648.89—Recreational and charter/party vessel restrictions.
(a) Recreational gear restrictions.
Persons aboard charter/party vessels permitted under this part and not fishing under the DAS program or under the restrictions and conditions of an approved sector operations plan, as specified in § 648.87(c), and recreational fishing vessels in the EEZ, are prohibited from fishing with more than one line per angler, and must stow all other fishing gear on board the vessel as specified in § 648.23(b).
(b) Recreational minimum fish sizes—
(1) Minimum fish sizes.
Unless further restricted under paragraph (b)(3) of this section, persons aboard charter/party vessels permitted under this part and not fishing under the NE multispecies DAS program or under the restrictions and conditions of an approved sector operations plan, and recreational fishing vessels in or possessing fish from the EEZ, may not possess fish smaller than the minimum fish sizes, measured in total length (TL), as follows:
| Species | Size(inches) |
|---|---|
| Cod | 22 (55.9 cm) |
| Haddock | 18 (45.7 cm) |
| Pollock | 19 (48.3 cm) |
| Witch flounder (gray sole) | 14 (35.6 cm) |
| Yellowtail flounder | 13 (33.0 cm) |
| American plaice (dab) | 14 (35.6 cm) |
| Atlantic halibut | 41 (104.1 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.
(3) GOM cod.
Private recreational vessels and charter party vessels described in paragraph (b)(1) of this section may not possess cod smaller than 24 inches (63.7 cm) in total length when fishing in the GOM Regulated Mesh Area specified under § 648.80(a)(1).
(4)
Fish fillets, or parts of fish, must have at least 2 square inches (5.1 square cm) of skin on while possessed on board a vessel and at the time of landing in order to meet minimum size requirements. The skin must be contiguous and must allow ready identification of the fish species.
(c) Possession restrictions.—
(1) Recreational fishing vessels.
Unless further restricted by the Seasonal GOM Cod Possession Prohibition specified under paragraph (c)(1)(v) of this section, each person on a private recreational vessel may possess no more than 10 cod per day in, or harvested from, the EEZ.
(ii)
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.
(iii)
Cod harvested by recreational fishing vessels in or from the EEZ 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 shall be deemed to have been committed by the owner or operator of the vessel.
(v) Seasonal GOM cod possession prohibition.
Persons aboard private recreational fishing vessels fishing in the GOM Regulated Mesh Area specified in § 648.80(a)(1) may not fish for or possess any cod from November 1 through April 15. Private recreational vessels in possession of cod caught outside the GOM Regulated Mesh Area may transit this area, provided all bait and hooks are removed from fishing rods and any cod on board has been gutted and stored.
(2) Charter/party vessels.
Charter/party vessels fishing any part of a trip in the GOM Regulated Mesh Area, as defined in § 648.80(a)(1), are subject to the following possession limit restrictions:
(i)
Unless further restricted by the Seasonal GOM Cod Possession Prohibition, specified under paragraph (c)(2)(v) of this section, each person on a private recreational vessel may possess no more than 10 cod per day.
(ii)
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.
(iii)
Cod 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)
Seasonal GOM cod possession prohibition. Persons aboard charter/party fishing vessels permitted under this part and not fishing under the NE multispecies DAS program or on a sector trip that are fishing in the GOM Regulated Mesh Area specified in § 648.80(a)(1) may not fish for, possess, or land any cod from November 1 through April 15. Charter/party vessels in possession of cod caught outside the GOM Regulated Mesh area may transit this area, provided all bait and hooks are removed from fishing rods and any cod on board has been gutted and stored.
(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.
(4) Accounting of daily trip limit.
For the purposes of determining the per day trip limit for cod for recreational fishing vessels and party/charter vessels, any trip in excess of 15 hours and covering 2 consecutive calendar days will be considered more than 1 day. Similarly, any trip in excess of 39 hours and covering 3 consecutive calendar days will be considered more than 2 days and, so on, in a similar fashion.
(6) Atlantic wolffish.
Possession of Atlantic wolffish by charter/party vessels permitted under this part and not fishing under the NE multispecies DAS program and recreational fishing vessels fishing in the EEZ is prohibited.
(7) SNE/MA winter flounder.
Private recreational and charter/party vessels fishing in the SNE/MA winter flounder stock area, as defined in § 648.85(b)(6)(v)(F), may not fish for, possess, or land winter flounder. Recreational vessels in possession of winter flounder caught outside of the SNE/MA winter flounder may transit this area, provided all bait and hooks are removed from all fishing rods, and any winter flounder on board has been stored.
(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 recreational fishing vessels fishing in the EEZ.
(e) Charter/party vessel restrictions on fishing in GOM closed areas and the Nantucket Lightship Closed Area—
(1) GOM Closed Areas.
A vessel fishing under charter/party regulations may not fish in the GOM closed areas specified in § 648.81(d)(1) through (f)(1) during the time periods specified in those paragraphs, unless the vessel has on board a letter of authorization issued by the Regional Administrator pursuant to § 648.81(f)(2)(iii) and paragraph (e)(3) of this section. 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 is 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 § 648.81(c)(1) unless the vessel has on board a letter of authorization issued by the Regional Administrator pursuant to § 648.81(c)(2)(iii) and paragraph (e)(3) of this section.
(3) Letters of authorization.
To obtain either of the letters of authorization specified in paragraphs (e)(1) and (2) of this section, a vessel owner must request a letter from the Northeast Regional Office of NMFS, either in writing or by phone (see Table 1 to 50 CFR 600.502 ). 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)
With the exception of tuna, fish harvested or possessed by the vessel may not be sold or intended for trade, barter or sale, regardless of where the regulated species are caught;
(iv)
For the GOM charter/party closed area exemption only, the vessel may not use any NE multispecies DAS during the period of participation.
(f) Recreational fishery AM—
(1) Catch evaluation.
As soon as recreational catch data are available for the entire previous fishing year, the Regional Administrator will evaluate whether recreational catches exceed any of the sub-ACLs specified for the recreational fishery pursuant to § 648.90(a)(4). When evaluating recreational catch, the components of recreational catch that are used shall be the same as those used in the most recent assessment for that particular stock. To determine if the regulated species or ocean pout sub-ACL specified for the recreational fishery was exceeded, the Regional Administrator shall compare the 3-year average of recreational catch to the 3-year average of the recreational sub-ACL for each stock, as follows:
(i)
For fishing year 2010, recreational catch shall be compared to the recreational sub-ACL for that stock for fishing year 2010.
(ii)
For fishing year 2011, the average recreational catch for fishing years 2010 and 2011 shall be compared to the average recreational sub-ACLs for that stock during fishing years 2010 and 2012.
(iii)
Starting in fishing year 2012, the 3-year average recreational catch shall be compared to the 3-year average of the recreational sub-ACLs for that stock.
(2) Measure adjustment.
If it is determined that any recreational sub-ACL was exceeded, as specified in paragraph (f)(1) of this section, the Regional Administrator, after consultation with the New England Fishery Management Council, shall develop measures necessary to prevent the recreational fishery from exceeding the appropriate sub-ACL in future years. Appropriate AMs for the recreational fishery, including adjustments to fishing season, minimum fish size, or possession limits, may be implemented in a manner consistent with the Administrative Procedure Act, with final measures published in the Federal Register no later than January when possible. Separate AMs shall be developed for the private and charter/party components of the recreational fishery.
[69 FR 22984, Apr. 27, 2004, as amended at 71 FR 62196, Oct. 23, 2006; 72 FR 73281, Dec. 27, 2007; 75 FR 18348, Apr. 9, 2010]