Regulations Question

Got a quick question concerning regulations on cleaning fish while on the water. I know you cant fillet any game fish and discard the carcase while on the water but can you de-gill and gut a fish while activity fishing?

Say i wanted to keep some blues or rockfish and decide to bleed and gut the suckers fresh and pack them in ice while on the water. Is this legal?

[J.A. Veil]

I don't know the official answer. However, as long as the marine police inspector can see what species the fish is and can measure its length, I can't imagine why cutting gills and gutting would be illegal.

I hope someone has a fully legal response for you.

[mmanolis2001]

That's what i figured but i could not find any definite answers to this on the web.

[Rockchaser]

All long as they can messure head to tail I think you can cut the meat off for bait.

[CAGE RATTLER]

I do know you cant have any fillet'ed (sp?) rockfish on your boat but as for gutting, im not sure. I've seen posts on other forums about bleeding out rock & blues right after catching so im assumming thats ok too.

[Southerly]

i think this is the relevant regulation :

http://www.dsd.state.md.us/comar/com...8.02.15.12.htm

but wording aside, i have no idea how law enforcement interprets same. i believe 'landing' refers to bringing it to dock, as in the striped bass shall remain whole until brought to dock. if the opportunity comes where i can ask law enforcement out on the water about throat cutting/bleeding rockfish, i will.

personally, i would refrain from cutting an 18" rock. but then again - i'm a little reluctant to keep an 18-19" for fear that they'll shrink if their muscles tighten up. that's being overly cautious, but i don't want my name posted on the internet for eternity as a poacher of any sort.

otherwise, i'm not so sure there is any restriction on cutting up a bluefish while you're out on the water, although there is a minimum size. any clarifications on this is appreciated.

ps - i thought the provisions of part 'F' were interesting, and new to me