[Code of Federal Regulations] [Title 50, Volume 4] [Revised as of October 1, 2002] From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access [CITE: 50CFR635.20] [Page 234-235] TITLE 50--WILDLIFE AND FISHERIES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE PART 635--ATLANTIC HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES--Table of Contents Subpart C--Management Measures Sec. 635.20 Size limits. (a) General. The CFL will be the sole criterion for determining the size and/or size class of whole (head on) Atlantic tunas. (b) BFT size classes. The size class of a BFT found with the head removed shall be determined using pectoral fin curved fork length (PFCFL) multiplied by a conversion factor of 1.35. The CFL, as determined by conversion of the PFCFL, will be the sole criterion for determining the size class of a beheaded BFT. The conversion factor may be adjusted after consideration of additional scientific information and fish measurement data, and will be made effective by filing with the Office of the Federal Register for publication notification of the adjustment. (c) BFT, bigeye tuna, and yellowfin tuna. (1) No person shall take, retain, or possess a BFT, bigeye tuna, or yellowfin tuna in the Atlantic Ocean that is less than 27 inches (69 cm) CFL; (2) Applying the conversion factor from PFCFL to CFL for a beheaded BFT in Sec. 635.20(b) means that no person shall retain or possess a BFT, with the head removed, that is less than 20 inches (51 cm) PFCFL. (3) No person shall remove the head of a bigeye tuna or yellowfin tuna if the remaining portion would be less than 27 inches (69 cm) from the fork of the tail to the forward edge of the cut. (d) Billfish. (1) No person shall take, retain or possess a blue marlin taken from its management unit that is less than 99 inches (251 cm), LJFL. (2) No person shall take, retain or possess a white marlin taken from its management unit that is less than 66 inches (168 cm), LJFL. (3) No person shall take, retain or possess shoreward of the outer boundary of the EEZ a sailfish taken from its management unit that is less than 63 inches (160 cm), LJFL. (e) Sharks. (1) No person shall take, retain, or possess in the Atlantic EEZ any species classified as a ridgeback LCS shark, taken from its management unit that is less than 54 inches (137 cm), fork length, or, if the head and fins have been removed, 30 inches (76 cm) as a straight line from the first dorsal fin ray to the precaudal pit. If the precaudal pit has been removed, such measurement will be to the posterior edge of the carcass. For the purposes of enforcing the minimum size, it [[Page 235]] is a rebuttable presumption that any ridgeback shark from which the head and fins have been removed is a ridgeback LCS shark. (2) All sharks landed under the recreational retention limits specified at Sec. 635.22(c) must have the head, tail, and fins attached and be at least 54 inches (137 cm), FL, except that the minimum size limit does not apply for Atlantic sharpnose sharks. (f) Swordfish. (1) No person shall take, retain, or possess a north or south Atlantic swordfish taken from its management unit that is less than 29 inches (73 cm), CK, 47 inches (119 cm), LJFL, or 33 lb (15 kg) dressed weight. A swordfish that is damaged by shark bites may be retained only if the remainder of the carcass is at least 29 inches (73 cm) CK, 47 inches (119 cm), LJFL, or 33 lb (15 kg) dw. No person shall import into the United States an Atlantic swordfish weighing less than 33 lb (15 kg) dressed weight, or a part derived from a swordfish that weighs less than 33 lb (15 kg) dressed weight. (2) Except for a swordfish landed in a Pacific state and remaining in the state of landing, a swordfish, or part thereof, weighing less than 33 lb (15 kg) dressed weight will be deemed to be an Atlantic swordfish harvested by a vessel of the United States and to be in violation of the minimum size requirement of this section unless such swordfish, or part thereof, is accompanied by a certificate of eligibility attesting that the swordfish was lawfully imported. Refer to Sec. 635.46(b) for the requirements related to the certificate of eligibility. (3) A swordfish, or part thereof, will be monitored for compliance with the minimum size requirement of this section from the time it is landed in, or imported into, the United States up to, and including, the point of first transaction in the United States. [64 FR 29135, May 28, 1999, as amended at 64 FR 37704, July 13, 1999; 66 FR 42804, Aug. 15, 2001] Effective Date Note: At 66 FR 67121, Dec. 28, 2001, in Sec. 635.20, paragraph (e)(1) was suspended, effective Jan. 1, 2002 through July 1, 2002. At 67 FR 37354, May 29, 2002, the effective date was extended to Dec. 30, 2002.