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Attention all Commercial Urchin Harvesters:
The DMR Advisory Council has reviewed and approved the proposed rulemaking for Chapter 26 Sea urchins, setting the 2024-2025 season.
Attached to this notice is a copy of the final rule package for Chapter 26 as well as a printable copy of the harvest calendars for the upcoming 2024-2025 season. A Concise Summary of regulation changes is included below. In addition to calendar changes for the 2024-2025 season, the summary includes a new tote limit option that is intended to ease the burden for harvesters traveling long-distances to reach vendors.
A brief introduction: My name is Jen Harris, and I am a new Resource Management Coordinator at DMR. I will be the new sea urchin policy contact and will do my best to assist with questions regarding Chapter 26 changes. I can be reached via email at [email protected] or by phone at 207-458-9234. Please feel free to reach out to Marine Patrol if you have questions as well: Division I office Kittery to Camden, Tel: 633-9595, or the Division II office Lincolnville to Calais area, Tel: 664-2392.
Traditional Harvest with Daily Tote Limit vs New Flexible Harvest with Daily Tote Limit
New for the 2024-2025 season, is the flexibility for the harvester to choose when to sell their catch, within a fishing week. This addition to the urchin regulation was in response to disruption in harvest/sales during the previous season when dealers were not always available on fishing days to purchase urchins.
To be clear, harvesters may continue to fish and sell as they have historically done ("traditional harvest") or may use the new flexibility provided for the coming season, by meeting new requirements ("flexible harvest"). Please see the examples below regarding what is now allowed.
Traditional harvest:
- Harvester is limited to the daily tote limit as determined by Zone 1 (9 totes) or Zone 2 (6 totes)
- Harvester lands totes at the end of a day trip and proceeds to sell product to a dealer
- Dealer tags the bulk pile of totes with harvest date and harvester license number
- Harvester reports landings due monthly
- Zone 2 example: Harvest 6 totes on Monday and sell 6 totes on Monday; harvest 6 totes on Tuesday and sell 6 totes on Tuesday; report all trips monthly.
Flexible harvest:
- Harvester is limited to harvesting the daily tote limit as determined by Zone 1 (9 totes) or Zone 2 (6 totes)
- Harvester must tag their own totes with the harvest date and their harvester license number and places their daily catch in cold storage
- Harvester must report their daily trip through either LEEDS or VESL and denote "no sale"
- Harvester may possess a number of totes equal to the daily limit multiplied by the number of open harvest days per calendar week
- Harvester must SELL all product by Friday (that is, no totes may be carried over to the following week)
- Zone 2 example: Harvest 6 totes on Tuesday, tag totes and put in cold storage, report harvest trip in LEEDS or VESL; harvest 6 totes on Wednesday, tag totes and put in cold storage, report harvest trip in LEEDS or VESL; harvest 6 totes on Friday, tag totes, report harvest trip in LEEDS or VESL, then load truck with all 18 tagged totes and sell to dealer on Friday of that same week.
Regardless of whether you are continuing with the traditional harvest, or using the flexible harvest model, you may still only fish the same number of days as is authorized for your zone (15 days in Zone 1, 30 days in Zone 2). Harvesters should not report trips on their monthly paper logbook for any days that they have previously reported electronically.
If you have any questions about this change and what it allows, please consult with your local Marine Patrol Officer.
Chapter 26 Sea Urchin Regulations and 2024-2025 Harvesting Season
CONCISE SUMMARY:
This regulation establishes open harvest days and tote limits for the taking of sea urchins by divers, rakers, trappers, and draggers in Zones 1 and 2 for the 2024-2025 season. For Zone 1, seasons are established for divers, trappers, rakers and draggers in 2024-2025, from which harvesters may only fish up to 15 days of their choosing, the same number of days allowed during the 2023-2024 season. For Zone 1, the daily tote limit is nine (9). For Zone 2, 40-day seasons are established for divers, trappers, rakers and draggers in 2024-2025, from which harvesters may only fish up to 30 days of their choosing. This regulation has the same number of fishing days and opportunity days as the 2023-2024 season. For the Whiting & Dennys Bays Limited Access Area in Zone 2, a 12-day season is established for Zone 2 divers, trappers, rakers and draggers in 2024-2025, 3 days less than the 2023-2024 season due to the contraction of the calendars. For Zone 2, the daily tote limit is six (6).
Harvesters are permitted to defer sale of daily catch and increase on-shore possession by the daily tote limit per zone multiplied by the number of open harvest days each week. All catch must be sold weekly on Fridays, 11:59 p.m. If there is no sale transaction, the harvester is required to report their daily landing electronically. All on-shore catch must be tagged by harvester, indicating landings number, harvester name and date of harvest.
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