[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: 50CFR635.23] [Page 239-241] TITLE 50--WILDLIFE AND FISHERIES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE PART 635--ATLANTIC HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES--Table of Contents Subpart C--Management Measures Sec. 635.23 Retention limits for BFT. The retention limits in this section are subject to the quotas and closure provisions in Secs. 635.27 and 635.28. (a) General category. (1) No person aboard a vessel that has a General category Atlantic Tunas permit may possess, retain, land, or sell a BFT in the school, large school, or small medium size class. (2) On an RFD, no person aboard a vessel that has been issued a General category Atlantic Tunas permit may fish for, possess, retain, land, or sell a BFT of any size class, and tag-and-release fishing for BFT under Sec. 635.26 is not authorized from such vessel. On days other than RFDs, and when the General category is open, one large medium or giant BFT may be caught and landed from such vessel per day. NMFS will annually publish a schedule of RFDs in the Federal Register. (3) Regardless of the length of a trip, no more than a single day's retention limit of large medium or giant BFT may be possessed or retained aboard a vessel that has a General category Atlantic Tunas permit. On days other than RFDs, when the General category is open, no person aboard such vessel may continue to fish, and the vessel must immediately proceed to port once the applicable limit for large medium or giant BFT is retained. (4) To provide for maximum utilization of the quota for BFT, NMFS may increase or decrease the daily retention limit of large medium and giant BFT over a range from zero (on RFDs) to a maximum of three per vessel. Such increase or decrease will be based on a review of dealer reports, daily landing trends, availability of the species on the fishing grounds, and any other relevant factors. NMFS will adjust the daily retention limit specified in paragraph (a)(2) of this section by filing with the Office of the Federal Register for publication notification of the adjustment. Such adjustment will not be effective until at least 3 calendar days after notification is filed with the Office of the Federal Register for publication, except that previously designated RFDs may be waived effective upon closure of the General category fishery so that persons aboard vessels permitted in the General category may conduct tag-and-release fishing for BFT under Sec. 635.26. (b) Angling category. BFT may be retained and landed under the daily limits and quotas applicable to the Angling category by persons aboard vessels permitted in Atlantic tunas Angling category as follows: (1) Large medium and giant BFT. (i) No large medium or giant BFT may be retained, possessed, landed, or sold in the Gulf of Mexico, except one per vessel per year may be landed if caught incidentally to fishing for other species. (ii) One per vessel per year may be retained, possessed, and landed outside the Gulf of Mexico. (iii) When a large medium or giant BFT has been caught and retained under this paragraph (b)(1), no person aboard the vessel may continue to fish, the vessel must immediately proceed to port, and no such BFT may be sold or transferred to any person for a commercial purpose. (2) School, large school, or small medium BFT. One per vessel per day may be retained, possessed, or landed. Regardless of the length of a trip, no more than a single day's allowable catch of school, large school, or small medium BFT may be possessed or retained. [[Page 240]] (3) Changes to retention limits. To provide for maximum utilization of the quota for BFT spread over the longest period of time, NMFS may increase or decrease the retention limit for any size class BFT or change a vessel trip limit to an angler limit and vice versa. Such increase or decrease will be based on a review of daily landing trends, availability of the species on the fishing grounds, and any other relevant factors. NMFS will adjust the daily retention limit specified in paragraph (b)(2) of this section by filing with the Office of the Federal Register for publication notification of the adjustment. Such adjustment will not be effective until at least 3 calendar days after notification is filed with the Office of the Federal Register for publication. (c) HMS or Tunas Charter/Headboat. Persons aboard a vessels permitted in Atlantic HMS or Tunas Charter/Headboat category may retain and land BFT under the daily limits and quotas applicable to the Angling category or the General category as follows: (1) When fishing in the Gulf of Mexico, the restrictions applicable to the Angling category specified in paragraph (b)(1) of this section apply. (2) When fishing other than in the Gulf of Mexico when the fishery for the General category is closed, the restrictions applicable to the Angling category specified in paragraphs (b)(1) through (b)(3) of this section apply. (3) When fishing other than in the Gulf of Mexico and when the fishery under the General category has not been closed under Sec. 635.28, a person aboard a vessel that has an HMS or Atlantic Tunas Charter/Headboat permit may fish under either the retention limits applicable to the General category specified in paragraphs (a)(2) and (a)(3) of this section or the retention limits applicable to the Angling category specified in paragraphs (b)(2) and (b)(3) of this section. The size category of the first BFT retained will determine the fishing category applicable to the vessel that day. (d) Harpoon category. Persons aboard a vessel permitted in the Atlantic Tunas Harpoon category may retain, possess, or land multiple giant BFTs per day. An incidental catch of only one large medium BFT per vessel per day may be retained, possessed, or landed. (e) Purse Seine category. Persons aboard a vessel permitted in the Atlantic Tunas Purse Seine category, (1) May retain, possess, land, or sell large medium BFT in amounts not exceeding 15 percent, by weight, of the giant BFT landed on that trip, provided that the total amount of large medium BFT landed by that vessel during the fishing year does not exceed 10 percent, by weight, of the total amount of giant BFT allocated to that vessel for that fishing year. (2) May retain, possess or land BFT smaller than the large medium size class that are taken incidentally when fishing for skipjack tuna or yellowfin tuna in an amount not exceeding 1 percent, by weight, of the skipjack tuna and yellowfin tuna landed on that trip. Landings of BFT smaller than the large medium size class may not be sold and are counted against the Purse Seine category BFT quota allocated to that vessel. (f) Longline category. Persons aboard a vessel permitted in the Atlantic Tunas Longline category may retain, possess, land, and sell large medium and giant BFT taken incidentally in fishing for other species. Limits on such retention/possession/landing/sale are as follows: (1) For landings south of 34 deg.00[min] N. lat., one large medium or giant BFT per vessel per trip may be landed, provided that, for the months of January through April, at least 1,500 lb (680 kg) and for the months of May through December, at least 3,500 lb (1,588 kg), either dw or round weight, of species other than BFT are legally caught, retained, and offloaded from the same trip and are recorded on the dealer weighout slip as sold. (2) For landings north of 34 deg.00[min] N. lat., landings per vessel per trip of large medium and giant BFT may not exceed 2 percent by weight, either dw or round weight, of all other fish which are legally caught, retained, and offloaded from the same trip and which are recorded on the dealer weighout slip as sold. (g) Trap category. Persons aboard a vessel permitted in the Atlantic Tunas Trap category may retain, possess, [[Page 241]] land, and sell each fishing year only one large medium or giant BFT that is taken incidentally while fishing for other species with a pound net or fish weir. No other Atlantic tunas caught in a pound net or fish weir may be retained. [64 FR 29135, May 28, 1999, as amended at 65 FR 42887, July 12, 2000]