Oversize Lobsters

[JohnDough]

Whats everyones Official and Unofficial take on Oversized Lobsters? Looking through the pictures on this site people are obvioulsy taking bugs well over the legal limit.. ( yes they are taken locally, some picts are labeled with the capture site). does anyone leave the biggies behind? Has anyone had EP check for oversize?
Just looking for opinions and experiences with this.

 

[mello-yellow]

Do you seriously expect anyone to go ahead and say "yes, I am breaking the law"? Forget the law enforcement -- some divers on this board would just beat him up next time they saw him.

As the matter of fact, just yesterday I caught a bug few millimeters above legal limit. No eggs, no v-notch. I let it go. Sure, it would have made a nice present for my parents, but not worth the legal risk, however low.

 

[Soggy]

There is only an upper limit if you dive in the Gulf of Maine region. This is an option when you sign up for your license. If you don't want to dive in the GOM region, and only want to dive South of Cape Cod, there is no upper limit. Otherwise, if you take an oversize lobster in the GOM, and the EP catch you, you may very well be walking home.

There is no upper limit when diving off the NY/NJ boats, either. I don't know about RI/CT lobster laws.

 

[scubastew]

can you point me to those pictures?? i have never and will never take an oversized bug. not worth the chance of getting caught, plus I dont think my largest kitchen pot would even fit a bug over a 4.5 inch carapace.

I think most divers would prefer the larger breeding lobsters stay out there making more little leagal tasty ones.

~

 

[JohnDough]

can you point me to those pictures??
~

I'm not sure how to add the link here, so just goto photos, Marine inverts, and search for Gloucester - one will show up there, and I have seen others.

Do you seriously expect anyone to go ahead and say "yes, I am breaking the law"? Forget the law enforcement -- some divers on this board would just beat him up next time they saw him.
~

Of course no one would say that.. but some people may speak for "their friends" - I spoke with a couple divers this weekend at folly's and they said big ones get taken often and people kind of look away. I wasnt looking to upset anyone, just trying to find out if those divers were unique, or majority.


Also, where do the stores get the big "locally caught" lobsters?

 

[Soggy]

Also, where do the stores get the big "locally caught" lobsters?

South of Cape Cod.

Also, commercial fisheries have different rules than the recreational realm.

 

[MSilvia]

Otherwise, if you take an oversize lobster in the GOM, and the EP catch you, you may very well be walking home.

At least you won't have to carry all that heavy dive gear after they confiscate it..

 

[matt_unique]

Whats everyones Official and Unofficial take on Oversized Lobsters? Looking through the pictures on this site people are obvioulsy taking bugs well over the legal limit.. ( yes they are taken locally, some picts are labeled with the capture site). does anyone leave the biggies behind? Has anyone had EP check for oversize?
Just looking for opinions and experiences with this.

Official take - it's against the law and represents significant financial risk.

Unofficial take - I think we need to "open up a can of Rodney Harrison" on anyone who takes an illegal. Not to mention the fact that we are supposed to be stewards of the environment we enjoy.

Some pictures you see may have come from the area of the coast where there is no legal limit as Soggy pointed out. They have these areas posted somewhere on mass.gov website.

--Matt

 

[Soggy]

...and some people pull big lobsters out just to take pictures with them (i.e. molest them) and then put them back, ostensibly unharmed.

 

[scubastew]

John,

you have a good point that lobster looks like it may well be over the max limit (considering it's about the length of an AL80). also looked to be a female re-growing a skulled claw.

Maybe jwinslow68 (who posted the pic) can get us a carapace measurement. I'd like to give them the benefit of the doubt, but it's rather incriminating

Would be quite a shame if someone killed this large breeding lobster for one dinner, one nite, if she could have hatched 1,000, 2,000, 3,000 more like her.


http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/26333/cat/509/si/Gloucester/perpage/9
http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/26335/cat/509/si/Gloucester/perpage/9

Perhaps they just took some pictures and returned her to the sea!