A. 
All persons taking shellfish for recreational or commercial purposes shall be required to have a shellfish permit as issued by the Town of Nantucket.
B. 
Display of license. All persons taking shellfish for recreational or commercial purposes shall be required to clearly display a shellfish permit/pin as issued by the Town of Nantucket.
Recreational and commercial shellfishing may occur in any area within the Town of Nantucket's waters, unless posted as closed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or Town of Nantucket.
No permit holder shall take shellfish or other marine organisms in excess of the daily limit. (See individual species per permit type.)
No shellfish shall be brought ashore except in their shells.
Permit holders shall be able to take shellfish from the waters of the Town by allowed methods from 1/2 hour before sunrise to 1/2 hour before sunset unless otherwise specified in these regulations.
Closures of the shellfishery shall apply to both recreational and commercial fisheries and shall be noted by red flags as posted by the Shellfish Warden. The red flag will be raised at the Town Pier (located at 34 Washington Street) and Jackson's Landing in Madaket. Other closure events for water quality or habitat preservation shall be posted by the Shellfish Warden at the specific site of the closure. All closures will be posted at the Town Pier, Natural Resources Office, and on the Natural Resources Department webpage. Closures may be related (but not limited) to temperature or shellfish strandings.
No shellfishing shall be carried on when the air temperature is below 28° F. (2° C.), as determined by the Shellfish Warden; areas licensed for aquaculture are exempt from this regulation. A red flag will be raised at the Town Pier (located at 34 Washington Street) and Jackson's Landing in Madaket. Vessels are required to return to shore and land shellfish if the temperature dips below 28° F.
No commercial or recreational shellfishing may occur in areas deemed "habitat sensitive" and which have a posted closure by the Select Board or its designee.
No taking of bay scallops, either recreational or commercial, shall be carried on during a red flag stranding event as determined by the Shellfish Constable.
Any unauthorized person who poaches or otherwise disturbs any shellfish in any amount or in any location shall be subject to criminal penalties and potential civil penalties. (See MGL c. 130.)
No person other than the license holder or its designee shall inspect, disturb or handle any shellfish or gear within the marked leased or closed area.
All persons harvesting, carrying away, or otherwise having in their possession shellfish or marine organisms of any kind, in a boat, container, shanty, or vehicle, shall exhibit all such shellfish for inspection by the Shellfish Wardens, police officers or any other duly authorized agents.
An individual or entity must file a state scientific permit, state propagation permit, or aquaculture license with the Natural Resources Department if planning on possessing seed shellfish for any reason. A violation of this regulation shall exist if the total catch contains more than 5% seed shellfish.
The taking of any shellfish from the waters of the Town of Nantucket shall be limited to hands, dipnets, rakes and tongs, unless otherwise noted within these regulations.
All persons taking shellfish using SCUBA or snorkeling shall be required to display a dive flag for each individual in the water. The flag must be within 100 feet of the diver. Recreational divers and snorkelers must have a pin on their person.
A. 
Transplanting shellfish outside of Nantucket waters. No shellfish of any size shall be taken out of the Town for the purpose of transplanting or to be placed in any waters outside the limits of the Town without proper permits.
B. 
Shipping of live shellfish for broodstock/propagation purposes. No live shellfish of any size shall be shipped outside of Nantucket for broodstock or propagation purposes until a pathology certificate is provided and permission is granted from the Select Board or its designee.
C. 
Transplanting shellfish into Nantucket waters. No shellfish shall be planted or transplanted into the waters of the Town of Nantucket without the proper permits, certificates of origin, and approval by the proper authorities.
D. 
Harvesting seed from the wild not allowed. The taking of seed is prohibited without the proper permits and approval by the proper authorities.
E. 
Wet storage of recreational shellfish prohibited. The holding or storing of a recreational shellfish catch within Nantucket waters in any amount for any amount of time is prohibited.
No by-catch of any species in excess of 5% of the licensed targeted shellfishery shall be allowed for commercial purposes. Any by-catch that is less than 5% of the total catch must be in season according to the Division of Marine Fisheries and the Town of Nantucket. If allowable by-catch is to be sold commercially, that person must have a commercial license for that species.
A. 
Commercial catch reports. Holders of commercial shellfish permits shall submit a monthly catch report to the Shellfish Warden, on forms provided. It shall be the responsibility of the permit holder to ensure that he/she submits the required catch report no later than the 15th day of the month following the month for which such report is being made (i.e., December 15, January 15, February 15, March 15, and April 15). Failure to submit a catch report shall be a violation of the Town of Nantucket regulations.
B. 
Recreational catch reports. All recreational shellfish permit holders shall file an annual catch report with the Town, stating the amount, species, and place of shellfish harvested, for the 12 months ending on the preceding March 31. A new permit may not be issued until the catch report has been completed by the permit holder.