Code of Massachusetts Regulations
322 CMR - Division of Marine Fisheries
Title 322 CMR 9.00 - Management of Sea Herring
Section 9.01 - Definitions

For purposes of 322 CMR 9.00 only, the following words shall have the following meanings:

Commercial fisherman means any person who may catch, possess and land Atlantic sea herring for the purpose of sale barter or exchange or keeps for personal use any Atlantic sea herring taken under the authority of a commercial fishing permit and regulated fishery permit endorsement for sea herring issued by the Director under the authority at 322 CMR 7.01.

Division means the Division of Marine Fisheries.

Fish For means to harvest, catch or take, or attempt to harvest, catch or take any sea herring by any method or means.

Gonadal Somatic Index or GSI means the calculation of female herring gonad mass as a proportion of total body mass used to measure maturity, obtained by the formula: [Gonad weight/(total body weight - gonad weight)] x 100.

Land means to transfer the catch of any sea herring from any vessel onto any land or dock, pier, wharf, or other artificial structure.

Management Area means one of the four Management Areas - 1A, 1B, 2 and 3 - as specified in the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and NOAA Fisheries federal fishery management plan.

Management Area Quotas means that portion of the quota that is allocated to a Management Area as specified by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission under the authority of the interstate and federal management plans.

Massachusetts/New Hampshire Spawning Area means all waters north of Cape Cod bounded by the Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine coasts and 43/30' north latitude and 70/00' west longitude.

Primary Buyer means any dealer authorized by the Director, pursuant to M.G.L. c. 130, § 80, and 322 CMR 7.07: Dealers Acting as Primary Buyers, to purchase Atlantic sea herring directly from commercial fishermen.

Quota means the allowable annual commercial harvest of Atlantic sea herring as specified by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission under the authority of the interstate and federal management plans.

Sample means a batch of 80 or more adult herring taken randomly from commercial catch or fish surveys.

Sea Herring means that species of Atlantic sea herring known as Clupea harengus.

Spawn Herring means mature sea herring in ICNAF gonadal stages V and VI.

Trip means the 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 terminates with the return to a dock, berth, seawall, ramp or port.

Vessel means any waterborne craft registered under the laws of the state as that term is defined in M.G.L. c. 130, § 1.