When you catch a lobster in New Hampshire, it must be at least 3¼ inches in length from its eye socket to the end of its body shell to keep. (Joe Raedle | Getty Images)
The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department is holding a public hearing next month on proposed rules that would set a new legal length for lobsters and allow for the harvesting of river herring.
The hearing will be held at 6 p.m. on Dec. 9 at the Urban Forestry Center (45 Elwyn Road) in Portsmouth. The public can provide comments at the hearing or send them through email to comments@wildlife.nh.gov until Dec. 16. The proposal can be viewed online.
When you catch a lobster in New Hampshire, it must be at least 3¼ inches in length from its eye socket to the end of its body shell to keep. The proposal would increase the minimum length by one-sixteenth of an inch starting July 1, 2025, which is “pursuant to federal regulations,” according to Fish and Game.
The other change would open the season for river herring, populations of fish that the department has been working to restore. If approved, the regulations would allow for these fish to be harvested, except between sunrise on Wednesdays and sunrise on Thursdays. Any river herring caught or trapped within those 24 hours would have to be immediately released.
Under the rules, river herring harvesting would be prohibited in the Cocheco River, which stretches for about 35 miles near the Maine border.