← All sections
.03 Trotlines
Stay 100 feet from other people's gear. Coastal bays: recreational trotlines max 600 feet (1,200 feet per boat with two people). Chesapeake Bay: recreational max 1,200 feet per boat regardless of how many people. Both ends need matching buoys — at least 12" spherical or 12"×10"×10" non-spherical — marked with your DNR ID, name/address, or commercial license number depending on where and how you're crabbing.
A. An individual may not set or fish a trotline within 100 feet of another individual's set trotline, collapsible crab trap, or net ring. B. The length of a trotline shall be measured along the bait line from the first bait to the last bait. C. In the coastal bays of the Atlantic Ocean and their tidal tributaries: (1) An individual may not use or possess on board a vessel a trotline or trotlines with a baited portion more than 600 feet in length to catch or attempt to catch crabs for recreational purposes; or (2) If two or more individuals are on a boat, not more than two trotlines with a baited portion more than 600 feet each may be used or possessed on board a vessel to catch or attempt to catch crabs for recreational purposes. D. In the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries: (1) Trotline gear may only be used to catch or attempt to catch crabs: (a) For commercial purposes by an individual licensed in accordance with Natural Resources Article, §4-701; or (b) For recreational purposes by an individual licensed in accordance with Regulation .09 of this chapter. (2) An individual licensed to catch crabs for recreational purposes may not use or possess on board a vessel a trotline or trotlines with a baited portion more than 1,200 feet in length; and (3) The trotline gear used from the boat may not exceed 1,200 feet in length for the baited portion: (a) Regardless of the number of individuals licensed to catch crabs for recreational purposes on a boat; or (b) If the boat is licensed as a recreational crabbing boat. E. Buoy Requirements. (1) A trotline shall have a three-dimensional buoy of the same color, size, and shape attached to each end. (2) Buoys that have a spherical shape shall be at least 12 inches in diameter. (3) Buoys that do not have a spherical shape shall be at least: (a) 12 inches long; (b) 10 inches wide; and (c) 10 inches high. (4) Buoys shall be marked with the owner's: (a) DNR id number, if recreationally crabbing in the Chesapeake Bay or its tidal tributaries; (b) Name and address, if recreationally crabbing in the Atlantic Ocean, its coastal bays, or their tidal tributaries; or (c) Commercial license number.