(1)
Purpose. The Division of Marine Fisheries manages
horseshoe crabs in compliance with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries
Commission's Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Horseshoe Crabs.
Additionally, DMF manages local horseshoe crab populations to ensure the
resource is available for current and future generations for use as a
commercial fishery resource, in biomedical applications, for education and
scientific research, and to provide cultural and ecological services. This
requires the Division of Marine Fisheries control harvest and mortality across
all fisheries and provide for spawning opportunities.
(2)
Definitions.
Asian Horseshoe Crab means those
species of horseshoe crab identified as Carcinoscorpius
rotundicauda, Tachypleus gigas and Tachypleus
tridentatus.
Bait Fishery Quota means the total
annual allowable harvest of horseshoe crabs for the bait fishery to be
established by the Division of Marine Fisheries.
Biomedical Fisher means any person who
has been issued a special biomedical horseshoe crab harvest permit by the
Director in accordance with
322
CMR 7.01(4)(f) allowing the
retention, possession, and landing of horseshoe crabs for biomedical or
research purposes and direct sale to a biomedical dealer or biomedical
processor or research institution authorized by the Director to conduct
biomedical or research activities.
Biomedical Dealer means any person or
entity, permitted in accordance with M.G.L. c. 130, § 80 and
322
CMR 7.01(3), who has a
contractual relationship with a biomedical processor and authorized at
322
CMR 7.07: Dealers Acting as Primary
Buyers to conduct a primary purchase of horseshoe crabs from a
biomedical fisher.
Biomedical Processor means any person
or entity, permitted in accordance with M.G.L. c. 130, § 80 and
322
CMR 7.01(3) and authorized
by the Director to process horseshoe crabs for biomedical purposes.
Biomedical Processor Quota means the
total annual allowable harvest of horseshoe crabs for biomedical processing in
Massachusetts assigned by the Division in equal shares to each permitted
biomedical processor.
Cape Cod National Seashore means that
area of land and waters located in Provincetown, Truro, Wellfleet, Eastham,
Orleans, and Chatham under the control of the United States Department of the
Interior's National Park Service pursuant to
16 U.S.C.
459b.
Commercial Fisher means any person
permitted in accordance with M.G.L. c. 130, § 80 and
322
CMR 7.01(2) to participate
in the commercial bait fishery for horseshoe crabs and retain, possess, and
land horseshoe crabs for purpose of sale, barter, or exchange or any person who
keeps for personal or family use any horseshoe crab taken under the authority
of said permit.
Director means the Director of the
Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries.
Division means the Massachusetts
Division of Marine Fisheries.
Horseshoe Crab means the species known
as Limulus polyphemus.
Land means to transfer or attempt to
transfer the catch of horseshoe crabs from any vessel to any other vessel or
onto any land, pier, ramp, wharf, dock or other artificial structure, or for a
fishing vessel with any horseshoe crabs onboard to tie-up to any pier, wharf,
dock, or artificial structure.
Mobile Gear means any moveable gear or
encircling fishing gear or nets, which are towed, hauled or dragged through the
water for the harvest of fish. This includes, but is not limited to, pair
trawls, otter trawls, beam trawls, mid-water trawls, Scottish seines, pair
seines, purse seines or shellfish dredges.
Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge means
that area of lands and waters located in Chatham under the control of the
United States Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service. The
boundaries thereof are described in the October 30, 2015 Notice of Availability
for the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan
and Environmental Impact Statement at 80 F.R. 66928; published in the March
2016 Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation
Plan; and first established in 1944 via the
Declaration of the Taking filed by the Department of the Interior with the
Federal District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
Primary Purchase means the first
commercial transaction by sale, barter, or exchange of horseshoe crabs after
its harvest.
Total Mortality means the number of
horseshoe crabs harvested in the biomedical horseshoe crab fishery that died
during harvest, handling, transportation, storage, penning, processing, and
release.
Trawl means a fishing practice that
herds or captures target species by towing a net through the ocean.
Trip means that period of time that
begins when a fishing vessel departs from a dock, berth, beach, seawall, ramp
or port to carry out commercial fishing operations and that ends with a return
to a dock, berth seawall, ramp or port.
Trip Limit means the maximum lawful
amount of horseshoe crabs that a commercial fisher or biomedical fisher may
retain, possess, or land within the Commonwealth or sell, barter or exchange or
offer for sale barter or exchange. Trip limits apply per trip or per calendar
day, whichever period of time is longer and are applied to the vessel named on
the commercial fishing permit regardless of the number of commercial fishing
permits or letters of authorization carried on board the vessel.
(3)
General
Restrictions.
(a)
Non-Commercial Possession Limit. It shall be unlawful
for any person to retain, possess, or land more than six horseshoe crabs per
day, unless authorized at
322
CMR 6.34(4) or
322
CMR 6.34(5). Any horseshoe
crabs retained under this non-commercial possession limit shall be maintained
only for personal or family use and shall not be sold, bartered, exchanged, or
offered for sale, barter, or exchange.
(b)
Spawning
Closure. It shall be unlawful for any fisher to harvest, possess,
or land horseshoe crabs from April 15th through June
7th.
(c)
Asian Horseshoe Crab. It shall be unlawful to possess,
purchase, import, transport, sell, barter, exchange, purchase, or offer for
sale, barter or exchange Asian horseshoe crabs or to release into the waters
under the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth any Asian horseshoe crabs.
(d)
Cape Cod National
Seashore. It shall be unlawful for any person to harvest horseshoe
crabs within the boundaries of the Cape Cod National Seashore.
(e)
Monomoy National Wildlife
Refuge. It shall be unlawful for any person to harvest horseshoe
crabs within the boundaries of the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge.
(f)
Authority to Temporarily
Close Areas to Harvest of Horseshoe Crabs. The Director may
temporarily close any area within the waters under the jurisdiction of the
Commonwealth to harvest of horseshoe crabs, subject to the procedure below:
1. It has been approved by a majority of the
members of the Marine Fisheries Advisory Commission;
2. A Declaration of Closure has been filed
with the Massachusetts Secretary of State for publication in the Massachusetts
Register;
3. A Declaration of
Closure has been published in a local newspaper of record and posted on the
Division's Legal Notice website; and
4. A Declaration of Closure has been
distributed via the Division's e-mail list serve and directly
to any and all affected permit holders.
(4)
Bait Fishery
Management.
(a)
Commercial Bait Fishery Quota. The annual bait fishery
quota shall be 140,000 horseshoe crabs.
(b)
Minimum Size. It
shall be unlawful for any commercial fisher or dealer to retain, possess or
land a horseshoe crab with a prosomal width of less than seven
inches.
(c)
Trip Limits
for the Commercial Bait Fishery.
1.
Limited Entry Bait Crab Trip
Limit. The trip limit for any commercial fisher with a regulated
fishery permit endorsement for horseshoe crabs shall be 300 horseshoe crabs. On
August 1st, should DMF determine that more than 50%
of the annual quota remain, the trip limit shall increase to 400 horseshoe
crabs. Should DMF determine that 80% of the annual quota is taken on or before
September 15th, then the trip limit shall be
decreased to 200 horseshoe crabs.
2.
Open Entry Bait Crab Limit for
Mobile Gear. The trip limit for any commercial fisher without a
regulated fishery permit endorsement for horseshoe crabs and using mobile gear
shall be 75 horseshoe crabs.
3.
Quota Closure. It shall be unlawful for any commercial
fisher to retain, possess, or land any horseshoe crabs once the Director has
determined that 100% of the annual bait fishery quota has been reached. The
quota closure will be enacted and announced in accordance with
322
CMR 6.41(2)(c).
4.
Exceptions. The
commercial bait fishery trip limits described above shall not apply to:
a. Commercial pot fishers, permitted in
accordance with M.G.L. c. 130, § 80 and
322
CMR 6.12 and
7.01(4) who
are using horseshoe crabs as bait, provided their documented source of
horseshoe crabs is a permitted bait dealer or the horseshoe crabs are held in
storage by the commercial fisher named on the permit.
b. Dealers permitted in accordance with
M.G.L. c. 130, § 80 and
322
CMR 7.01(3).
(d)
Bait
Fishery Reporting. Beginning in 2024, all commercial fishers
participating in the commercial bait fishery for horseshoe crabs at
322
CMR 6.34(5) shall report all
their catch electronically daily prior to landing through an electronic
reporting application approved by the Division.
(e)
Closures to Bait
Harvest.
Pleasant Bay Complex. It shall be
unlawful to harvest horseshoe crabs from Pleasant Bay, as defined at
322
CMR 4.02: Use of Nets in Inshore
Restricted Waters, except if lawfully participating in the biomedical
horseshoe fishery under the authority of a special biomedical horseshoe crab
harvest permit endorsement issued in accordance with
322
CMR 7.01(4).
(f)
Primary Purchase
of Horseshoe Crabs.
1. The
primary purchase of horseshoe crabs taken in the commercial bait fishery shall
be conducted between the commercial fisher and an entity that holds a bait
dealer permit and primary buyer authorization, pursuant to M.G.L. c. 130,
§ 80 and
322
CMR 7.01(3) and
322
CMR 7.07: Dealers Acting as Primary
Buyers.
2. It shall be
unlawful for a bait dealer to purchase horseshoe crabs from a single commercial
fisher in excess of the commercial bait fishery limits established at
322
CMR 6.34(4)(c)1. and
2.
3. It shall be unlawful for a
bait dealer to purchase horseshoe crabs from any commercial fisher during the
lunar spawning closures at
322
CMR 6.34(3).
4. For a commercial fisher to sell horseshoe
crabs to an entity other than a bait dealer authorized as a primary buyer, that
commercial fisher must hold a bait dealer permit and primary buyer
authorization, pursuant to M.G.L. c. 130, § 80 and
322
CMR 7.01(3) and
322
CMR 7.07: Dealers Acting as Primary
Buyers.
(5)
Biomedical Fishery for
Horseshoe Crabs.
(a)
Biomedical Processor Quota. The biomedical processor
quota shall be 200,000 crabs annually. This shall be divided equally between
all entities permitted as biomedical processors, in accordance with
322
CMR 7.01(3). Only horseshoe
crabs processed by biomedical processors and harvested from within the waters
under the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth exclusively by biomedical harvesters
for biomedical purposes shall be counted against the biomedical processor
quota. The biomedical processor quota shall not include any horseshoe crabs
borrowed from a bait dealer for processing or horseshoe crabs imported into the
Commonwealth from another jurisdiction.
(b)
Minimum Size. It
shall be unlawful for any biomedical fisher, biomedical dealer, or biomedical
processor to retain, possess, or land a horseshoe crab with a prosomal width of
less than seven inches.
(c)
Restrictions Affecting Biomedical Fishers
1.
Permit Issuance.
The Division shall issue a special biomedical horseshoe crab harvest permit
endorsements only to persons who:
a. have been
endorsed on their special biomedical horseshoe crab harvest permit endorsement
application by a biomedical dealer or biomedical processor to harvest and sell
horseshoe crabs for biomedical purposes; and
b. hold a commercial fishing permit with the
Division, in accordance with M.G.L. c. 130, § 80 and
322
CMR 7.01(2), but do not hold
a regulated fishery permit endorsement for horseshoe crabs, issued pursuant to
322
CMR 7.01(4).
2.
Permit
Conditions. In accordance with M.G.L. c. 130, § 80 and
322
CMR 7.01(7) the Director may
further condition a special biomedical horseshoe crab harvest permit
endorsement as necessary and appropriate for conservation and management, and
to protect public health and welfare.
3.
Use of Biomedical Horseshoe
Crabs. Biomedical fishers shall retain, possess, and land
horseshoe crabs only for biomedical purposes and direct sale only to a
biomedical dealer or biomedical processor. It shall be unlawful for a
biomedical fisher to retain, possess, or land crabs as part of the commercial
bait fishery or for personal or family use.
4.
Sale of Biomedical Horseshoe
Crabs. Biomedical fishers shall sell their horseshoe crabs only to
a biomedical dealer or a biomedical processor.
5.
Biomedical Fishery Trip
Limit. The trip limit for any biomedical fisher shall be 1,000
horseshoe crabs.
6.
Prohibition on Retention of Marked Crabs. It shall be
unlawful to retain any horseshoe crabs during harvest that have been marked in
accordance with
322
CMR 6.34(5)(e)(5)(a). Any
horseshoe crabs caught bearing such a mark shall be returned immediately to the
sea.
7.
Biomedical
Processor Quota Closure. It shall be unlawful for any biomedical
fisher to retain, possess, or land any horseshoe crabs or for a biomedical
dealer or biomedical processor to obtain any horseshoe crabs from a biomedical
fisher once the Director has determined that 100% of the annual biomedical
processor quota has been reached. The quota closure will be enacted and
announced in accordance with
322
CMR 6.41(2)(c).
8.
Restrictions on Biomedical
Fishers. Biomedical fishers are subject to the following
restrictions:
a. A biomedical fisher using
trawl gear shall land horseshoe crabs only in a port approved by the Director
and listed as a condition of the special biomedical horseshoe crab harvest
permit.
b. Throughout harvest and
until offloading at landing, all horseshoe crabs shall be held in containers
that are no more than two-thirds full of horseshoe crabs. Exempt from this
requirement are biomedical fishers using trawl gear who are required to hold
horseshoe crabs in containers that are actively fed by sea water.
9.
Biomedical Fishery
Reporting. Beginning in 2024, biomedical fishers participating in
the biomedical fishery for horseshoe crabs at
322
CMR 6.34(5) shall report all
their catch electronically daily prior to landing through an electronic
reporting application approved by the Division.
(d)
Limits on Biomedical Dealers
and Biomedical Processors.
1.
Biomedical Processor Permit Issuance. Any entity
seeking to process horseshoe crabs for biomedical purposes, including but not
limited to the bleeding of horseshoe crabs for the production of Limulus
Amebocyte Lysate, shall hold a biomedical processor permit issued by the
Division in accordance with M.G.L. c. 130, § 80 and
322
CMR 7.01(3) and (4)(c). The
biomedical processor permit may be authorized as a primary buyer, in accordance
with 322 CMR 7.07: Dealers
Acting as Primary Buyers, to allow for the primary purchase of
horseshoe crabs directly from a biomedical fisher.
2.
Biomedical Dealer Permit
Issuance. Any biomedical processor may contract a biomedical
dealer to conduct primary purchases of horseshoe crabs from biomedical fishers.
These biomedical dealers shall have an established relationship with a
biomedical processor or multiple biomedical processors. The biomedical dealer
permit may be authorized as a primary buyer, in accordance with
322
CMR 7.07: Dealers Acting as Primary
Buyers, to allow for the primary purchase of horseshoe crabs directly
from a biomedical fisher.
3.
Primary Purchase of Horseshoe Crabs.
a. The primary purchase of horseshoe crabs
may only be between a biomedical fisher and a biomedical processor or
biomedical dealer.
b. It shall be
unlawful for a biomedical dealer or a biomedical processor to accept more than
1,000 horseshoe crabs from a biomedical fisher during any calendar
day.
c. It shall be unlawful for a
biomedical dealer or biomedical processor to accept horseshoe crabs from a
biomedical harvester during the lunar spawning closures at
322
CMR 6.34(3).
d. It shall be unlawful for a biomedical
dealer or biomedical processor to accept horseshoe crabs from a biomedical
harvester during a quota closure.
4.
Handing of Horseshoe Crabs for
Biomedical Processing. Biomedical dealers and processors are
responsible for the proper handling, transport, and storage of horseshoe crabs
in their possession.
a. Horseshoe crabs
harvested for the Massachusetts biomedical fishery may be placed in submerged
pens or partially submerged pens by biomedical dealers or biomedical
processors. All pens are subject to inspection by the Division. If penning
activity occurs, it may be further regulated through conditions to the
applicable biomedical dealer or biomedical harvester permit, issued pursuant to
M.G.L. c. 130, § 80 and
322
CMR 7.01(7).
b. Containers used for onshore holding,
storing, or transporting crabs shall be no more than two-thirds full.
c. Horseshoe crabs held in containers during
onshore holding, storing, and transport shall be kept moist.
d. It shall be unlawful for a horseshoe crab
to be held out of seawater for more than 36 hours.
e. During onshore transport, horseshoe crabs
shall be stored in a temperature-controlled truck or in a
temperature-controlled unit onboard a truck. The thermostat shall be set to
between 50°F and 60°F. If the onshore transport of horseshoe crabs
cannot be accomplished in a conforming manner, then the biomedical dealer or
biomedical processor shall immediately contact the Massachusetts Environmental
Police.
f. During onshore holding
and storage, horseshoe crabs shall be placed in an indoor air-conditioned space
not to exceed 70°F.
g.
Horseshoe crabs supplied by biomedical fishers shall be kept separate and
segregated by area of harvest and from horseshoe crabs obtained from other
sources authorized at
322
CMR 6.34(5)(d)6.
5.
Post Processing
Release of Horseshoe Crabs. After horseshoe crabs are processed by
a biomedical processor, the horseshoe crabs shall be returned to the area of
capture in the following manner:
a. The
biomedical processor shall mark each processed crab with a distinct mark. The
distinct shape and color of each mark shall be prescribed annually by the
Division through permit conditions established pursuant to M.G.L. c. 130,
§ 80 and
322
CMR 7.01(7).
b. It shall be unlawful for any biomedical
dealer or biomedical processor to accept any horseshoe crab that bears a
distinct mark for the current year or for a biomedical processor to process any
horseshoe crab that bears a distinct mark for the current year.
c. If the horseshoe crabs were caught by hand
harvesters, they shall be returned to the designated shellfish growing area
where they were initially captured.
d. If the crabs were caught by trawlers, they
shall be returned to the waters under the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth in
or adjacent to the body of water where harvested.
e. The biomedical dealer or biomedical
processor may employ a vessel to ensure horseshoe crabs harvested in the
biomedical fishery are lawfully returned for live-release back to the
sea.
f. The biomedical dealer or
biomedical processor shall keep records of observed incidents of horseshoe crab
mortality at all stages of processing, including during live-release.
6.
Authorized
Biomedical Use of Horseshoe Crabs from Sources Other than Massachusetts
Biomedical Fishery.
a.
Bait Dealers. A biomedical medical processor may
acquire horseshoe crabs from a bait dealer for biomedical processing, provided
said horseshoe crabs are returned to the bait dealer after processing for sale
as bait.
b.
Other
States. A biomedical processor may acquire horseshoe crabs from
another state, provided those horseshoe crabs are counted against the quota in
the state of origin and are lawfully returned to the state of origin for
release, if so required.
7.
Reporting by Biomedical
Dealers and Biomedical Processors.
a.
Primary Purchases by a
Biomedical Dealer. The biomedical dealer shall weekly report the
total number of horseshoe crabs purchased from each biomedical fisher on a trip
basis through forms provided by the Division.
b.
Primary Purchases by a
Biomedical Processor.
i. If the
biomedical processor is conducting primary purchases with biomedical fishers,
then the biomedical processor shall weekly report the total number of horseshoe
crabs purchased from each biomedical fisher on a trip basis through forms
provided by the Division.
ii. If
the biomedical processor is temporarily using horseshoe crabs harvested as bait
crabs, then the biomedical processor shall weekly report the total number of
crabs used and source of crabs through forms provided by the
Division.
c.
Biomedical Processing Activity and Total Mortality. On
forms provided by the Division, the biomedical processor shall monthly report
the total number of horseshoe crabs processed, source of the horseshoe crabs
processed, and total estimated mortality.
