Section 188-25-98 - Electronic Tracking Requirements for Federally-Permitted Lobster and Jonah Crab License HoldersEffective December 15, 2023, the following electronic tracking device requirements apply to all federally permitted lobster and crab license holders, as defined in section A.
A.Definitions1. Approved Tracking Device means an electronic device that meets all the specifications outlined in Section 3.1 of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Addendum XXIX to the American Lobster Fishery Management Plan and which has been approved for use by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.2. Federally permitted lobster and crab fishing license holder means an individual who is eligible for a commercial Maine state license or who is licensed to fish commercially for lobster and crab under 12 MRS6421 or 12 MRS6302-A who also holds a federal lobster and crab commercial trap gear permit for any of the Lobster Conservation Management Areas (LCMAs) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or the Outer Cape Cod on the vessel identified on their lobster and crab fishing license.B.Electronic Tracking Device Requirements1. Prior to their first lobster and crab fishing trip following December 15, 2023, federally permitted lobster and crab fishing license holders are required to install an approved tracking device.2. Federally permitted lobster and crab fishing license holders are required to certify to the Department of Marine Resources when they have completed the installation of the approved tracking device. To submit their certification, federally permitted lobster and crab fishing license holders must complete an electronic form available through the Department of Marine Resources publicly accessible website.C.Prohibitions Unless a federally permitted lobster and crab fishing license holder has made notification to the Department as provided in (E.) the following prohibitions apply.
1. It is unlawful for a federally permitted lobster and crab fishing license holder to fish for, take, possess, or land lobster or Jonah crab taken with trap gear without having an approved tracking device installed aboard the permitted vessel listed on their license.2. It is unlawful for a federally permitted lobster and crab fishing license holder to remove or have removed the approved tracking device from the permitted vessel listed on their license without written approval from the Department of Marine Resources.3. It is unlawful for a federally permitted lobster and crab fishing license holder to allow the permitted vessel listed on their license to be operated in the coastal waters of the State without the approved tracking device being powered by an external power source at all times; an exception to this requirement exists when the vessel is moored or docked at berth.4. The approved tracking device must remain in an operational condition, minimally powered by an internal battery, when a permitted vessel is docked, moored, or removed from the water. The license holder shall notify the Department of Marine Resources prior to an approved tracking device being rendered inoperative in instances where the permitted vessel is removed from the coastal waters for an extended period of time or for purposes of repairing or replacing an approved tracking device.5. It is unlawful for a person to tamper with an approved tracking device or device signal; tampering includes any activity that may affect the unit's ability to operate or signal properly or to accurately compute or report the vessel's position. Tampering with an approved tracking device is not considered to occur in circumstances where an approved tracking device is being repaired or replaced provided the license holder has written approval from the Department of Marine Resources.D.Exemptions The following federally permitted lobster and crab fishing license holders are exempt from the electronic tracking requirements.
1. A federally permitted license holder who holds a federal commercial trap gear permit that has been placed in confirmation of permit history (CPH), a permit status for when a vessel with limited access permits has sunk, been destroyed, or has been sold to another person without its permit history.2. A federally permitted license holder who holds a federal lobster commercial trap gear permit that does not fish trap gear at any point in the fishing year (i.e., only fishes other gear under a federal lobster commercial/non-trap permit, charter/party non-trap permit, and/or does not fish any trap gear at any point in the fishing year).E.Device Failure In the event of an electronic tracking device failure, a violation of the prohibitions in section (C) shall not exist when the federally permitted lobster and crab fishing license holder makes notification of the failure to the Department by phone, text message, or email prior to beginning a fishing trip with the inoperable device. The license holder must work with the Department in good faith and in a timely manner to restore device operability as soon as possible. It is unlawful for a license holder to begin subsequent fishing trips with an inoperable device without written approval from the Department.
In circumstances where a federally permitted lobster and crab fishing license holder has reported frequent or repeated tracking device failures aboard a permitted vessel, a Marine Patrol Officer, after having given notice to that license holder, may require that license holder to obtain written approval from the Department prior to beginning a fishing trip with an inoperable tracking device.
*Summary statements, like notes, are not part of the text of rule chapters. They are included here at the request of the agency.
13-188 C.M.R. ch. 25, § 98