New regulations for fishing on the Outer Cape have gone into effect.
The regulation applies to those who fish from Race Point off Provincetown to Chatham, and those who fish in Maine.
It calls for breeding females to be marked with a V-shaped notch and return them to the sea.
The aim is to promote and maintain local populations.
Females with a 1/8th inch notch could be taken, but that has been changed to a quarter-inch.
This makes state rules the same as federal regulations, although local lobstermen with a state permit have had an exemption since 2000.
The full regulations are available through Mass dot gov.
(Photo by ENRIQUE ORTIZ/AFP via Getty Images)
Photo: ENRIQUE ORTIZ / AFP / Getty Images