Cape Cod Bay Critical Habitat Gear Rules

January 1 – May 15

During the period of January 1st to May 15th, the following restrictions apply to all gear in the CCB Critical Habitat Area.

1. The use of single pots is prohibited. Fishermen may use either multiple pot trawls consisting of four pots or more or may set doubles or triples.
a. Multiple pot trawls shall consist of four pots or more with vertical buoy lines on the first and last pot of the trawl.

2. Double or triple pot trawls must have only 1 buoy line.
a. It is unlawful to fish double or triple pot trawls with more than one vertical buoy line attached.

3. All trawls must have twin orange markers or flags on each buoy. See definition in Whale-Related Gear Rules.

4. All trawls must have 500 pound weak links on each buoy. See details in Whale-Related Gear Rules.

5. All trawls must have a 4 inch red marker midway on each buoy line. See details in Whale-Related Gear Rules

May 16 – December 31

The following restrictions apply to all gear in the CCB Critical Habitat Area on a year-round basis.

1. All buoys must be outfitted with a 600-pound weak link. See details in Whale-Related Gear Rules.

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 details in Whale-Related Gear Rules.