigrapsus sanguineus.

Blue Crab means that species of crustacean known as Callinectes sapidus.

Cancer Crab means that genus of crustacean that includes Jonah crab (Cancer borealis) and rock crab (Cancer irroratus).

Commercial Fisherman means any person who holds a commercial coastal or offshore lobster permit, issued by the Director in accordance with M.G.L. c. 130, §§ 37, 38 and 80, and 322 CMR 7.01(2): Commercial Fisherman Permits, 322 CMR 7.03: Coastal Lobster Permit and Trap Allocation Transfer Programs and 322 CMR 7.08: Offshore Lobster Fishery Control Date and Moratorium, to take, possess and land lobsters and edible crabs in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for the purpose of sale, barter, or exchange or keep for personal or family use any edible crabs, including Cancer crabs, taken under the authority of the commercial coastal or offshore lobster permit.

Dealer means 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 or their designee.

Edible Crab means blue crabs, Cancer crabs, and other native species of crabs that are suitable for human consumption. This shall not include species of non-native crabs including, but not limited to, the European green crab or the Asian shore crab.

Gillnet means any anchored vertical wall of webbing that is buoyed at the top and weighted at the bottom and is designed to capture fish by entanglement, gilling or wedging.

Green Crab means that species of crustacean known as Carcinus maenas.

Incidental Catch means fish, shellfish or other marine species, taken by a gear that is not the primary species targeted by that gear.

Jonah Crab means the species of crustacean known as Cancer borealis.

Mobile Gear means any moveable or encircling fishing gear or nets which are towed, hauled or dragged through the water for the harvest of fish including, but not limited to, pair trawls, otter trawls, beam trawls, midwater trawls, Scottish seines, Danish seines, pair seines, purse seines or shellfish dredges.

Open or Collapsible Trap means any collapsible device constructed of wire or other material that is fished in an open configuration until retrieved.

Recreational Fisherman means any person who takes, possesses or lands edible crabsin the Commonwealth for personal or family use, sport or pleasure, which are not to be sold, traded or bartered.

Rock Crab means that species of crab known as Cancer irroratus.

Trap means any lobster trap, modified lobster trap, fish pot, fish trap, conch pot, scup pot or other, other than nets, that is five or six sided, placed on the ocean bottom, and designed to catch lobsters, crabs or finfish.

(2)Permit Requirements.

(a)Commercial. A commercial coastal lobster permit, issued by the Director in accordance with M.G.L. c. 130 §§ 2, 37, 38 and 80, and 322 CMR 7.01(2): Commercial Fisherman Permits and 322 CMR 7.03: Coastal Lobster Permit and Trap Allocation Transfer Programs, is required to retain, possess, or land edible crabs by any method or gear in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for the purpose of sale, barter, or exchange.

(b)Non-commercial. A non-commercial lobster and edible crab permit, issued by the Director in accordance with M.G.L. c. 130 § 38, and 322 CMR 7.01(4)(b)2., is required to fish for edible crabs with trap gear or retain, possess, or land edible crabs taken by trap gear in the waters under the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for personal or familial use and which are not to be sold, traded, or bartered. No permit is required to fish for, retain, or land edible crabs taken by hand, handline, dip net, or open and collapsible trap.

(3)Size Limits.

(a)Blue Crabs. No person shall take, offer for sale, or possess at any time any blue crab measuring less than five inches across the shell from tip to tip of the posterior-most, longest spines along the lateral margins of the carapace.

(b)Jonah Crabs. Commercial fishermen and dealers shall not take, possess, or land Jonah crabs that have a carapace width less than 43/4 inches.

(c)Mutilation. The mutilation of any edible crab regulated by a size limit which affects its measurement shall be prima facie evidence that the edible crab was or is less than the required length.

(d)Disposition. Commercial and recreational fishermen shall not land any parts of a Cancer crab other than a whole Cancer crab.

(4)Egg Bearing Crabs. It shall be unlawful for any person to take, possess, or land any Cancer crab or blue crab that is egg bearing, from which eggs have been removed, or has come in contact with any substance capable of removing eggs.

(5)Cancer Crab Rules for Commercial Fishermen Using Lobster Trap Gear.

(a) Commercial fisherman are prohibited from setting any lobster trap gear to take or attempt to take Cancer crabs, unless the lobster trap gear complies with the applicable:

1. trap gear marking regulations at 322 CMR 4.13: Trap Gear Marking and Maximum Trawl Length;

2. lobster gear restrictions at 322 CMR 6.02(1);

3. lobster trap limits or allocations at 322 CMR 6.13;

4. lobster trap tag requirements at 322 CMR 6.31(a); and

5. protected species regulations at 322 CMR 12.00: Protected Species.

(b)Catch Limits. For commercial fishermen fishing exclusively with lobster trap gear in accordance with 322 CMR 6.19(5)(a), there shall be no catch, possession or landing limit for Cancer crabs.

(6)Cancer Crab Rules for Commercial Fishermen Using Gillnets or Mobile Gear.

(a)Incidental Catch Limit. Commercial fishermen fishing with gillnets or mobile gear may possess and land an incidental catch of up to 1,000 Cancer crabs per calendar day or per trip, whichever duration is longer. It is unlawful at any time for the incidental catch of Cancer crabs to exceed 50% the catch in weight of other species onboard.

(b)Catch Limit Exemption. The incidental catch limit at 322 CMR 6.19(6)(a) shall not apply to any commercial fisherman who has obtained rock crabs from lawfully permitted dealers for the purpose of use as bait.

(7)Management of Recreational Cancer Crab Fishery

a.Possession Limits. It shall be unlawful for a recreational fisherman to take, possess or land more than 50 Cancer crabs per calendar day or possess more than 50 Cancer crabs while fishing. This limit shall not apply to any fisherman who has obtained rock crabs from lawfully permitted dealers for use as bait.

b.Restrictions on the Use of Traps. A recreational fisherman may use traps to catch Cancer crabs provided the traps used to take or attempt to take Cancer crabs comply with the recreational lobster trap restrictions at 322 CMR 6.02(3).

(8)Blue Crab Possession Limits. It shall be unlawful for any recreational fisherman or commercial fisherman to take, possess, or land more than 25 blue crabs within a 24-hour period.

(9)Night Closure. It shall be unlawful for any person to tend, lift, raise, or draw any trap or to take edible crabs from a trap from one-half hour after sunset to 1/2 hour before sunrise. This shall not apply to the taking of edible crabs by hand, handline, dip net, or open and collapsible trap.

(10)Prohibitions on the Taking of Blue Crabs. It shall be unlawful to:

(a) Retain any blue crabs caught in trap gear.

(b) Set or haul traps for the purpose of catching blue crabs.

(c) This shall not apply to blue crabs caught while actively fishing with open or collapsible traps.