MASSACHUSETTS Saltwater
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MASSACHUSETTS Saltwater 2015 RECREATIONAL FISHING GUIDE Recreational Saltwater Massachusetts Saltwater Lobstering and Crabbing Fishing Regulations Fishing Derby Bait & Tackle Shops Commonly Caught Massachusetts Saltwater Species Fishing Calendar Charter & Head Boats DIVISION OF MARINE FISHERIES DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME Contents 2014 Fishing Clinic | 8 Public Access Lobster Gear | 34 Update | 10 Sportfish Angler Data Collection Team | 13 Welcome Letter ........................................................ 2 Map of Massachusetts General Information .............................................. 4 Coastal Waters (North) ......................................... 27 Reward for Bluefin Tuna Tags .............................. 5 Map of Massachusetts 2015 Saltwater Fishing Permit .............................. 6 Coastal Waters (South) ......................................... 29 Become a Responsible Angler .............................. 9 Lobstering and Crabbing..................................... 30 Marine Fisheries Access Properties ................... 12 Bait & Tackle Shop Directory ............................. 38 Fishing Regulations .............................................. 16 Charter & Head Boat Directory .......................... 41 Game Fish Records ............................................... 17 How to Measure Your Catch ............................... 17 Massachusetts Saltwater Fishing Derby .......... 18 On the Cover: Martha’s Vineyard native and Saltwater Fish Availability Calendar ................ 20 surf caster, Janet Messineo Commonly Caught Species ................................. 21 casts out for the big catch. Photo by Mike Laptew Access Sites ............................................................. 25 www.MikeLaptewFineArtImages.com Welcome Letter Welcome to the Massachusetts recreational saltwater fishing experience! Welcome to Massachusetts, home to some of the best saltwater fish- Commonwealth of Massachusetts ing in the country! This recreational guide is produced annually by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (MarineFisheries) Charles D. Baker with the goal of providing you with plenty of information to Governor make your recreational saltwater fishing experience a great one. Karyn Polito Lieutenant Governor The 2015 Saltwater guide provides information about when and where to get onto the water to target whichever species you may be trying to catch. It also provides regulations for the recreational Executive Office of Energy and harvest of finfish, lobsters, and crabs, as well as locations where to Environmental Affairs launch your boat, buy angling supplies (bait and tackle shops), and Dr. Michael P. Armstrong, Matthew A. Beaton find licensed captains that operate for-hire vessels to take you out Assistant Director for Recreational Fisheries Secretary on the water. Need to learn a new knot or rig for your repertoire? We’ve got a few of the most common in here too. And if that isn’t enough for you, there are Department of Fish and Game also several articles highlighting projects aimed at continuing to improve recreational fish- ing in Massachusetts. Mary-Lee King Interim Commissioner Getting kids outside and teaching them about fishing in saltwater was a big part of the sum- mer of 2014. On page 8 you’ll find a great article on MarineFisheries’ inaugural youth fishing Division of Fish and Game clinic. The money to fund this clinic came directly from your recreational permit dollars and this was just the start of great things to come in angler education! The public access “small Paul J. Diodati grants” program (see page 10) was also a huge success in its inaugural year and allows for Director towns or other organizations to apply for up to $10,000 to help fund projects that improve public access for saltwater recreational anglers. January 2015 Our mission is to manage the Commonwealth’s living marine resources in balance with the environment resulting in sustainable fisheries. This means that sometimes as an agency, we need to make changes to bag and size limits so that we can properly manage the fish stocks that we all use. Please be sure to check our website before you head out on the water to be sure that you are up to date on any changes to regulations. All of our regulations are subject to change even during a season, so we will always have the current rules available to you. We keep working to make fishing in the Massachusetts marine environment the best it can Marine Fisheries be, but you can help too. As responsible anglers (see page 9), your influence is essential for Advisory Commission: keeping fish and their environment in good shape. Now get out there and enjoy all that Massachusetts has to offer! Mark Amorello - Pembroke Chairman See you on the water! Vito Calomo - Gloucester Vice-Chairman Bill Adler - Marshfield Chuck Casella - Georgetown Randy Sigler - Marblehead Joe Huckemeyer - W. Barnstable Ray Kane - Chatham Ed Nasser - New Bedford Domenic Santoro - Chatham Marine Recreational Fisheries Development Panel Chuck Casella - Georgetown Chairman Mark Amorello - Pembroke Mike Moss - Millbury Patrick Paquette - Hyannis 2 Massachusetts Recreational Saltwater Guide Bill Smith - Pembroke GREAT GEAR, RIGHT HERE! Make it a super season! West Marine is the one-stop source for all of the best brands in fishing! Visit our Massachusetts stores! For the location nearest you, or to shop 24/7, go to westmarine.com General Information MASSACHUSETTS The Division of Marine Fisheries Saltwater The Department of Fish and Game’s Division of Marine Fisheries is responsible for the manage- ment of the Commonwealth’s living marine resources. The Division promotes and develops commercial and recreational fisheries through research, technical assistance, and the collec- tion of statistics. Biologists are assigned to regions of the state and interact with many federal, interstate, state, and local management agencies as well as private fisheries organizations. For further information contact your local Recreational Fisheries Biologists. SPECIAL SHOW EDITION Visit our Home Page at FULL REGULATIONS COMING IN APRIL www.mass.gov/marinefisheries 2015 RECREATIONAL FISHING GUIDE Recreational Saltwater Massachusetts Saltwater Lobstering and Crabbing Fishing Regulations Fishing Derby Bait & Tackle Shops Commonly Caught Massachusetts Saltwater To get up to date rule changes and notices you can also join the MarineFisheries Listserv. Species Fishing Calendar Charter & Head Boats DIVISION OF MARINE FISHERIES This is a notification list only, where you will receive timely information from the Division DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME regarding fishery openings and closings, regulation changes and public hearing notices. We hope to use this Listserv to keep our constituents more informed and reduce our reli- ance on paper mail. Please encourage other interested parties to join this list. The Massachusetts Division of About this Guide Marine Fisheries website has: This high-quality guide is offered to you by the • Commercial and Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries recreational regulations through its unique partnership with J.F. Griffin • Saltwater Fishing Publishing, LLC. Derby standings • Permit applications J.F. Griffin is an award winning publishing house • MarineFisheries publications that specializes in producing state fish & wildlife and much more! regulation books. J.F. Griffin supports MADMF’s staff in the design, layout and editing of the guides. To join the list, They also manage the marketing and sales of adver- send e-mail with nothing in the subject or body to: tising to appropriate businesses within the book. [email protected] The revenue generated through ad sales signifi- cantly lowers production costs and generates sav- ings. These savings translate into additional funds To be removed, for other important fisheries and habitat programs. send e-mail to: If you have any feedback or are interested in adver- [email protected] tising, please contact us at 413.884.1001 or online at www.JFGriffin.com Recreational Fisheries Program Biologists Designers: Jon Gulley, Evelyn Haddad, South Shore Office: Annisquam Boston Office: Erin Murphy, Chris Sobolowski, Quest Center, River Marine 251 Causeway St., Dane Fay 1213 Purchase St. Fisheries Station: Suite 400 New Bedford, MA 02740 30 Emerson Avenue Boston. MA 02114 (508) 990-2860 Gloucester, MA 01930 (617) 626-1520 FAX: (508) 990-0449 (978) 282-0308 FAX: (617) 626-1509 FAX: (617) 727-3337 John Boardman 430 Main St. Suite 5 | Williamstown, MA 01267 S.Shore/S.Coast Matt Ayer North Shore/Metro Boston Office of Law Enforcement available online Environmental Police Officers are responsible for enforcing Massachusetts fish and game laws including the commer- in a new Digital Edition! cial and recreational harvest of living marine resources. In Fully searchable addition they also enforce the Commonwealth's boating and recreational vehicle laws and regulations. Fishing Live hyperlinks to violations can be reported to the following number: expanded content Email pages Toll-Free Number: One-click printing 1-800-632-8075 www.eRegulations.com/MA/fishing/saltwater 4 Massachusetts Recreational Saltwater Guide BAYSIDE MARINE CORP. 441 Washington St., PO Box 158, Duxbury, MA 02331 781-934-0561 • www.baysidemarinecorp.com ATTENTION ANGLERS: REWARD ATLANTIC COD & STRIPED BASS If you recapture a tagged striped bass or cod: Record the: Date caught, location, length, Acoustic Tagging Research weight, and tag number.