§ 9-142. Quantities and restrictions

(a) The following are the daily possession limits for each category as long as the waters are certified by the state department of environmental management for the direct harvest of shellfish:

(1) From sunrise of the third Monday in September through sunrise of the last Saturday in June:

Quantity Limits	Commercial	Taxpayer/Resident	Seasonal
Oysters (in season)	8 quarts	8 quarts	None
Soft-shell clams	1 bushel	8 quarts	8 quarts
Quahogs	4 bushels	8 quarts	8 quarts
Sea clams (skimmers)	4 bushels	8 quarts	8 quarts
Mussels	8 quarts	8 quarts	8 quarts
Scallops (in season)	2 bushels	2 bushels	None

 

(2) From sunrise of the last Saturday in June through sunrise of the third Monday in September the following are the quantity limits for each license category, but under no circumstances can any person take more than two bushels of shellfish in any one day of the season.

Quantity Limits	Commercial	Taxpayer/Resident	Seasonal
Oysters (in season)	None	None	None
Soft-shell clams	4 quarts	4 quarts	4 quarts
Quahogs	2 bushels	4 quarts	4 quarts
Sea clams (skimmers)	2 bushels	4 quarts	4 quarts
Mussels	4 quarts	4 quarts	4 quarts
Scallops (in season)	None	None	None

 

(b) No person shall take and/or possess any oysters and scallops from the Great Salt Pond between June 1 and the first Saturday in November except as allowed by the town/CRMC in permit sites in open waters.

(c) No person having a noncommercial license shall take more than eight quarts in total of the various shellfish listed in subsection (a) of this section. No commercial licensee shall take more than four bushels in a total of the quantities set out in subsection (a) of this section in any one day. No person shall take, retain in his possession or offer for sale any hard shell clams with less than a one-inch hinge width, or soft-shell clam or mussel less than two inches at the longest dimension and oysters no less than three inches at the longest dimension.

(d) Any person taking more than the prescribed quantity within one day or taking or having in his possession shellfish under the minimum size shall, in addition to the fines set out in section 9-147, be fined upon conviction no less than $100.00 nor more than $200.00 for each quart or part thereof exceeding the prescribed quantity, or be imprisoned for not more than ten days.

(e) Wet storage shall be prohibited except by a licensed shellfish dealer in strict compliance with provisions as written and approved by the state department of health. No other type of wet storage is permitted.

(Rev. Ords. 1989, § 9-142; Ord. of 3-3-1992; Ord. of 9-16-1992; Ord. of 5-15-1996; Ord. of 2-16-2000, § 9-142; Ord. of 2-2-2005, § 9-142; Ord. of 3-7-2011, § 9-142)