Conn. Agencies Regs. § 26-142a-6 - Commercial fishing gear specifications
Commercial fishing gear shall conform to the following specifications:
(a) The bowl of
pounds, trap nets and fykes shall have a mesh of not less than two inches when
stretched.
(b) Seines shall have a
mesh of not less than two and one-half inches when stretched, except that:
(1) seines used for taking shad shall have a
mesh of not less than five inches when stretched;
(2) seines used for taking lamprey eels shall
have a mesh of not less than two inches when stretched; and
(3) seines used for taking tomcod also known
as "frostfish," shall have a mesh of not less than one and one-half inches when
stretched and fifty feet of the center or bunt of such seine shall be not less
than one and one-quarter inches when stretched.
(c)
Gill nets
(1) In the inland district, gill nets shall
have a mesh of not less than five inches when stretched except that nets used
for taking white perch, catfish species and yellow perch shall have a mesh of
not less than three and one half inches when stretched.
(2) In the marine district gill nets shall
have a mesh of not less than three inches when stretched with the following
exceptions:
(A) gill nets used for taking
American shad shall have a mesh of not less than five inches when
stretched;
(B) gill nets used for
taking tomcod shall have a mesh of not less than one and one-quarter inches
when stretched; and
(C) gill nets
used for taking white perch, catfish species and yellow perch shall have a mesh
of not less than three and one-half inches when stretched.
(3) The use of gill nets constructed of a
single strand or multiple strands of material known as monofilament is
prohibited for the taking of American shad from sunrise to sunset. The twine
thickness of any such gill net shall be no greater than .28mm diameter
(#69).
(4) All gill nets being
fished under authority of a personal use gill net license issued under section
26-142a of the Connecticut General Statutes shall be personally attended by the
licensee.
(d) Scap nets
or scoop nets may have a mesh of any size, except that for the taking of
American shad such nets shall have a mesh size of not less than five inches
when stretched. Scoop or scap nets for the taking of alewives and river herring
means a single hoop attached to a handle with the hoop not more than thirty-six
inches across the widest point and a net with a mesh bag not more than
thirty-six inches from the hoop to the end of the bag. Such net shall be
constructed of flexible mesh material and shall be manually operated by a
single individual. The use of any such net constructed of metal mesh or stiff
plastic mesh is prohibited.
(e)
Minnow seines and traps for the taking of bait species only may have a mesh of
any size.
(f) Minnow traps for the
taking of bait species only shall have a length of not more than thirty-six
inches and a diameter of not more than eighteen inches. Such traps shall be
equipped with not more than two funnels and the entrance opening shall not
exceed one and one-half inches in diameter. Such traps shall not be equipped
with leaders or wings.
(g)
Trawl nets in Connecticut Waters
(1) No person shall use any trawl net codend
with a mesh size less than 51/2 inches (diamond mesh) or six inches
(square mesh) on any vessel fishing in Connecticut waters except as provided in
subdivisions (3), (4), (6) and (7) of this subsection.
(2) From May 1 to October 31, inclusive, when
in possession of more than 100 pounds of summer flounder or from November 1 to
April 30, inclusive, when in possession of more than 200 pounds of summer
flounder, no person shall use any trawl net with a mesh size in the body,
extension or codend less than 51/2 inches (diamond mesh) or six inches
(square mesh).
(3) From November 1
to April 30 inclusive, if a person on a vessel is in possession of 100 pounds
or less of winter flounder or 200 pounds or less of summer flounder, such
person may use a fly net with a codend mesh of any size to take Atlantic
herring.
(4) From May 1 to October
31 inclusive, no person shall use any trawl net with a mesh size less than
41/2 inches (diamond mesh) or five inches (square mesh), except that:
(A) A person may use a trawl net with mesh of
any size in the body and wings of the net provided the codend is at least 75
meshes in length and the terminal 75 meshes of the codend have a mesh size of
no less than five inches (diamond mesh) or 51/2 inches (square
mesh).
(B) For the taking of squid
from May 15 to July 31 inclusive, a person may use a trawl net with a mesh of
any size provided the codend mesh size is no less than 41/2 inches
(diamond mesh) and no more than 100 pounds of scup or 100 pounds of black sea
bass are in such person's possession.
(C) For the taking of butterfish and squid
from October 1 to October 31, inclusive, a person may use a trawl net with a
mesh of any size provided the codend mesh size is no less than 3 inches
(diamond mesh) and no more than 200 pounds of scup or 100 pounds of black sea
bass are in such person's possession.
(5) No person shall possess more than 100
pounds of winter flounder while fishing with a trawl net with a codend mesh
less than 61/2 inches (diamond mesh) or 61/2 inches (square
mesh).
(6) From May 1 to October
31, inclusive, no person shall possess more than 200 pounds of scup while
fishing with a trawl net that does not:
(A)
have a mesh size of at least 5 inches (diamond mesh) or 51/2 inches
(square mesh) throughout the entire net; or
(B) meet the specifications of subdivision
(4)(A) of this subsection.
(7) From May 1 to October 31, inclusive, no
person shall possess more than 100 pounds of black sea bass while fishing with
a trawl net that does not meet the specifications of subdivision (4)(A) of this
subsection.
(8) In Connecticut
waters, no person shall possess any codend or trawl net with mesh sizes less
than specified in subdivisions (2) to (7), inclusive, of this subsection on any
vessel having winter flounder, summer flounder, black sea bass or scup on board
in excess of the limits specified in subdivisions (2) to (7), inclusive, of
this subsection unless the codend is detached from the main body of the net or
the entire trawl net is removed and detached from the net reel or is covered on
a net reel and is bound securely and unavailable for immediate use.
(9) For the purposes of this subsection,
codend is the retaining bag of the net. The minimum mesh size is the maximum
opening of any single mesh, measured when wet after use, by the median of
eleven consecutive measurements taken at least five meshes from the lacings
parallel to the longitudinal axis of the net. The "body of the net" is the main
part of the net immediately behind (posterior to) the footrope, excluding the
wings. The "extension of the net" is that part of the net between the body and
the codend. A "fly net" is an otter trawl constructed of a minimum of
51/2-inch stretch mesh webbing in the wings and forward body (belly)
section extending at least twelve meshes or 51/2 feet along the
longitudinal axis of the net.
(10)
The use of any means, device or material including but not limited to ropes,
lines, liners, net strengtheners, or double nets which obstructs or diminishes
the size of the meshes in the top of the codend or of that part of the net
which does not contact the seabed during normal fishing activity, is
prohibited. All netting in trawl nets not made on a braiding machine, whether
of braided or twisted twine, whether machine or hand made, shall have only one
knot, which shall be the weavers knot or sheet bend. The ends of the twine,
called bars, that exit the knot shall be constructed so that their lay does not
cross or twist.
(11) Any person who
takes winter flounder or summer flounder while fishing pursuant to the
provisions of subdivisions (2), (3) or (5) of this subsection, and any person
who takes scup or black sea bass while fishing pursuant to the provisions of
subdivisions (4), (6) or (7) of this subsection shall separate these fish by
species and keep these fish apart from the main catch. All possession limits
specified in subdivisions (2) to (7), inclusive, of this subsection shall apply
to the aggregate of all persons onboard the vessel.
(12) No bottom trawl net shall be equipped
with rollers or cookies (hard rubber disks on the sweep of the net) in excess
of six inches in diameter.
(h)
Fish pots and fish traps
(1) No person shall use fish pots or fish
traps except for the taking of finfish. This subsection shall not apply to
pound nets, trap nets, or lobster pots. Subdivision (3) of this subsection
shall not apply to pots or traps used to take American eel and minnow traps
used to take the bait species listed in section
26-142a-12(b)
of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies.
(2) Fish pots or fish traps shall be not more
than 72 inches in length, width, or height.
(3) No person shall use any fish pots or fish
traps unless such pot or trap has on any side of the catch chamber but not the
bottom, a circular escape vent with an unobstructed opening not less than 3.1
inches (78.7 millimeters) in diameter or a square escape vent with an
unobstructed opening not less than 2.25 inches (57.2 millimeters) on each side.
Each fish pot or fish trap shall also have an escapement panel on any side of
the catch chamber but not the bottom which, when open, will provide an
unobstructed opening not less than seven and three quarters inches by seven and
three quarters inches (197 millimeters by 197 millimeters) or which shall be
comprised of the entire side, or end, of a square or rectangular pot or trap.
Such escapement panels shall be held in the closed position with ungalvanized,
uncoated iron wire, the stock of which shall not be more than 0.094 inch (2.39
millimeters) diameter, or magnesium alloy, timed float releases (pop up
devices) or similar magnesium alloy fasteners, or with untreated natural fiber
such as cotton, hemp, or jute string of 3/16 inch (0.188 inch, or 4.8
millimeters) diameter or smaller.
(4) No person shall use any fish pots or fish
traps and the buoys thereof unless such pot, trap, and buoy is affixed with the
commercial fishing license plate number of the owner in numbers not less than
three-quarters of an inch in height.
(i)
Whelk pots
(1) No person shall use whelk pots except for
the taking of whelk.
(2) No person
shall use in the waters of this state a whelk pot, trap or similar device with
a volume larger than 22,950 cubic inches.
(3) Whelk pots shall have an unobstructed
opening on the top side of no less than 140 square inches, and each side of the
opening shall be at least 10 inches in length.
(4) No person shall use any whelk pot and the
buoys thereof unless such whelk pot is marked legibly with the commercial
fishing license plate number and the buoy is so marked with numbers not less
than three-quarters of an inch in height.
(5) All whelk pot buoys used by any person in
the waters of this state shall be of uniform color or uniform pattern of
coloration, such color or pattern to be determined by such person. Any person
engaged in whelk fishing shall maintain one of such person's whelk pot buoys on
such person's vessel in a position visible from all directions.
(6) No person shall set, tend or assist in
setting or tending any whelk pot, trap or similar device for the catching of
whelk on any leased shellfish bed without the permission of the lease
holder.
(7) All bait used in whelk
pots, traps or similar devices shall be wholly contained within a mesh
bag.
(8) No person shall from
one-half hour after sunset to one-half hour before sunrise, set, tend or assist
in setting or tending any whelk pot, trap or similar device for the catching of
whelk or any live car or other device in which whelks are kept in the water
after having been removed from the pots, traps or trawls in which they were
caught.
Notes
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