Section 188-26-05 - Sea Urchin Drag Regulation1.A. It shall be unlawful to fish for, possess or take sea urchins with a drag, or combination of drags, in excess of 5 feet six inches effective fishing width (by measuring from the extreme outside of the mouth of the drag or drags), within Maine's coastal waters.B. Escape Panel - Zone 2 It shall be unlawful to fish for, possess, or take sea urchins in Zone 2 with a drag that does not have an escape panel.
(1) Configuration of Escape Panel (a) The panel shall consist of a single layer of netting in the top of the drag above the chains.(b) There can be no liner or other material or device obstructing any part of the panel.(c) The panel must be at least 2 feet deep (from front to back of the drag) and extend across the full width of the drag.(d) The mesh of the netting must be hung "square", not "diamond", that is, the twines of the mesh going one way must run parallel to the front (mouth) of the drag and the twines of the mesh going the other way must run perpendicular to the front (mouth) of the drag, not diagonally.(e) The meshes must measure at least 2 inches from the middle of one knot to the middle of the next adjacent knot.2. Method of mesh measurement Mesh size shall be measured by lining up 5 consecutive knots perpendicular to the front of the drag or parallel to the front of the drag and measuring the distance from the middle of one knot to the middle of the next knot with a ruler or tape measure. The mesh measurement shall be the average of the 5 consecutive measures. These measurements must be made at least 2 meshes away from the edges of the panel.
3. Exception It shall be lawful to fish for, take, or possess sea urchins with a drag that qualifies as a scallop drag under Chapter 11.07 if the drag meets the requirements of Chapter 26.05(A).
13-188 C.M.R. ch. 26, § 05