Mattapoisett raises shellfishing violation fines
Sep 24, 2019
Kathy Massey and Marc Folco meet with the Board of Selectmen on Sept. 24. Photo by: Kenneth Borges.
MATTAPOISETT — Shellfishers in Mattapoisett waters who fail to abide by town regulations can now expect to be hit with much more severe fines, following the unanimous approval of the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, Sept. 24.
Natural Resource Officer Kathy Massey and Deputy Natural Resource Officer Marc Folco recommended the new citation amounts to the board due to the ineffectiveness of current fines. “Some of them weren’t working out so well,” Massey said.
To more strictly enforce regulations, the fine for shellfishing without a permit will now cost $100 plus the cost to buy a permit. For Mattapoisett residents, that adds $25, and for non-residents that adds $125. An additional $10 can be added to either of these costs if the person buying the permit wants a shellfishing parking pass. The previous fine for this offense was just $25.
Taking shellfish by diving previously warranted a $25 fine. Now, that charge will be $100.
For Massey, the issue with divers is that “they don’t always pop up where they harvested,” meaning that someone could dive in an area closed to shellfishing without her being able to prove it.
The town will also be monitoring the containers people use to harvest shellfish more closely to ensure that they do not take more than their fair share of shellfish.
Catches of oysters, clams, and quahogs are limited to one peck (two dry gallons) each. Shellfishers must use a peck basket, or other easily measured container to prove that they did not harvest more than this. In the past, Massey said she has seen people use things like shopping bags that make it difficult to measure catches.
The fine for exceeding catch limits has gone from $25 to $125, and the fine for failure to use proper receptacles has gone from $25 to $100.
Another fine raised on Sept. 24 was selling shellfish on a family permit, which has gone from $25 to $300. Taking shellfish from a closed area went from $25 to $250, obtaining a permit fraudulently went from $25 to $100, and the failure to allow inspection of catch went from $10 to $100.
