Current through 2024-38, September 18, 2024
A.
Season for Maine's Territorial
Waters
The open season to fish for Atlantic Halibut in Maine's
territorial waters shall begin at sunrise May 18th and end at sunset June
13th.
B.
License
Requirements
1. Commercial halibut
fishermen must obtain a Commercial Halibut License.
Commercial Halibut License holders must declare the vessel at
the time of license issuance or renewal, to which that license holder's tags
will be allocated. The license holder may only fish for halibut from the vessel
that was declared at the time of license issuance or renewal and to which that
license holders' tags were allocated.
2. Recreational fishermen are not required to
obtain a Commercial Halibut License to fish for Atlantic Halibut but must
declare a vessel for which their recreational landings tags will be
assigned.
C.
Size
Limit
1. It shall be illegal to land,
sell, or possess any Atlantic Halibut which measures less than 41 inches in
total length or for a fish with the head removed, 32 inches in pectoral length.
Except for removing the fish's head, Atlantic Halibut must remain intact until
reaching the point of sale at a dealer facility or at the consumer's property.
Exception: Federally permitted Charter or Party
Boats taking passengers for hire may fillet legal size halibut at sea under the
following conditions:
a. Fillets must
come from a legal sized Atlantic Halibut;
b. Fillets must remain whole with skin left
on;
c. Atlantic Halibut carcasses
must be tagged and retained until the boat has been landed;
d. Fillets must match with the Atlantic
Halibut carcass.
2.
Atlantic Halibut caught at sea which measure less than the minimum legal size,
may be tagged with DMR issued research tags and then immediately
released.
3. Atlantic Halibut
raised by means of aquaculture shall be exempted from the size limit if
accompanied by proper documentation identifying the origin of the fish and
verification that the fish are an aquaculture product.
D.
Prohibitions
1. It shall be illegal to possess or land
marine species other than Atlantic Halibut while fishing for Atlantic Halibut
aboard commercial vessels in Maine's territorial waters. Other marine species
caught while fishing for Atlantic Halibut shall be immediately
liberated.
2. It shall be unlawful
to transfer Atlantic Halibut between vessels.
3. It shall be illegal to fish for Atlantic
Halibut in Maine's territorial waters by any method other than using size 14/0,
15/0 or 16/0 circle hooks.
4. No
vessel may fish for Atlantic Halibut using more than 250 circle
hooks.
5. Recreational fishermen or
commercial fishermen without a Commercial Halibut License may halibut fish, for
personal use, using a tub-trawl and are limited to 100 hooks in
total.
6. No individual may possess
more than one type of landing tag per year. In addition, it shall be illegal
for more than one type of landing tag to be assigned to any one vessel. The
full allotment of landing tags will be issued to individuals one time per
year.
7. It shall be illegal to
possess a Halibut tag on a vessel that the tag is not registered to.
8. For vessels which have been assigned State
commercial landings tags for Atlantic Halibut, it shall be illegal to possess
Atlantic Halibut when operating seaward of Maine's territorial
waters.
E.
Halibut
Gear Marking Requirements
1. All
persons fishing for Atlantic Halibut with Commercial Halibut License in
accordance with Chapter 34.07 B-1 must have marking buoys on each end of the
trawl clearly labeled with their name and Commercial Halibut License
number.
2. All persons
recreationally tub trawling for Atlantic Halibut must mark the trawl buoys with
their name and the words "Halibut Trawl" or other DMR specified
marking.
F.
Total
Allowable Catch
1. Commercial, party,
or charter vessels may land no more than 25 Atlantic Halibut per
year.
2. Recreational vessels may
land no more than 5 Atlantic Halibut per year.
G.
Tagging Requirements
1. All legal size Atlantic Halibut caught in
Maine's coastal waters and intended to be retained by a Commercial Halibut
License holder or recreational fisherman shall be immediately tagged with a
landing tag approved by the Department of Marine Resources (DMR). Landing tags
shall be attached in a manner for which the tag was designed tightly around or
through the tail just before the tail fin.
2. Landings tags must remain on the fish
until the fish has reached its final destination as a legal-sized fish that is
not offered or intended for sale, trade, or barter by a recreational fisherman
or prior to retail sale by a Commercial Halibut License holder or Wholesale
Seafood Dealer. It is illegal to possess Atlantic Halibut which are not
properly tagged. Any person in possession of Atlantic Halibut without a DMR
landings tag shall not be in violation of this Chapter if that person is in
possession of a bill of lading showing the Atlantic Halibut were lawfully
obtained from an origin outside the State of Maine or identified in accordance
with the exception for Atlantic Halibut raised by means of aquaculture in
Chapter 34.07 C-3. The absence of a bill of lading shall be prima facie
evidence that the Atlantic Halibut were landed in Maine i.e., not shipped into
Maine.
3. No individual or vessel
will be issued more than 25 landing tags per (calendar) year except that
Commercial Halibut License holders who also hold a Federal Multispecies Permit
shall be exempted from the individual tag limit provided that no one federally
permitted vessel is assigned more than 25 landing tags per year.
4. Three types of landing tags may be issued:
(a) State Commercial tags will be issued to
Commercial Halibut License holders without a Federal permit fishing in Maine's
territorial waters.
(b) Federal
Commercial tags will be issued to Commercial Halibut License holders who
possess a Federal multispecies permit authorizing access to Federal
waters.
(c) Recreational tags will
be issued to party/charter or recreational vessels which fish in either Federal
or territorial waters.
H.
Observers
When fishing for Atlantic Halibut, all commercial,
recreational, party and charter boat vessels must accept observers aboard their
vessels upon request from the DMR or National Marine Fisheries Service
(NMFS).
I.
Sampling
Atlantic Halibut fishers may be requested to preserve
stomach, gonad, otolith, scale or other biological samples for analyses by DMR
and NMFS scientists. Any training necessary for compliance with such a request
would be provided by DMR and/or NMFS personnel.
J.
Reporting: See Chapter
8.20(F) Landings Program.
