HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4225        FILED ON: 3/20/2009

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3884

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand Nine

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An Act relative to inshore resource depletion..

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1.  Chapter 130 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 95 the following section:-

Section 95A. The director shall promulgate regulations and rules, including a system of fines, prohibiting the use of all midwater trawl and pair trawling for herring in Massachusetts waters, shall establish herring fishery rules and regulations that are compatible with regional efforts to rebuild valuable groundfish resources, including, but not limited to maximum vessel size permitted to fish within coastal waters, shall establish rules and regulations creating coastal herring fishing buffer zones, shall establish rules and regulations minimizing by catch mortality of groundfish, bluefin tuna and striped bass and shall increase observer coverage and establish a weight-based landing accounting system for all vessels targeting herring.