Magnolia Dive report, and a question

[ClassAction]

Do as you like but exit the water with shorrts and meet the EP and you will have a new attitude and understanding of the reg. If anyone really cares if the dude owns the land give me the address (PM) and I'll have a title search run heck I'll even order a plot plan but I do need the address.

Obviously, I don't purposely exit the water with shorts. All I'm saying (and I'm just being honest) is that I sometimes re-measure and realize that it's a little too close for comfort. It's not like we only caught 7. We probably had 30 or so in our hands at some point. We thought the 7 were legal. And it's not like we re-measured on the street with the car running. We re-measured on the rocks, at the water's edge, with our suits still on. As it turned out, they were (probably) legal but borderline, so we threw them back. Are you saying we did something wrong? Am I the only one who has ever thrown one back? If your under water measuring is always right on the money, why is it that you double or even triple check??? I wouldn't want you to have a run in with EP and gain a new attitude and undestanding of the reg!

 

[ScubaNorth]

Obviously, I don't purposely exit the water with shorts. All I'm saying (and I'm just being honest) is that I sometimes re-measure and realize that it's a little too close for comfort. It's not like we only caught 7. We probably had 30 or so in our hands at some point. We thought the 7 were legal. And it's not like we re-measured on the street with the car running. We re-measured on the rocks, at the water's edge, with our suits still on. As it turned out, they were (probably) legal but borderline, so we threw them back. Are you saying we did something wrong? Am I the only one who has ever thrown one back? If your under water measuring is always right on the money, why is it that you double or even triple check??? I wouldn't want you to have a run in with EP and gain a new attitude and undestanding of the reg!

I triple check because I am paranoid. Never took a short out of the water never even close. Again feel free to do it any way you wish, all I am saying is exit with a short and get caught and you will have a problem. I have helped other divers who were on the road with the car running throw back shorts, but it is their permit and gear they have to worry about. I'm not concerned about what others do as long as they don't bug me. I can tell you that the EP does not wait in the parking lot, they usually have wet shoes from waiting at the edge of the beach. This is especially true on the North Shore. Don't take my word give them a call. With your logic it would be ok to drive them to Jersey City and drop them back, it's all the same water right, the Atlantic Ocean?

 

[ClassAction]

I triple check because I am paranoid. Never took a short out of the water never even close. Again feel free to do it any way you wish, all I am saying is exit with a short and get caught and you will have a problem. I have helped other divers who were on the road with the car running throw back shorts, but it is their permit and gear they have to worry about. I'm not concerned about what others do as long as they don't bug me. I can tell you that the EP does not wait in the parking lot, they usually have wet shoes from waiting at the edge of the beach. This is especially true on the North Shore. Don't take my word give them a call. With your logic it would be ok to drive them to Jersey City and drop them back, it's all the same water right, the Atlantic Ocean?

Well, I just checked the Mass Div. of Marine Fisheries website again. On the summary page, there is some languge about returning illegal lobsters "immediately" to the waters from which they were taken. That's where I got my information (above) and that's what would make it not ok (under my theory) to drive to Jersey City. The language reads:

Removal of eggs from lobsters is prohibited. Egg-bearing lobsters or lobsters from which eggs have been removed must be immediately returned alive to the waters from which taken.

Mutilation of any lobster which affects its measurement or the possession of lobster parts shall be prima facie evidence that the lobster was less than the legal minimum size.

Taking v-notched female lobsters is strictly prohibited. V-notched female lobster must be immediately returned alive to the waters from which they were taken.

But I just checked the full regulations online and there is some language about in-water measuring:

(a) All lobsters shall be measured immediately. Any person diving for lobster shall measure all lobsters in possession prior to surfacing.

So I'll concede that I'm not 100% sure about all of this. I guess it depends on how that law is interpreted and applied. In my mind, we did comply -- we measured under water. We just did the same thing that you do every time -- we measured again on shore. And like you, I guess we were at least a little worried that our under water measurements weren't perfect. So in compliance with the rule, we returned the lobsters immediately.

It just seems like too many people on here jump at the chance to lecture everyone else. This is my second lecture about lobstering! And both times, I think I did the right thing. People on here look for the "gotcha." From Lord's post, you can clearly see that we RETURNED some lobsters (which I still think were probably legal, just close). The whole point of the rule is to not keep small lobsters. We didn't keep small lobsters. Obviously, neither one of us is trying to break the rules. So why is it necessary to comment?

All of this is getting real old real quick. I'm not even sure why I'm still debating.

 

[ScubaSarus]

I agree with ClassAction on the class act of double checking. Looks like too many people read posts and don't properly interpret. All he is doing is double checking the lobsters because he knows the consequences. What if they shrink abit after removal from the water lol J/K. Its always good to double check and we also double check them actually while we are standing in the water. Some legal lobsters are borderline when just a mm or 2 over the legal limit and why not get the assurance.