1. (a) No person licensed in accordance with RSA 211:18 shall fish with, raise, or possess on board a vessel or submerged within the waters under the jurisdiction of this state, a lobster trap without a valid lobster trap tag affixed to the trap and issued to said person except:

   1. (1) Helpers licensed in accordance with RSA 211:20; or
   2. (2) A surrogate lobster licensee in the case of a temporary physical disability as specified in Fis 602.14 who may fish with, raise, or possess lobster traps with lobster tags not issued specifically to them.
2. (b) Any person licensed under RSA 211:18 who possesses on board a vessel any trap which is capable of taking lobsters shall be presumed to be in possession of a lobster trap.

3. (c) A lobster trap tag shall be:

   1. (1) Securely attached to the frame of the lobster trap, in a manner for which it was designed such as a self-locking mechanism;
   2. (2) Legible and clearly visible for inspection; and
   3. (3) Not be altered or defaced.
4. (d) Lobster trap tags shall be valid for only one year beginning on June 1 and ending on May 31 of the following calendar year.
5. (e) Lobster trap tags shall be purchased directly from a vendor established by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC).

6. (f) The fish and game department shall supply the vendor with:

   1. (1) The licensee’s name and mailing address;
   2. (2) Whether the licensee is fishing in federal and/or state waters; and
   3. (3) The number of tags the licensee may purchase.

7. (g) A person licensed pursuant to RSA 211:18 may purchase from the vendor:

   1. (1) Up to 1200 lobster trap tags for a commercial license;
   2. (2) Up to 600 tags for a limited commercial;
   3. (3) Up to 100 tags for a part-time commercial license; and
   4. (4) Up to 5 tags for a recreational license.
8. (h) No person shall fish more than the number of traps allowed in accordance with RSA 211:18 and Fis 602.13.
9. (i) Replacement tags shall be available to a lobster licensee by exchanging trap tags with the fish and game department on a one-for-one basis to allow for the necessary rotation and maintenance of lobster traps.
10. (j) In the case of catastrophic trap losses, which exceed 10% of the specific license trap tag allocation as specified in (g), an entirely new allotment of catastrophic replacement trap tags shall be purchased and issued. The original allotment of trap tags shall not be valid following the issuance of catastrophic replacement tags.
11. (k) Trap tags shall be issued to valid licensed lobster harvesters based on approved ASMFC Lobster Fishery Management Plan amendments and addenda.
12. (l) No more than two trap tags shall be affixed to a lobster trap at any given time.

Source. #7214, eff 6-1-00; amd by #8819, EXEMPT, eff 2-1-07; ss by #9286, EXEMPT, eff 9-29-08; ss by #10460, EXEMPT, eff 1-1-14; ss by #12655, EXEMPT, eff 11-1-18; ss by #14161, EXEMPT, eff 12-27-24