The Division of Marine Fisheries (MarineFisheries) has received several inquiries about legal fishing activity by private recreational fishermen (i.e., not the for-hire industry) for Gulf of Maine cod when fishing in both state and federal waters during a single trip. Current Commonwealth of Massachusetts regulations for recreational fishing of Gulf of Maine cod in waters under the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth differ from federal emergency regulations in place since May 1, 2006 (see table below for specific size limits and other restrictions). MarineFisheries advises all recreational fishermen aboard private vessels to abide by the most restrictive rules when fishing or potentially fishing in both state and federal waters of the Gulf of Maine.

Table 1. Excerpt of some groundfish regulations for recreational fishing aboard private vessels in both state and federal portions of the waters. Note that this table does not comprise a comprehensive list of all rules and regulations contained in 322 CMR and 50 CFR Part 648.