[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: 50CFR648.89] [Page 406-407] TITLE 50--WILDLIFE AND FISHERIES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE PART 648--FISHERIES OF THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES--Table of Contents Subpart F--Management Measures for the NE Multispecies and Monkfish Fisheries Sec. 648.89 Recreational and charter/party restrictions. (a) Recreational gear restrictions. Persons aboard charter or party vessels permitted under this part and not fishing under the DAS program, and recreational fishing vessels in the EEZ, are prohibited from fishing with more than two hooks per line and one line per angler and must stow all other fishing gear on board the vessel as specified under Sec. 648.23(b). (b) Recreational minimum fish sizes-- (1) Minimum fish sizes. Persons aboard charter or party vessels permitted under this part and not fishing under the NE multispecies DAS program, and private recreational fishing vessels in the EEZ, may not retain fish smaller than the minimum fish sizes, measured in total length (TL) as follows: Minimum Fish Sizes (TL) for Charter, Party, and Private Recreational Vessels ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Species Sizes (inches) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Cod.................................................... 23 (58.4 cm) Haddock................................................ 23 (58.4 cm) Pollock................................................ 19 (48.3 cm) Witch flounder (gray sole)............................. 14 (35.6 cm) Yellowtail flounder.................................... 13 (33.0 cm) Atlantic halibut....................................... 36 (91.4 cm) American plaice (dab).................................. 14 (35.6 cm) Winter flounder (blackback)............................ 12 (30.5 cm) Redfish................................................ 9 (22.9 cm) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ (2) Exception. Vessels may possess fillets less than the minimum size specified, if the fillets are taken from legal-sized fish and are not offered or intended for sale, trade or barter. (c) Cod and haddock possession restrictions--(1) Private recreational vessels. (i) Each person on a private recreational vessel may possess per trip no more than 10 cod and/or haddock, combined, in, or harvested from the EEZ, unless further restricted under paragraph (c)(1)(ii) of this section. (ii) During the period December 1 through March 31, each person on a private recreational vessel fishing any part of a trip in the GOM Regulated Mesh Area as defined in Sec. 648.80(a)(1), may possess no more than 10 cod and/or haddock combined, no more than 5 of which may be cod, in, or harvested from the EEZ. (iii) For purposes of counting fish, fillets will be converted to whole fish at the place of landing by dividing the number of fillets by two. If fish are filleted into a single (butterfly) fillet, such fillet shall be deemed to be from one whole fish. (iv) Cod and haddock harvested by private recreational vessels with more than one person aboard may be pooled in one or more containers. Compliance with the possession limit will be determined by dividing the number of fish on board by the number of persons on board. If there is a violation of the possession limit on board a vessel carrying more than one person, the violation [[Page 407]] shall be deemed to have been committed by the owner or operator of the vessel. (v) Cod and haddock must be stored so as to be readily available for inspection. (2) Charter/party vessels. Charter/party vessels fishing any part of a trip in the GOM Regulated Mesh Area as defined in Sec. 648.80(a)(1), are subject to the following possession limit restrictions: (i) During the period April 1 through November 30, each person on the vessel may possess no more than 10 cod and/or haddock combined. (ii) During the period December 1 through March 31, each person on the vessel may possess no more than 10 cod and/or haddock combined, no more than 5 of which may be cod. (iii) For purposes of counting fish, fillets will be converted to whole fish at the place of landing by dividing the number of fillets by two. If fish are filleted into a single (butterfly) fillet, such fillet shall be deemed to be from one whole fish. (iv) Cod and haddock harvested by charter/party vessels with more than one person aboard may be pooled in one or more containers. Compliance with the possession limits will be determined by dividing the number of fish on board by the number of persons on board. If there is a violation of the possession limits on board a vessel carrying more than one person, the violation shall be deemed to have been committed by the owner or operator of the vessel. (v) Cod and haddock must be stored so as to be readily available for inspection. (3) Atlantic halibut. Charter and party vessels permitted under this part, and recreational fishing vessels fishing in the EEZ, may not possess, on board, more than one Atlantic halibut. (d) Restrictions on sale. It is unlawful to sell, barter, trade, or otherwise transfer for a commercial purpose, or to attempt to sell, barter, trade, or otherwise transfer for a commercial purpose, NE multispecies caught or landed by charter or party vessels permitted under this part not fishing under a DAS or a recreational fishing vessels fishing in the EEZ. (e) Charter/party vessel restrictions on fishing in Gulf of Maine closed areas and the Nantucket Lightship Closed Area. (1) Gulf of Maine Closed Areas. A vessel fishing under charter/party regulations may not fish in the Gulf of Maine closed areas specified in Sec. 648.81(g)(1) through (i)(1), during the time periods specified in those sections, unless the vessel has on board a letter of authorization issued by the Regional Administrator pursuant to Secs. 648.81(g)(2)(iii) and 648.89(e)(3). The letter of authorization is required for a minimum of 3 months if the vessel intends to fish in the seasonal GOM closure areas, or required for the rest of the fishing year, beginning with the start of the participation period of the letter of authorization, if the vessel intends to fish in the year-round GOM closure areas. (2) Nantucket Lightship Closed Area. A vessel fishing under charter/ party regulations may not fish in the Nantucket Lightship Closed Area specified in Sec. 648.81(c)(1) unless the vessel has on board a letter of authorization issued by the Regional Administrator pursuant to Secs. 648.81(c)(2)(iii) and 648.89(e)(3). (3) Letters of Authorization. To obtain either of the letters of authorization specified in Sec. 648.89(e)(1) and (e)(2), a vessel owner must request a letter from the Northeast Regional Office of NMFS, either in writing or by phone (see Table 1 to Sec. 600.502 of this chapter). As a condition of these letters of authorization, the vessel owner must agree to the following: (i) The letter of authorization must be carried on board the vessel during the period of participation; (ii) Fish harvested or possessed by the vessel may not be sold or intended for trade, barter or sale, regardless of where the fish are caught; (iii) The vessel has no gear other than rod and reel or handline gear on board; and (iv) For the Gulf of Maine charter/party closed area exemption only, the vessel may not use any multispecies DAS during the period of participation. [61 FR 34968, July 3, 1996, as amended at 64 FR 55827, Oct. 15, 1999; 65 FR 21666, Apr. 24, 2000; 65 FR 30549, May 12, 2000; 65 FR 37917, June 19, 2000; 67 FR 50322, Aug. 1, 2002] [[Page 408]]