Quote:
Originally Posted by B-Faithful
I was at the dnr meeting. Any fish trap or pot is classified as commercial gear (as are nets)... You must have a TFL to trap fish in pots. Capt O'brien did bring up the fact that this may give a competitive advantage to the charter capts who also carry TFL's. (many maryland charter capts also carry commercial fishing lisences, while others do not).
I do not think there are many recs who are running spot traps but if they are, it is illegal. Hook and line only for spot unless you have a TFL
I dont think a pen can be classified as a trap. A pen is nothing but an in water livewell.
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Capt O'brien does not carry a TFL, but that was his choice. A tfl is $310 a year while Capt O'brien's license is but $50. So the unfair advantage he speaks of is not so unfair.
And yes there are a great deal of recs who catch Spot with traps and in the past the DNR has looked the other way.
Spot are not a bait fish by regulation, therefore the pens are a gray area. One of the things the ASMFC wants the DNR to look into is a daily limit. A daily limit will make the pens illegal if over one limit is kept unless you have a commercial finfish license.