Section 26-157c-1 - Taking lobsters - general(a)DefinitionsAs used in this section and section 26-157c-2 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies:
(1) "ASMFC" means the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, created under the terms of an interstate compact ratified by the State of Connecticut (section 26-295 of the Connecticut General Statutes) and approved by the U. S. Congress ( Public Law 539, Chapter 283, Second Session, 77th Congress; 56 Stat. 267, approved May 4, 1942, as amended by Public Law 721, 81st Congress, approved August 19, 1950).(2) "American Lobster Fishery Management Plan" or "FMP" means the plan and its amendments and addendums approved and published by the ASMFC to manage the interstate lobster fishery.(3) "Carapace length" means the length of a lobster as measured along the length of the carapace (body shell) parallel to the centerline from the rear end of the eye socket to the rear end of the carapace.(4) "LMA" means any lobster management area as defined in the FMP.(5) "LMA 6" means Lobster Management Area 6 as defined in the FMP. (6) "LMA 6 maximum length" means a carapace length of 5-1/4 inches. (7) "LMA 6 minimum length" means a carapace length of 3-3/8 inches. (8) "LMA 6 v-notch" means a v-notch, with or without setal hairs, at least one-eighth inch in depth.(9) "Lobster" means American lobster (Homarus americanus).(10) "V-Notch" means a notch or indentation in the flipper next to and to the right of the center flipper as viewed from the dorsal surface with the tail oriented toward the observer. Such a mark is applied to protect certain lobsters from harvest for conservation purposes.(11) "LMA 6 closed season" means from September 8 through November 28 of each year.(b) Lobsters may be taken only by lobster pots, traps, trawls or similar devices or by skin diving, including the use of self-contained underwater breathing apparatus, or by hand. The use of spears or hooks of any kind to take lobsters and the possession of lobsters taken by any method that pierces the shell is prohibited.(c) No person shall buy, sell, give away, offer for sale or possess, regardless where taken: (1) any female lobster with ova or spawn attached or from which the ova or spawn has been removed; or(2) any female lobster bearing a LMA 6 v-notch or any female lobster which is mutilated in a manner which could hide, obscure or obliterate such a mark; or(3) any lobster with a carapace length less than the LMA 6 minimum length, except as provided in section 26-157j of the Connecticut General Statutes; or(4) any lobster with a carapace length greater than the LMA 6 maximum length, except that a person may buy, sell, give away, offer for sale or possess a lobster with a carapace length greater than the LMA 6 maximum length provided:(A) such lobsters are not taken from LMA 6 waters; and(B) such lobsters are not greater than the maximum legal length in effect for the waters of the LMA or nation of origin; and(C) any seafood dealer, wholesaler or shipper in possession of such lobsters possesses a manifest, bill of lading, invoice, purchase order, seafood dealer report or other written documentation identifying the vessel, state, lobster management area or nation of origin, as applicable, where such lobsters were received, the number of such lobsters received that are greater than said LMA 6 maximum length and the date such lobsters were received. Such documentation shall be retained by the seafood dealer, wholesaler or shipper for a period of six months from the date such lobsters were received and shall be made available to law enforcement officers upon request; and(D) any vessel possessing or landing lobster greater than the LMA 6 maximum length shall have a valid federal limited access American lobster permit issued pursuant to 50 CFR 697.4.(d) When caught, any lobster specified in subdivisions (1) to (4), inclusive, of subsection (c) of this section or subdivisions (1) or (3) of subsection (e) of this section shall, without avoidable injury, be immediately returned to the waters from which taken.(e) No person authorized to take lobsters from any LMA other than or in addition to LMA 6, shall possess on the waters or shores of this state:(1) any lobster with a carapace length that is less than the largest minimum length or greater than the smallest maximum length specified in the FMP for any LMA for which the licensee has elected to engage in lobster fishing activity;(2) any lobster pot with an escape vent as defined in subsection (a) of section 26-157c-2 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies with an unobstructed opening less than the largest dimension specified in the FMP for any LMA for which the licensee has elected to engage in lobster fishing activity; or(3) any female lobster that does not meet the most restrictive LMA-specific v-notch definition specified in the FMP for any LMA for which the licensee has elected to engage in lobster fishing activity, or any female lobster which is mutilated in a manner which could hide, obscure or obliterate such a mark.(f) Any licensee authorized to take lobsters from an LMA in which the FMP requires a v-notch to be applied to all egg-bearing female lobsters shall, as specified in the FMP, apply such v-notch to all such lobsters taken when fishing in that LMA.(g) During the LMA 6 closed season, no person engaged in commercial fishing or lobster fishing for personal use shall possess or land lobsters taken from LMA 6 by any method.Conn. Agencies Regs. § 26-157c-1
Effective January 1, 1992; Amended October 30, 1998; Amended January 28, 2002; Amended March 31, 2003; Amended February 26, 2004; Amended March 30, 2006; Amended March 1, 2007; Amended December 22, 2008; amended 5/11/2022