All commercial license holders must have a state seller's
card in hand before being issued a license. A state identification
number will be required on all Town licenses before being issued.
All commercial shellfishermen must tag each bag of catch with their
seller's card number while transporting shellfish.
A.
While engaged in shellfishing, all shellfish must be stored in a
wire basket, and no basket shall be larger than one bushel.
B.
Bags. For enforcement reasons, all shellfish shall be bagged in eighty-pound
clear onion bags, with proper tags for all commercial fishermen, for
transportation through or on the waters of Fairhaven (no burlap bags).
There shall be a limit of 1 1/2 bushels, of which one bushel may be littleneck. All areas outside the rotation system will remain the three-bushel limit. Persons shellfishing commercially within the designated areas will not be allowed to take their daily limit in these areas and then proceed to fish outside the designated areas for the remainder of the three-bushel limit. The rule would act reverse, whereas a person shellfishing commercially will not be allowed to take part of their limit outside the designated area and then proceed to complete the three-bushel limit from within the designated areas. (See § 218-18, Violations and penalties.)
The taking of shellfish from East Cove under this license is
strictly prohibited under MGL c. 130, § 52.
[Amended 5-6-2006 STM by Art. 7]
The dry digging of shellfish is prohibited between and including
January 1 to March 31. All categories of license holders included.
A copy of a license holder's Massachusetts catch report
shall be submitted to the Selectmen's office prior to December
31 of any calender year. Names of participating fishermen need not
be made part of said report.
Licenses must be in the possession of license holders and in plain view on outer clothing or posted on boat or diving flags in a visible manner while engaged in shellfishing. (See § 218-18, Violations and penalties.)
All pots shall be identified with a styrofoam-type buoy pair
with colors assigned at time of license issuance and shall have the
permit number clearly displayed on the buoy. Wooden buoys or plastic
bottles are prohibited. Pots shall not be set in established navigable
channels. Eels less than four inches shall not be taken. Holders of
commercial eel permits shall be required to submit a report indicating
the number of pounds harvested during the previous 12 months.
Commercial licenses may be sold to individuals who demonstrate
to the satisfaction of the licensing authorities that the Town of
Fairhaven is their permanent place of domicile. Commercial licenses
shall be valid only for the period of the time that the holder maintains
a permanent place of domicile in the Town of Fairhaven. Permits will
be issued all year, starting January 1, and will be valid until December
31 of that year. A cap or limit of 75 licenses only shall be issued.
The fee shall be $200.
The fee for commercial dredge boats shall be $300.
The taking of shellfish by use of scuba or snorkel equipment
shall be limited to the following conditions:
A.
Shellfish permits or licenses shall be displayed on the standard
diver's flag in a visible manner.
B.
Shellfish may be harvested by hand only, and the use of any suction
and/or air tank device for the purposes of disrupting the sea bottom
to expose shellfish shall be prohibited.
C.
Diver's flags shall be displayed on a boat or surface float
and shall extend a minimum distance of three feet from the surface
of the water.
D.
Divers shall remain in an area within 100 feet of such displayed
diver's flag while at or near the surface of the water.
All shellfishermen under this license must adhere to the general
rules and regulations of the Town of Fairhaven.
A student commercial license may be issued to students between
the ages of 15 and 18. Students must show proof that they are in school
and residents of the Town of Fairhaven. Licenses will be valid from
June 1 to September 30 of that year. The fee shall be $80.
