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Year-Round Gear Regulations in all Massachusetts State Waters

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The following restrictions apply to all recreational pots set on a year round basis.

  1. All buoys must be outfitted with a 600-pound weak link. See photo.
  2. If fishing pot trawls, sinking groundline must be used between all traps.
  3. Vertical buoy lines must be made of sinking line, except the bottom 1⁄3 portion, which may be floating line if desired.
  4. All gear must have a 4 inch red marker midway on the buoy line. See photo.
swivel_weak.psd

Swivel Weak Links

 

Weak Links

Weak links allow the buoy to part away from the buoy line in the event that a whale encounters your gear.

 

hog_ring.psd

Hog Ring Weak Link

 

Buoy Line Marking

By marking the rope, that gear can be identified to a certain area and fishery, if it is taken off an entangled whale.

 

busy_line.psd

 

Regulations in red are new this year.

Purple text indicates an important note.

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