(a) Surf clams and ocean quahogs must be landed in standard cages or industry standard bushels only.

(b) In addition to the tagging information required by the provisions of section 42.13(a)(5) of this Title, the permittee must clearly identify the federally documented name or state registration number of the vessel used in the harvest of the shellfish on a tag affixed to each standard cage or industry standard bushel.

(c) All surfclam cages or industry standard bushel containers, or portion thereof, must be tagged with a cage tag prior to offloading from the vessel except as authorized by the department. Such tag must be firmly attached on or near the upper crossbar of the cage or affixed to an industry standard bushel container. A cage tag is required for every 60 cubic feet of cage volume of a standard cage, or portion thereof, or each container holding an industry standard bushel or portion thereof. Each cage tag shall indicate the state issuing the tag, the year issued, the Federal documentation number or State registration number of the vessel assigned the individual fishing quota (IFQ), and the serialized number assigned to that tag in ascending order. Cage tags shall be affixed to standard cages or containers holding industry standard bushels or portions thereof in ascending order of the serial numbers assigned to the vessel.

(d) The owner of a vessel assigned an individual fishing quota shall be eligible to purchase cage tags from the department or from the department or from a vendor authorized by the department. The number of cage tags will be based on the IFQ assigned to a vessel on an annual basis and the containers used to land surfclams. The holder of an IFQ must complete a declaration annually that specifies whether the surfclams taken from the certified waters of the Atlantic Ocean will be landed in standard cages or industry standard bushel containers. Each cage tag represents either 32 industry standard bushels of surfclam allocation held in standard cages or one industry standard bushel of surfclam allocation, or a portion thereof.

(e) It is unlawful to reuse, alter, sell, offer for sale or transfer any cage tag issued under this section. Once a vessel’s allocation or cumulative equivalent of one IFQ allocation of cage tags is used, that vessel may no longer take surfclams by mechanical means from the New York State certified waters of the Atlantic Ocean. No vessel shall take or attempt to take more than one quota allocation of surfclams on any surfclam/ocean quahog Atlantic Ocean permit or take more than the cumulative equivalent of one quota allocation if identified as the eligible vessel on one or more surfclam/ocean quahog Atlantic Ocean permits when authorized pursuant to section 43-3.5 of this Part, during any calendar year.

(f) Cage tags will expire at the end of the fishing year for which they are issued unless rendered null and void by the department. Loss or theft of tags must be reported by the vessel owner, numerically identifying the tags to the department in writing within 24 hours of such loss or theft. Immediately following written notification to the department, the reported tags shall no longer be valid for use pursuant to this section.

(g) Lost or stolen tags may be replaced by the department or an authorized vendor if proper notice of the loss is provided by the person to whom the tags were issued. Replacement tags may be purchased from the department or authorized vendor to cover the allocation of lost or stolen tags as determined by the department.

(h) It is unlawful to land, offer for sale or sell surfclams taken by mechanical means from New York State certified waters of the Atlantic Ocean in a standard cage or industry standard bushel container which are not properly tagged as described in this section unless authorized by the department. A cage tag or tags must not be removed from any standard cage or industry standard bushel container until the cage or standard bushel container is emptied by the processor, at which time the processor must promptly remove and retain the tag(s) for 60 days beyond the end of the calendar year, unless otherwise directed by the department or State and Federal law enforcement agents.

(i) A vessel owner may apply for a temporary exemption from the cage tagging requirements of this section by submitting a written request to the department. The vessel owner must possess a valid surfclam/ocean quahog Atlantic Ocean permit and provide a copy of the cage tag order form that has been submitted to the department or department’s approved vendor for the current calendar year. Any vessel taking surfclams under this temporary cage tagging exemption shall keep a copy of the department’s written exemption onboard the vessel at all times and made immediately available to a department representative or an enforcement officer upon request.

(j) The captain/operator or owner/lessee of a vessel that has received a temporary exemption to harvest without cage tags shall notify the department prior to commencement of any and all surfclam harvest conducted under an IFQ assigned to an eligible vessel in the Atlantic Ocean surfclam fishery. Such notification must include the following information: identification of the name of the vessel to be fishing, name of captain/operator, date and time harvest will commence, expected time harvest will end, approximate location of fishing area to the nearest landmark or inlet, and identification of dockage and landing location(s). The notification must be made by email, fax or telephone prior to commencement of all surfclam harvesting activities conducted on a daily basis. The captain/operator or owner/lessee must complete and submit a surfclam vessel harvest report immediately following each surfclam harvest trip conducted without cage tags on a daily basis. All surfclam vessel harvest reports must be submitted to the department on the same day as harvest is conducted, on a form provided by the department. The permit holder shall notify the department in writing upon their receipt of cage tags from the authorized cage tag vendor and submit a written request for termination of the temporary cage tagging exemption. The permittee shall be required to surrender cage tags as directed by the department to account for the harvest conducted under the temporary cage tagging exemption based on the quantities of surfclams harvested and reported on the surfclam vessel harvest reports.

(k) It is unlawful to possess any empty standard cages or industry standard bushel containers on any vessel that have a cage tag affixed to such containers as required by this section.