Species restrictions

(a) Blue Crabs. No person shall take or attempt to take any blue crabs in any waters of this state except by scoop or scap net, handline or manually operated and personally attended devices described below: (1) Manually closed, caging devices similar to the Star Crab Trap manufactured by the Cuba Specialty Manufacturing Company, Houghton, New York. (2) Circular, topless traps not exceeding twenty-six (26) inches in diameter. (3) Semicircular cylindrical traps not exceeding twelve (12) inches in diameter with hinged entrances or ends controlled by drawstrings. No person shall take, offer for sale or possess at any time any female blue crab bearing eggs visible thereon or from which the egg pouch or bunion has been removed. No person shall take, offer for sale or possess any hard shell blue crab measuring less than five inches across the shell (carapace) from tip to tip of spikes; but soft shell blue crabs not less than three and one-half inches across the shell from tip to tip of spikes may be taken, sold and possessed. No person on the waters of this state or on any parcel of land, structure, or portion of a roadway abutting tidal waters shall possess any uncooked blue crab meat without the shell (carapace) attached. No more than two claws per crab may be possessed. Any blue crabs taken contrary to these regulations shall, without avoidable injury, be returned immediately to the water from which taken. (b) Minimum Legal Length. No person shall possess any fish taken by any commercial fishing gear or for commercial purposes less than the lengths specified below measured from the tip of the snout to the end of the tail and, notwithstanding section 26-159a-4 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies, no person shall buy, sell, offer for sale or possess in a place where fish are offered for sale, any of said species less than the minimum legal length stated herein. (1) Atlantic tomcod (frostfish) (Microgadus tomcod) - 7 inches (2) Tautog (blackfish) (Tautoga onitis) - 14 inches (3) Scup (porgy) (Stenotomus chrysops) - 9 inches (4) Black sea bass (Centropristis striata) - 11 inches (5) Winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus) - 12 inches (6) Bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) - 9 inches (7) Summer flounder (fluke) (Paralichthys dentatus) - 14 inches (8) Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) - 22 inches (9) Weakfish (Cynoscion regalis) - 16 inches (10) Yellowtail flounder (Pleuronectes ferrugineus) - 13 inches (11) Haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) - 22 inches (12) Pollock (Pollachius virens) - 19 inches (13) Witch flounder (Glyptocephalus cynoglossus) - 14 inches (14) American plaice (Hippoglossoides platessoides) - 14 inches (15) Redfish (Sebastes marinus) - 9 inches Any of said species less than the minimum legal length taken by any commercial fishing gear shall, without avoidable injury, be returned immediately to the water from which taken. No person on board any vessel engaged in commercial fishing or landing species taken by commercial fishing gear shall possess any summer flounder fillet less than the minimum total length for the species unless the carcass of the fish from which the fillet was removed has been retained and meets the minimum length. This subsection shall not be construed to prevent filleting of fish on shore or at the dockside.