Initial Proposal 7/3/18 1 Readopt Fis 601.08, eff. 10-26-10 (Doc #9805), to read as follows: Fis 601.08 Groundfish means a group of fish which includes Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), Atlantic wolffish (Anarhichas lupus), Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus), ocean pout (Zoarces americanus), haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus), pollock (Pollachius virens), American plaice (Hippoglossoides platessoides), redfish (Sebastes marinus), white hake (Urophycis tenuis), summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus), yellowtail flounder (Pleuronectes ferruginea), winter flounder (Pleuronectes americanus), windowpane flounder (Scophthalmus aquosus), and witch flounder (Glyptocephalus cynoglossus). Adopt Fis 601.10 through Fis 601.12 to read as follows: Fis 601.10 Total length means the straight-line distance from the tip of the snout to the tip of the tail (caudal fin) while the fish is lying on its side, normally extended. Fis 601.11 "Recreational fishing" means the taking of any marine species by any method for personal use only and which are not sold, traded, or bartered. Fis 601.12 "Commercial fishing" means the take, possession, landing, or transport of any marine species on the waters of the state by any method for the purpose of sale, trade or barter, regardless of where the catch was taken. Adopt Fis 602.06, Fis 602.07, and Fis 602.18, previously effective 7-1-10 (Doc #9744), and expired 7-1-18, to read as follows: Fis 602.06 Gill Netting Restriction. (a) The taking, transporting or possessing of Atlantic cod, Atlantic wolffish, Atlantic halibut, ocean pout, haddock, pollock, white hake, redfish, American plaice, windowpane, witch, winter and yellowtail flounders shall be prohibited on board any boat rigged for gill netting not in accordance with 50 CFR 648.80(a)(3)(iii) and (iv). (b) The mesh size referred to in paragraph (a) shall be measured in accordance with 50 CFR 648.80(f) (1). (c) No person shall take any species of fish listed in Fis 602.06(a) by gill netting during April, May and June. (d) Gill nets used for the taking of finfish, except as specified in (e), shall be subject to the following: (1) No more than 25 gill nets shall be used in state waters; and
Initial Proposal 7/3/18 2 (2) Gill nets shall not be longer than 300 feet in length. (e) Gill nets used for the taking of finfish from the waters of the Great Bay estuarine system inland of the Memorial Bridge in Portsmouth, Little Harbor and its tributaries inland of its most seaward jetty, Rye Harbor and its tributaries inland of its most seaward jetty, and inland of the Hampton Harbor Bridge shall be subject to the following: (1) Gill nets shall have a mesh size no larger than 3 inches; (2) Gill nets shall be no longer than 100 feet in length and no wider than 7 feet in width; (3) Gill netting shall only be permitted from April 16 through October 31; (4) Gill netting shall only be permitted between 2 hours before sunrise until 2 hours after sunset, except as provided in RSA 211:48-b; and (5) Any person using a gill net to take finfish shall be within unaided eyesight of the net. Unaided eyesight means unaided by devices such as binoculars or spotting scope. Fis 602.07 Mobile Gear Restriction. (a) The taking, transporting or possessing of Atlantic cod, Atlantic wolffish, Atlantic halibut, ocean pout, haddock, pollock, white hake, redfish, American plaice, windowpane, witch, winter and yellowtail flounders shall be prohibited on board any boat rigged for mobile gear, including but not limited to, purse seine, Scottish seine, beam trawl, midwater trawl, otter trawl, pair trawl, or drag seine in any form not in accordance with 50 CFR 648.80 (a)(3)(i) - (iii). (b) The mesh openings referred to in paragraph (a) shall be measured in accordance with 50 CFR 648.80 (f) (2). Fis 602.18 Hook Vessel Restrictions. (a) "Hook gear" means fishing gear that is comprised of a hook or hooks attached to a line and includes but is not limited to longline, setline, jigs, troll line, rod and reel and line trawl. (b) Any vessel commercially rigged for hook gear shall: (1) Use circle hooks of size 12/0 when using bait; (2) Not use more than 800 circle hooks; and (3) Have fairlead rollers that have at least 6 inch spacing between the rollers.
Initial Proposal 7/3/18 3 (c) No person shall take commercially, any species of fish listed in Fis 602.06(a) by hook gear during April, May, and June. Readopt with amendment Fis 603.04 and Fis 604.01, effective 3-7-18 (Document #12489 Emergency), to read as follows: Fis 603.04 Salters. (a) "Salters" means any species of trout which spends part of its life cycle in brackish or salt water under the jurisdiction of the state. (b) Taking of salters shall be done by angling, as defined in RSA 207:1, I, and only by anglers licensed under RSA 214:1. (c) The daily creel limit for salters shall be one fish except as provided in Fis 604.01 and Fis 604.02. Fis 604.01 Berry Brook. Fishing in Berry Brook shall be permitted by single hook artificial lures and flies only; and any fish taken by any method shall be immediately released back into the waters from which it was taken. Adopt Fis 604.02, previously effective 7-1-10, (Doc #9744), and expired 7-1-18, to read as follows: Fis 604.02 Winnicut River. The Winnicut River in Greenland from the Rte. 33 bridge to the south side of the Boston and Maine railroad bridge over the Winnicut River shall be subject to the following restrictions: (a) Open to the taking of all species of fish by angling only except above and below the fish ladder as provided in Fis 602.02(a)(7); and (b) The taking of salters as defined in Fis 603.04, shall be subject to the following: (1) There shall be no closed season; and (2) The daily limit of salters taken in this portion of the Winnicut River shall not exceed 5 fish or 5 pounds and shall be included in the freshwater brook trout limit as in Fis 403.11.
Initial Proposal 7/3/18 4 Readopt Fis 606.01-Fis 606.05 and Fis 606.07, effective 10-26-10 (Doc #9805), to read as follows: Fis 606.01 Restrictions on Certain Clam Species. (a) There shall be no open season for quahogs, little necks or cherrystone clams (Mercenaria mercenaria). (b) Razor clams (Ensis directus), surf clams (Spisula solidissima), mahogany quahogs (Arctica islandica) and blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) may be taken without a license only: (1) By residents; (2) For personal use; and (3) By hand or with handheld tools. (c) No person shall use any dredge in the taking of surf clams, sea clams, or hen clams (Spisula solidissima), or black clams or mahogany quahogs (Arctica islandica) that has a blade or knife which is greater than 48 inches in maximum width or a hydraulic dredge with a blade, knife or manifold which is greater than 48 inches in maximum width. Fis 606.02 Taking of Mollusks. (a) The taking of clams (Mya arenaria) shall only be permitted, between one-half hour before sunrise and sunset on Saturdays, from the day after Labor Day to May 31. (b) Mollusks shall not be taken from areas which are unclassified or are classified as "prohibited" by the commissioner of the department of environmental services or posted as closed, or marked with red stakes. (c) Mollusks shall not be taken by recreational harvesters from areas classified as restricted or conditionally restricted by the commissioner of the department of environmental services. (d) Commercial harvesting and marketing from restricted areas shall be allowed under certain conditions specified in He-P 2150 of the department of health and human services. (e) Clams shall be dug only with hand held tools with handle lengths not to exceed 18 inches. (f) The taking of mussels in the Hampton/Seabrook estuary shall only be permitted, between one-half hour before sunrise and sunset on Saturdays, from the day after Labor Day to May 31. Fis 606.03 Identification of Clam Containers.
Initial Proposal 7/3/18 5 (a) Any container used in the taking of clams, whether on the flats, on a dock or landing, or in a boat, shall be clearly identified by marking thereon the owner's clam license number, either by attaching a waterproof tag containing such number to said container, or by painting such number on the outside of said container. (b) By applying for a clam license, the licensee shall be deemed to have consented to submit to department inspection for the identifying number referred to in paragraph (a) above. Fis 606.04 Possession of Clams. (a) No person shall possess or take, in one calendar day, more than 10 quarts liquid measure, of unshucked clams, while on or leaving any clam flats or any waters under the jurisdiction of the state. (b) Possession of shucked clams, while on or leaving any clam flats or any waters under the jurisdiction of the state, shall be prohibited. (c) No person shall possess any clams taken from the flats or the waters under the jurisdiction of the state, unless they are in a container identified as provided in Fis 606.03. The licensee shall accompany said clams at all times while possessing and transporting them. (d) Any firm, corporation or person shucking clams (Mya arenaria) in a commercial operation, or dealing with clams in a wholesale or retail business shall not be subject to the 10 quart possession limit, provided the clams are possessed in full compliance with Fis 610. Fis 606.05 Sale of Clams Restricted. (a) Clams (Mya arenaria) taken or possessed under this PART shall not be bought, sold, offered for sale, exchanged or traded. (b) No person shall possess quahogs, littlenecks, cherrystones (Mercenaria mercenaria) less than one inch in shell thickness. (c) Clams (Mya arenaria) less than two inches in length shall have been taken in compliance with the laws and rules of the state of origin. Readopt Fis 606.06, effective 2-29-12 (Doc #10095), to read as follows: Fis 606.06 Clam Worms. (a) Residents shall be permitted to take clam worms as provided in RSA 211:64-b. (b) Properly licensed diggers shall be permitted to take clam worms for sale or use, except in areas posted as closed to all digging.
Initial Proposal 7/3/18 6 above. (c) There shall be no limits on size or quantity of worms taken under paragraph (b) (d) Clam worms shall be dug only with hand held tools with handle lengths not to exceed 18 inches. Readopt Fis 606.07, effective 10-26-10 (Document #9805), to read as follows: Fis 606.07 Display of Clam Licenses. Clam licensees shall wear said licenses in plain view, either on the cap or hat, or on the front of the outer garment, while engaged in taking clams. Readopt with amendment Fis 807.12, effective 1-26-16 (Doc #11029), to read as follows: Fis 807.12 Competing Aquaculture Applications. (a) In the event the department receives competing aquaculture applications for the same areas, the department shall give preference on a first-come first-served basis. (b) If two or more applications for the same area are received by the Department on the same business day, a lottery will be held by the Department to determine which application will be given preference. (c) The lottery drawing shall be conducted in the following manner: (1) Each competing application shall be assigned a unique number. (2) Selection of winning number shall be done by computer selection of random numbers. (3) Applicants on each competing application shall be invited via email to attend the lottery.
Initial Proposal 7/3/18 7 APPENDIX Rule(s) State Statute (RSA) Implemented Fis 601.08 RSA 211:62 Fis 601.10 to 601.12 RSA 211:62 Fis 602.06 RSA 211:62 Fis 602.07 RSA 211:62 Fis 602.18 RSA 211:62 Fis 603.04 RSA 206:10 and RSA 211:62 Fis 604.01 RSA 206:10 and RSA 211:62 Fis 604.02 RSA 206:10 and RSA 211:62 Fis 606.01 RSA 211:62 Fis 606.02 RSA 211:62 and RSA 143:2 Fis 606.03 RSA 211:62 Fis 606.04 RSA 211:62, I & II Fis 606.05 RSA 211:62 Fis 606.06 RSA 211:62 and RSA 211:64-b Fis 606.07 RSA 211:62 Fis 807.12 RSA 206:10; 207:14, 211:62-e; 211:62