A. 
Applicants for commercial shellfishing permits must meet residency requirements. Applicants must be a declared resident of the Town of Nantucket. Written proof that Nantucket is the domicile as well as the legal residence of the applicant shall be required to the satisfaction of the Select Board or its designee. Proof of legal residence may include voter registration, automobile registration, driver's license, income tax filings, census data, or verification information as deemed necessary by the issuing agency. To qualify as a resident under these regulations, an individual must have maintained that residence for one full year. Any commercial permit will be revoked if the holder ceases to meet the residency requirement for the Town of Nantucket.
B. 
Applicant must be 14 years of age or older.
C. 
Minors under 14 without a permit. Person under 14 years of age are permitted to harvest shellfish in a commercial area while under the supervision of a parent or a guardian holding a commercial permit. No shellfish may be taken in excess of the daily limit of the permit held by the parent or guardian.
D. 
Permits will only be issued after the applicant has shown proof of having a valid state commercial permit with a shellfish endorsement and a valid shellfish transaction card from the DMF [322 CMR 7.01(2)(g), (i), (k)].
E. 
Unnaturalized foreign-born persons. Commercial permits will not be issued to unnaturalized foreign-born persons who have not resided on Nantucket for at least five years prior to making an application (MGL c. 130, § 55).
Each day at the time of harvest, any commercial permit holder who has shellfish of any kind for sale, trade or other consideration must legibly mark all containers of shellfish using legal tags. (MGL c. 130, § 81, § 83).
For other than bay scallops, applications for commercial permits for quahogs, blue mussels, and conchs/whelk shall be filed with the Town of Nantucket or its designee on an annual basis, and permits shall be valid for one year from date of approval.
The owner or operator of a vessel engaged in commercial shellfishing in the waters of the Town of Nantucket involving the use of a drag, dredge, or other mobile gear shall hold a valid Town of Nantucket commercial shellfishing permit.
A. 
Commercial bay scallop permit requirements.
(1) 
Commercial bay scallop applications and commercial scallop apprentice applications must be filed and paid in full with the Nantucket Police Department prior to 5:00 p.m. on March 31 for the commercial season beginning the following November 1 and lasting through March 31 of any given year.
(2) 
Late applicants. Applications for commercial scalloping or commercial scallop apprentices filed after 5:00 p.m. on March 31 will not be valid for scalloping until December 1 or as of the 30th day after the date submitted, whichever is later. No waivers will be granted.
(3) 
Commercial bay scallop permits shall be issued for a period of one year from April 1.
B. 
Apprentice commercial bay scallop permit requirements.
(1) 
Apprentice commercial bay scallop permit applicants must meet residency requirements.
(2) 
All applicants for a commercial scallop permit that do not have a history of being issued such a permit from the Town of Nantucket will be issued an "apprentice permit." Apprentices are required to scallop with a valid commercial scallop permit holder that agrees to participate in the apprentice program for 40 active fishing days. Apprentices and their mentors must attend a pre-season workshop with the Department of Natural Resources. After providing proof of apprenticeship completion to the Department of Natural Resources and the Harbor and Shellfish Advisory Board, the apprentice will be issued a valid commercial scallop permit. For all other purposes, the holder of an apprentice permit will be considered a fully permitted commercial scallop fisherman during the term of the apprenticeship and thereby bound by all applicable laws and regulations.
C. 
No transfer or refunds for Town of Nantucket commercial shellfish permits. No transfers or refunds of Town of Nantucket commercial shellfish permits will be granted.
D. 
Commercial bay scallop season and days. The Select Board shall allow the taking of bay scallops for commercial purposes from November 1 through March 31 on Monday through Friday only, with the exception of Christmas Day. When Christmas falls between Monday and Friday of any given year, scalloping shall be allowed the following Saturday. Any alteration to these dates shall be done in accordance with Chapter 122, Taking of Shellfish, § 122-8, of the Code of the Town of Nantucket. The Select Board may grant permission for the collection of scallop seed outside the commercial season for the purpose of moving seed.
E. 
Commercial bay scallop daily start time and landing hours. Dredges may be deployed between the hours of 6:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. All commercial bay scallop boats must be at off-loading points by 4:30 p.m.
F. 
Returning to shore to pick up cullers. A license holder may return to shore to shore to pick up a culler but no more than 2.5 bushels of bay scallops may be on board when the culler boards the vessel.
G. 
Returning to shore for other reasons with the intention of resuming scalloping on the same day. License holders must notify the shellfish warden if they plan to resume so that the boat may be checked upon arrival.
H. 
Transferring of scallops. No catch shall be transferred from one boat to another.
I. 
Commercial bay scallop limits. The Select Board shall allow the taking of five level bushels (shells included) in "Town approved boxes" per commercial bay scallop permit. Each boat may have a maximum of 10 level bushels harvested with two valid commercial bay scallop permit holders on board.
J. 
Bay scallop size harvest criteria (322 CMR 6.11). No person shall land or possess bay scallops without a well-defined growth line, and that growth line shall measure at least 10 millimeters from the hinge of the shell. Exception: Bay scallops that have an annual growth line located less than 10 millimeters (mm) from the hinge of the shell shall be lawful to harvest if the shell height is at least 63.5 millimeters (mm) or 2.5 inches.
K. 
Use of dredges for commercial bay scallops. Dredges may not be used before 6:30 a.m. or after 4:30 p.m. on any given scalloping day. The weight of any given dredge is restricted to 35 pounds. The use of two or more dredges connected by an iron bar or any similar device is prohibited. No dredge or dredges greater than 28 inches will be permitted. Power-hoisting of dredges is permitted, provided no dredge is more than 28 inches wide, seven rings deep, and the net on the dredge is not over 18 mesh long. Only eight dredges are allowed to be towed at any given time.
L. 
Landing location of bay scallops. All bay scallops harvested in Nantucket waters shall be landed in Nantucket and the catch shall remain in boxes.
A. 
Commercial quahog harvesting days/hours. Quahogs may be harvested daily from 1/2 hour before sunrise to 1/2 hour before sunset.
B. 
Commercial quahog limit. No more than 20 bushels, including shells, in Town-approved boxes shall be taken per permit per day. If there are two commercial permits on board, then 40 bushels may be harvested.
C. 
Quahog size harvest criteria. No person shall take or have in his possession quahogs less than one inch thick at the hinge.
D. 
Commercial harvest methods. Hand collecting and rakes shall be allowed, provided the teeth spacing on rakes is a minimum of one inch and basket openings are a minimum of 15/16 inches across. All other methods of harvesting quahogs, including dredging, must be preapproved in writing by the Town of Nantucket or its designee.
A. 
Commercial blue mussel harvesting days/hours. Blue mussels may be harvested daily from 1/2 hour before sunrise to 1/2 hour before sunset.
B. 
Commercial blue mussel limit. No more than 10 bushels, including shells, in Town-approved boxes shall be taken per permit per day. If there are two commercial permits on board, then 20 bushels may be harvested.
C. 
Blue mussel size harvest criteria. No person shall take or have in his possession blue mussels less than two inches in length.
D. 
Commercial harvest methods: hand collecting, rakes, tongs. All other methods of harvesting blue mussels, including dredging, must be preapproved in writing by the Town of Nantucket or its designee.
A. 
Commercial conch/whelk harvesting season/days/hours. Conches/Whelks may be harvested from April 15 to December 15, daily, from 1/2 hour before sunrise to 1/2 hour before sunset.
B. 
Commercial conch/whelk limit: 200 tagged pots.
C. 
Conch/Whelk size harvest criteria. Currently 2 3/4 inches at the greatest width, to be raised 1/8 inch per year to the optimal size of 3 1/2 inches (first increase to be implemented by the DMF for the 2014 season).
D. 
Commercial conch/whelk harvest methods: hand collecting, rakes, and tongs. Pots are limited to state permit holders.
E. 
Town permit required for commercial conch/whelk harvest in Town waters. A Town permit is required to commercially conch within Nantucket and Madaket Harbors. The boundary line for Nantucket Harbor will be from the end of the east jetty to the end of the west jetty. The boundary line for Madaket Harbor is from eel point to Ester's Island. (See map included as an attachment to this chapter for details.)
F. 
Prohibition of harvest. Commercial harvesting of whelks/conch is prohibited every other year. A schedule of closures will be approved by the Town of Nantucket or its designee.
G. 
Maximum allowable pots in Nantucket and Madaket Harbors. The maximum allowable pots in Nantucket Harbor and Madaket Harbor combined will not exceed 90 pots. Tags will be issued in equal number among permit holders and are transferable.
Other shellfish or crab species shall not be taken for commercial purposes from the waters of the Town of Nantucket without the express written permission of the Natural Resources Department, Harbor and Shellfish Advisory Board, and the Select Board.
Commercial shellfishing permit fees shall be set from time to time by the Select Board.
Species
Season
Daily Harvest Limit
Days/Hours
Size Restrictions
Bay scallops
November 1 - March 31
5 level bushels per permit (2 permits maximum per boat)
Monday - Friday/ 6:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Must possess a well-defined growth ring.
Exception: Bay scallops that have a well-defined raised annual growth line located less than 10 mm from the hinge of the shell shall be lawful to harvest and possess if the shell height is at least 63.5 mm or 2.5".
Quahogs
Year round
20 bushels per permit (2 permits maximum per boat)
1/2 hour before sunrise - 1/2 hour before sunset
Must be 1 inch thick at hinge
Blue mussels
Year round
10 level bushels
1/2 hour before sunrise - 1/2 hour before sunset
Must be 2 inches in length
Conches/ whelks
April 15 - December 15
No limit (200 pots)
1/2 hour before sunrise - 1/2 hour before sunset
Must be 2.75 inches