Title 50—Wildlife and Fisheries--Volume 1
PART 648—FISHERIES OF THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES
§ 648.14   Prohibitions.
(a) General prohibitions. It is unlawful for any person to do any of the following:
(1) Violate any provision of this part, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, or any regulation, notice, or permit issued under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, or any other statute administered by NOAA.
(2) Assist, aid, or abet in the commission of any act prohibited by the Magnuson-Stevens Act; or any regulation, notice, or permit issued under the Magnuson-Stevens Act; or any other statute administered by NOAA.
(3) Fail to report to the Regional Administrator within 15 days any change in the information contained in any permit or permit application.
(4) Falsify or fail to affix and maintain vessel markings as required by § 648.8.
(5) Make any false statement or provide any false information on, or in connection with, an application, declaration, record or report under this part.
(6) Fail to comply in an accurate and timely fashion with the log report, reporting, record retention, inspection, or other requirements of § 648.7, or submit or maintain false information in records and reports required to be kept or filed under § 648.7.
(7) Possess, import, export, transfer, land, or have custody or control of any species of fish regulated pursuant to this part that do not meet the minimum size provisions in this part, unless such species were harvested exclusively within state waters by a vessel that does not hold a valid permit under this part, or are species included in the NE Multispecies Fishery Management Plan that were either harvested by a vessel participating in the maximized retention electronic monitoring program consistent with § 648.11(l)(10)(i)(E) or harvested by a vessel issued a valid High Seas Fishing Compliance permit that fished exclusively in the NAFO Regulatory Area.
(8) Fail to comply with any sea turtle conservation measure specified in 50 CFR parts 222 and 223, including any sea turtle conservation measure implemented by notification in the Federal Register.
(9) Violate any provision of an in-season action to adjust trip limits, gear usage, season, area access and/or closure, or any other measure authorized by this part.
(10)(i) Purchase, receive for a commercial purpose other than transport to a testing facility, or process; or attempt to purchase, receive for commercial purpose other than transport to a testing facility; or process, outside Maine, ocean quahogs harvested in or from the EEZ within the Maine mahogany quahog zone, except at a facility participating in an overall food safety program, operated by the official state agency having jurisdiction, that utilizes food safety-based procedures including sampling and analyzing for PSP toxin consistent with procedures used by the State of Maine for such purpose.
(ii) Land ocean quahogs outside Maine that are harvested in or from the EEZ within the Maine mahogany quahog zone, except at a facility participating in an overall food safety program, operated by the official state agency having jurisdiction, that utilizes food safety-based procedures including sampling and analyzing for PSP toxin consistent with procedures used by the State of Maine for such purpose.
(iii)—(iv) [Reserved]
(v) Fish for, harvest, catch, possess, or attempt to fish for, harvest, catch, or possess Atlantic surfclams and ocean quahogs from the reopened portion of the Georges Bank Closed Area, as defined in § 648.76(a)(4), unless issued a Letter of Authorization, and fishing under the appropriate VMS declaration and under the terms and conditions of the PSP testing protocol, as specified in § 648.76(a)(4)(i).
(b) Vessel and operator permits. It is unlawful for any person to do any of the following:
(1) Fish for, take, catch, harvest or land any species of fish regulated by this part in or from the EEZ, unless the vessel has a valid and appropriate permit issued under this part and the permit is on board the vessel and has not been surrendered, revoked, or suspended.
(2) Alter, erase, or mutilate any permit issued under this part or any document submitted in support of an application for any such permit.
(3) Operate or act as operator of a vessel that fishes for or possesses any species of fish regulated by this part, or that is issued a vessel permit pursuant to this part, without having been issued and possessing a valid operator's permit.
(4) Fish for, possess, or land species regulated under this part with or from a vessel that is issued a limited access or moratorium permit under § 648.4(a) and that has had the horsepower or length overall of such vessel or its replacement upgraded or increased in excess of the limitations specified in § 648.4(a)(1)(i)(E) and (F).
(5) Fish for, take, catch, harvest or land any species of fish regulated by this part for which the vessel is eligible to possess under a limited access or moratorium permit prior to the time the vessel has been reissued the applicable limited access or moratorium permit by NMFS.
(6) Attempt to replace a limited access or moratorium fishing vessel, as specified at § 648.4(a)(1)(i)(E), more than once during a permit year, unless the vessel has been rendered permanently inoperable.
(7) Purchase, possess, or receive from a vessel for a commercial purpose, other than solely for transport on land, any species of fish for which a vessel permit is required under this part, unless the vessel possesses a valid vessel permit issued under this part.
(8) Transfer, remove, or offload, for a commercial purpose; or attempt to transfer, remove, land, or offload, for a commercial purpose; at sea, any species regulated under this part, unless the transferring vessel has been issued and carries on board a valid LOA from the Regional Administrator, or is otherwise exempted, and the receiving vessel has been issued and has on board a valid Federal permit for the species that is being transferred.
(9) Fish for, possess, or retain fish, during a fishing trip, aboard a Federally permitted vessel that, in the absence of an emergency, has not been operating under its own power for the entire trip.
(10) Fish with bottom-tending gear within the Frank R. Lautenberg Deep-sea Coral Protection Area described at § 648.372, unless transiting pursuant to § 648.372(d), fishing lobster trap gear in accordance with § 697.21 of this chapter, or fishing red crab trap gear in accordance with § 648.264. Bottom-tending gear includes but is not limited to bottom-tending otter trawls, bottom-tending beam trawls, hydraulic dredges, non-hydraulic dredges, bottom-tending seines, bottom longlines, pots and traps, and sink or anchored gill nets.
(11) If fishing with bottom-tending mobile gear, fish in, enter, be on a fishing vessel in, the EFH closure areas described in § 648.371, unless otherwise exempted.
(12) Unless otherwise exempted, fish in the Dedicated Habitat Research Areas defined in § 648.371.
(13) Fish with bottom-tending gear within the Georges Bank Deep-Sea Coral Protection Area described at § 648.373(a)(2), unless transiting pursuant to § 648.373(d) or fishing red crab trap gear in accordance with § 648.264. Bottom-tending gear includes, but is not limited to, bottom-tending otter trawls, bottom-tending beam trawls, hydraulic dredges, non-hydraulic dredges, bottom-tending seines, bottom longlines, pots and traps, and sink or anchored gill nets.
(14) Fish with bottom-tending mobile gear within the Mount Desert Rock Coral Protection Area described at § 648.373(b), unless transiting pursuant to § 648.373(d). Bottom-tending mobile gear includes, but is not limited, to otter trawls, beam trawls, hydraulic dredges, non-hydraulic dredges, and seines (with the exception of a purse seine).
(15) Fish with bottom-tending mobile gear within the Outer Schoodic Ridge Coral Protection Area described at § 648.373(c), unless transiting pursuant to § 648.373(d). Bottom-tending mobile gear includes, but is not limited to, otter trawls, beam trawls, hydraulic dredges, non-hydraulic dredges, and seines (with the exception of a purse seine).
(c) Dealer permits. It is unlawful for any person to do any of the following:
(1) Purchase, possess or receive for a commercial purpose; or attempt to purchase, possess or receive for a commercial purpose; other than solely for transport on land, any species regulated under this part unless in possession of a valid dealer permit issued under this part, except that this prohibition does not apply to species that are purchased or received from a vessel not issued a permit under this part that fished exclusively in state waters, or pursuant to the § 648.17 NAFO Regulatory Area exemptions.
(2) Sell, barter, trade, or transfer; or attempt to sell, barter, trade, or transfer; other than solely for transport on land, any Atlantic herring, multispecies, or monkfish from a vessel that fished for such species in the EEZ, unless the dealer or transferee has a valid dealer permit issued under § 648.6. A person who purchases and/or receives Atlantic herring at sea for his own personal use as bait, and does not have purse seine, mid-water trawl, pelagic gillnet, sink gillnet, or bottom trawl gear on board, is exempt from the requirement to possess an Atlantic herring dealer permit.
(d) VMS. It is unlawful for any person to do any of the following:
(1) Tamper with, damage, destroy, alter, or in any way distort, render useless, inoperative, ineffective, or inaccurate the VMS, VMS unit, or VMS signal required to be installed on or transmitted by vessel owners or operators required to use a VMS by this part.
(2) Fail to submit the appropriate VMS activity code for the intended activity at the appropriate time, in accordance with § 648.10.
(3) Fail to comply with the appropriate VMS reporting requirements, as specified in § 648.10.
(e) Observer program. It is unlawful for any person to do any of the following:
(1) Assault, resist, oppose, impede, harass, intimidate, or interfere with or bar by command, impediment, threat, or coercion any observer or monitor conducting his or her duties; any electronic monitoring provider staff who collects data required under this part; any authorized officer conducting any search, inspection, investigation, or seizure in connection with enforcement of this part; any official designee of the Regional Administrator conducting his or her duties, including those duties authorized in §§ 648.7(g) and 648.11(l)(10)(v).
(2) Refuse monitoring coverage by an observer or monitor if selected for monitoring coverage by the Regional Administrator or the Regional Administrator's designee.
(3) Fail to provide information, notification, accommodations, access, or reasonable assistance to an observer, monitor, or electronic monitoring provider staff conducting his or her duties as specified in § 648.11.
(4) Submit false or inaccurate data, statements, or reports.
(f) Research and experimental fishing. It is unlawful for any person to violate any terms of a letter authorizing experimental fishing pursuant to § 648.12 or fail to keep such letter on board the vessel during the period of the experiment.
(g) Squid, mackerel, and butterfish —(1) All persons. Unless participating in a research activity as described in § 648.22(g), it is unlawful for any person to do any of the following:
(i) Possession and landing. Take and retain, possess, or land more Atlantic chub mackerel, Atlantic mackerel, Illex squid, longfin squid, or butterfish than specified under, or after the effective date of, a notification issued under §§ 648.22 or 648.24(d).
(ii) Recreational possession. Take and retain, possess, or land Atlantic mackerel in excess of the recreational limits contained in § 648.26(a)(3).
(iii) Transfer and purchase. (A) Purchase or otherwise receive for a commercial purpose; other than solely for transport on land; Atlantic chub mackerel, Atlantic mackerel, Illex squid, longfin squid, or butterfish caught by a vessel that has not been issued a Federal Atlantic mackerel, Illex squid, longfin squid, or butterfish vessel permit, unless the vessel fishes exclusively in state waters.
(B) Transfer longfin squid, Illex squid, or butterfish within the EEZ, unless the vessels participating in the transfer have been issued the appropriate LOA from the Regional Administrator along with a valid longfin squid, butterfish, or Illex squid moratorium permit and are transferring species for which the vessels are permitted, or a valid squid/butterfish incidental catch permit.
(2) Vessel and operator permit holders. Unless participating in a research activity as described in § 648.22(g), it is unlawful for any person owning or operating a vessel issued a valid Atlantic mackerel, Illex squid, longfin squid, or butterfish fishery permit, or issued an operator's permit, to do any of the following:
(i) General requirement. Fail to comply with any measures implemented pursuant to subpart B of this part.
(ii) Possession and landing. (A) Possess more than the incidental catch allowance of longfin squid, unless issued a longfin squid moratorium permit.
(B) Possess more than the incidental catch allowance of Illex squid, unless issued an Illex squid moratorium permit.
(C) Possess more than the incidental catch allowance of Atlantic mackerel, unless issued a limited access Atlantic mackerel permit.
(D) Take and retain, possess, or land Atlantic chub mackerel, Atlantic mackerel, squid, or butterfish in excess of a possession limit specified in § 648.26.
(E) Possess more than 5,000 lb (2.27 mt) of butterfish, unless the vessel meets the minimum mesh requirements specified in § 648.23(a).
(F) Take and retain, possess, or land more than 5,000 lb (2.27 mt) of Atlantic mackerel after a closure of the entire commercial fishery, as specified under § 648.24(b)(1).
(G) Fish for, possess, transfer, receive, or sell; or attempt to fish for, possess, transfer, receive, or sell; more than 20,000 lb (9.08 mt) of Atlantic mackerel per trip; or land, or attempt to land more than 20,000 lb (9.08 mt) of Atlantic mackerel per day after 95 percent of the river herring and shad cap has been harvested, if the vessel holds a valid Atlantic mackerel permit.
(H) Possess more than the incidental catch allowance of butterfish, unless issued a butterfish moratorium permit.
(iii) Gear and vessel requirements. (A) Fish with or possess nets or netting that do not meet the gear requirements for Atlantic mackerel, longfin squid, Illex squid, or butterfish specified in § 648.23(a); or that are modified, obstructed, or constricted, if subject to the minimum mesh requirements, unless the nets or netting are stowed and not available for immediate use as defined in § 648.2 or the vessel is fishing under an exemption specified in § 648.23(a)(5).
(B) Fish for, retain, or possess Atlantic mackerel in or from the EEZ with a vessel that exceeds either 165 ft (50.3 m) in length overall and 750 GRT, or a shaft horsepower (shp) of 3,000 shp, except for the retention and possession of Atlantic mackerel for processing by a vessel holding a valid at-sea processor permit pursuant to § 648.6(a)(2). It shall be presumed that the Atlantic mackerel on board were harvested in or from the EEZ, unless the preponderance of reliable evidence available indicates otherwise.
(C) Enter or fish in the mackerel, squid, and butterfish bottom trawling restricted areas, as described in § 648.23(a)(6).
(D) If fishing with midwater trawl or purse seine gear, fail to comply with the requirements of § 648.80(d) and (e).
(iv) Observer requirements for longfin squid fishery. Fail to comply with any of the provisions specified in § 648.11.
(v) VMS reporting requirements in the directed Atlantic mackerel, longfin squid, and Illex squid fisheries. (A) Fail to declare via VMS into the directed Atlantic mackerel, longfin squid, or Illex squid fisheries by entering the fishery code prior to leaving port at the start of each trip if the vessel will harvest, possess, or land more than an incidental catch of Atlantic mackerel, longfin squid, or Illex squid and is issued a limited access Atlantic mackerel permit, Tier 1 or Tier 2 longfin squid moratorium permit, or Illex squid moratorium permit.
(B) Fail to notify NMFS Office of Law Enforcement through VMS of the time and place of offloading at least 6 hr prior to arrival, or, if fishing ends less than 6 hours before arrival, immediately upon leaving the fishing grounds, if a vessel has been issued a Limited Access Atlantic mackerel permit, pursuant to § 648.10.
(vi) Slip catch, as defined at § 648.2, unless for one of the reasons specified at § 648.11(n)(3)(i) if issued a limited access Atlantic mackerel permit, or a longfin squid or a butterfish moratorium permit.
(vii) For vessels with a limited access Atlantic mackerel permits, fail to move 15 nm (27.8 km), as required by § 648.11(n)(3)(iii).
(viii) For vessels with a limited access Atlantic mackerel permit, fail to immediately return to port as required by § 648.11(n)(3)(iv).
(ix) Fail to complete, sign, and submit a Released Catch Affidavit if fish are released pursuant to the requirements at § 648.11(n)(3)(ii).
(x) Fail to report or fail to accurately report a slippage event on the VMS mackerel and longfin squid daily catch report, as required by § 648.11(n)(3)(ii).
(3) Charter/party restrictions. Unless participating in a research activity as described in § 648.22(g), it is unlawful for the owner and operator of a party or charter boat issued an Atlantic mackerel, Illex squid, longfin squid, or butterfish fishery permit (including a moratorium permit), when the boat is carrying passengers for hire, to do any of the following:
(i) Violate any recreational fishing measures established pursuant to § 648.22(d).
(ii) Sell or transfer Atlantic chub mackerel, Atlantic mackerel, Illex squid, longfin squid, or butterfish to another person for a commercial purpose.
(iii) Carry passengers for hire while fishing commercially under an Atlantic mackerel, Illex squid, longfin squid, or butterfish fishery permit.
(4) Presumption. For purposes of this part, the following presumption applies: All Atlantic chub mackerel, Atlantic mackerel, Illex squid, longfin squid, or butterfish possessed on a vessel issued any permit under § 648.4 are deemed to have been harvested from the EEZ, unless the preponderance of all submitted evidence demonstrates that such species were purchased for bait or harvested by a vessel fishing exclusively in state waters or, for Atlantic chub mackerel, outside of the Atlantic Chub Mackerel Management Unit.
(h) Atlantic salmon. Unless participating in a research activity as described in § 648.22(g), it is unlawful for any person to do any of the following:
(1) Possession and landing. (i) Use any vessel of the United States for taking, catching, harvesting, fishing for, or landing any Atlantic salmon taken from or in the EEZ. It shall be presumed that the Atlantic salmon on board were harvested in or from the EEZ, unless the preponderance of reliable evidence available indicates otherwise.
(ii) Transfer, directly or indirectly; or attempt to transfer, directly or indirectly; to any vessel any Atlantic salmon taken in or from the EEZ.
(2) [Reserved]
(i) Atlantic sea scallops —(1) All persons. It is unlawful for any person to do any of the following:
(i) Permit requirement. Fish for, possess, or land scallops without the vessel having been issued and carrying onboard a valid Federal scallop permit in accordance with § 648.4(a)(2), unless the scallops were harvested by a vessel that has not been issued a Federal scallop permit and fishes for scallops exclusively in state waters.
(ii) Gear and crew requirements. Have a shucking or sorting machine on board a vessel while in possession of more than 600 lb (272.2 kg) of shucked scallops, unless that vessel has not been issued a Federal scallop permit and fishes exclusively in state waters.
(iii) Possession and landing. Fish for, land, or possess on board a vessel per trip, or possess at any time prior to a transfer to another person for a commercial purpose, other than solely for transport on land in excess of any of the possession and/or landing limits described in §§ 648.52 and 648.59.
(iv) Transfer and purchase. (A) Land, offload, remove, or otherwise transfer; or attempt to land, offload, remove or otherwise transfer; scallops from one vessel to another, unless that vessel has not been issued a Federal scallop permit and fishes exclusively in state waters.
(B) Sell, barter, or trade, or otherwise transfer scallops from a vessel; or attempt to sell, barter or trade, or otherwise transfer scallops from a vessel; for a commercial purpose, unless the vessel has been issued a valid Federal scallop permit pursuant to § 648.4(a)(2), or the scallops were harvested by a vessel that has not been issued a Federal scallop permit and fishes for scallops exclusively in state waters.
(C) Purchase, possess, or receive for commercial purposes; or attempt to purchase or receive for commercial purposes; scallops from a vessel other than one issued a valid limited access or LAGC scallop permit, unless the scallops were harvested by a vessel that has not been issued a Federal scallop permit and fishes for scallops exclusively in state waters.
(D) Sell or transfer to another person for a commercial purpose, other than solely for transport on land, any scallops harvested from the EEZ by a vessel issued a Federal scallop permit, unless the transferee has a valid scallop dealer permit.
(v) Ownership cap. Have an ownership interest in more than 5 percent of the total number of vessels issued limited access scallop permits and confirmations of permit history, except as provided in § 648.4(a)(2)(i)(M).
(vi) Closed area requirements —(A) Habitat Management Areas. ( 1 ) Fish for scallops in, or possess or land scallops from, the Habitat Management Areas specified in § 648.370.
( 2 ) Transit or enter the Habitat Management Areas specified in § 648.370, except as provided by § 648.370(i).
(B) Scallop Rotational Areas. ( 1 ) Fish for, possess, or land scallops in or from a Scallop Rotational Area unless it is participating in and complies with the requirements of the Scallop Access Area program defined in § 648.59(b) through (g).
( 2 ) Enter or transit Scallop Rotational Areas on a declared federal scallop trip, as described in § 648.59(a)(1), unless the Scallop Rotational Area has been defined as “available for continuous transit” as provided by § 648.59(a)(2) and the vessel's fishing gear is stowed and not available for immediate use as defined in § 648.2.
( 3 ) Enter a Scallop Rotational Area defined as “available for continuous transit”, as provided by § 648.59(a)(2), on a declared Federal scallop trip and not continuously transit through the area, unless it is participating in and complies with the Scallop Access Area Program Requirements.
(C) Western Gulf of Maine Closure Area.
( 1 ) Enter or transit the Western Gulf of Maine Closure Area, as defined in § 648.81(a)(4) on a declared federal scallop trip.
(vii) Scallop sectors. Fail to comply with any of the requirements or restrictions for general category scallop sectors specified in § 648.63.
(viii) Scallop research. (A) Fail to comply with any of the provisions specified in § 648.56 or the conditions of a letter of authorization issued under § 648.56.
(B) Fish for scallops in, or possess or land scallops from the NGOM, unless allocated NGOM RSA allocation as described in § 648.56(d) and fishing on a scallop research set aside compensation trip.
(ix) Observer program. (A) Refuse, or fail, to carry onboard an observer after being requested to by the Regional Administrator or the Regional Administrator's designee.
(B) Fail to provide information, notification, accommodations, access, or reasonable assistance to an observer conducting his or her duties aboard a vessel, as specified in § 648.11.
(C) Fail to comply with the notification, observer services procurement, and observer services payment requirements of the sea scallop observer program specified in § 648.11(k).
(x) Presumption. For purposes of this section, the following presumption applies: Scallops that are possessed or landed at or prior to the time when the scallops are received by a dealer, or scallops that are possessed by a dealer, are deemed to be harvested from the EEZ, unless the preponderance of evidence demonstrates that such scallops were harvested by a vessel fishing exclusively for scallops in state waters.
(2) Limited access scallop vessel permit holders. It is unlawful for any person owning or operating a vessel issued a limited access scallop permit under § 648.4(a)(2) to do any of the following:
(i) Minimum shell height. Land, or possess at or after landing, in-shell scallops smaller than the minimum shell height specified in § 648.50(a).
(ii) Vessel, gear, and crew restrictions. (A) Possess more than 40 lb (18.1 kg) of shucked, or 333 lb (151 kg) of in-shell scallops, or participate in the scallop DAS or Area Access programs, while in the possession of trawl nets that have a maximum sweep exceeding 144 ft (43.9 m), as measured by the total length of the footrope that is directly attached to the webbing of the net, except as specified in § 648.51(a)(1), unless the vessel is fishing under the Northeast multispecies or monkfish DAS program.
(B) While under or subject to the DAS allocation program, in possession of more than 40 lb (18.1 kg) of shucked scallops or 333 lb (151 kg) of in-shell scallops, or fishing for scallops in the EEZ:
( 1 ) Fish with, or have available for immediate use, trawl nets of mesh smaller than the minimum size specified in § 648.51(a)(2).
( 2 ) Fail to comply with any chafing gear or other gear obstruction restrictions specified in § 648.51(a)(3).
( 3 ) Fail to comply with the turtle deflector dredge vessel gear restrictions specified in § 648.51(b)(5), and turtle dredge chain mat requirements in § 223.206(d)(11) of this title.
( 4 ) Fish under the small dredge program specified in § 648.51(e), with, or while in possession of, a dredge that exceeds 10.5 ft (3.2 m) in overall width, as measured at the widest point in the bail of the dredge.
( 5 ) Fish under the small dredge program specified in § 648.51(e) with more persons on board the vessel, including the operator, than specified in § 648.51(e)(3), unless otherwise authorized by the Regional Administrator.
( 6 ) Participate in the DAS allocation program with more persons on board the vessel than the number specified in § 648.51(c), including the operator, when the vessel is not docked or moored in port, unless otherwise authorized by the Regional Administrator.
( 7 ) Fish in a Sea Scallop Access Area, as described in § 648.60, with more persons on board the vessel than the number specified in § 648.51(c) or § 648.51(e)(3)(i), unless otherwise authorized by the Regional Administrator.
( 8 ) Have a shucking or sorting machine on board a vessel that shucks scallops at sea while fishing under the DAS allocation program, unless otherwise authorized by the Regional Administrator.
( 9 ) Fish with, possess on board, or land scallops while in possession of trawl nets, when fishing for scallops under the DAS allocation program, unless exempted as provided for in § 648.51(f).
( 10 ) Fail to comply with the gear restrictions described in § 648.51.
(iii) Possession and landing. (A) Land scallops after using up the vessel's annual DAS allocation or land scallops on more than one trip per calendar day when not participating under the DAS allocation program pursuant to § 648.10, unless exempted from DAS allocations as provided in the state waters exemption, specified in § 648.54.
(B) Fish for, possess, or land more than 3,332 lb (1,511 kg) of in-shell scallops inside the VMS Demarcation Line on or by a vessel, except as provided in the state waters exemption, as specified in § 648.54.
(C) Fish for, possess, or land per trip, at any time, scallops in excess of any sea scallop possession and landing limit set by the Regional Administrator in accordance with § 648.59(b)(3) when properly declared into the Sea Scallop Area Access Program as described in § 648.59.
(D) Fish for, possess, or land yellowtail flounder from a vessel on a scallop fishing trip.
(E) Fish for, possess, or land scallops from the NGOM, unless on a scallop RSA compensation trip and allocated NGOM RSA allocation as described in § 648.56(d).
(iv) DAS. (A) Fish for, possess, or land scallops after using up the vessel's annual DAS allocation and Access Area trip allocations, or when not properly declared into the DAS or an Area Access program pursuant to § 648.10, unless the vessel has been issued an LAGC scallop permit pursuant to § 648.4(a)(2)(ii) and is lawfully fishing in a LAGC scallop fishery, unless exempted from DAS allocations as provided in state waters exemption, specified in § 648.54.
(B) Combine, transfer, or consolidate DAS allocations, except as allowed for one-for-one Access Area trip exchanges as specified in § 648.59(b)(3)(ii).
(C) Fail to comply with any requirement for declaring in or out of the DAS allocation program or other notification requirements specified in § 648.10.
(D) Fail to comply with any requirements for declaring out of the DAS allocation program and steaming to land scallops at ports located at or south of 39° N. lat., as specified in § 648.53(f)(3).
(E) Possess on board or land in-shell scallops if declaring out of the DAS allocation program and steaming to land scallops at ports located at or south of 39° N. lat.
(v) VMS requirements. (A) Fail to have an approved, operational, and functioning VMS unit that meets the specifications of § 648.9 on board the vessel at all times, unless the vessel is not subject to the VMS requirements specified in § 648.10.
(B) If the vessel is not subject to VMS requirements specified in § 648.10(b), fail to comply with the requirements of the call-in system specified in § 648.10(c).
(C) If a limited access scallop vessel declares a scallop trip before first crossing the VMS Demarcation Line, but not necessarily from port, in accordance with § 648.10(f), fail to declare out of the fishery in port and have fishing gear not available for immediate use as defined in § 648.2, until declared into the scallop fishery.
(D) Once declared into the scallop fishery in accordance with § 648.10(f), change its VMS declaration until the trip has ended and scallop catch has been offloaded, except as specified at § 648.53(f)(3).
(E) Fail to submit a scallop access area pre-landing notification form through VMS as specified at § 648.10(f)(4)(iii).
(vi) Scallop Rotational Area Management Program and Scallop Access Area Program requirements. (A) Fail to comply with any of the provisions and specifications of § 648.59.
(B) [Reserved]
(C) Fish for, possess, or land scallops in or from a Scallop Access Area in excess of the vessel's remaining specific allocation for that area as specified in § 648.59(b)(3) or the amount permitted to be landed from that area.
(D) Possess more than 3,332 lb (1,511 kg) of in-shell scallops outside the boundaries of a Scallop Access Area by a vessel that is declared into the Scallop Access Area Program as specified in § 648.59.
(E) Fish for, possess, or land scallops in or from any Scallop Access Area without an observer on board, unless the vessel owner, operator, or manager has received a waiver to carry an observer for the specified trip and area fished.
(F)-(G) [Reserved]
(vii) State waters exemption program. Fail to comply with any requirement for participating in the State Waters Exemption Program specified in § 648.54.
(viii) [Reserved]
(ix) Fish for scallops in the Mid-Atlantic Accountability Measure Area, described in § 648.64(b)(2) with gear that does not meet the specifications described in § 648.64(c) during the period specified in the notice announcing the Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic Yellowtail Flounder or the Southern Windowpane Flounder Gear Restricted Area described in § 648.64(e) and (g), respectively.
(x) Fish for scallops in the Georges Bank Accountability Measure Area described in § 648.64(b)(1), with gear that does not meet the specifications described in § 648.64(c) during the period specified in the notice announcing the Georges Bank Yellowtail Flounder or the Northern Windowpane Flounder Gear Restricted Area described in § 648.64(d) and (f), respectively.
(3) LAGC scallop vessels. It is unlawful for any person owning or operating a vessel issued an LAGC scallop permit to do any of the following:
(i) Permit requirements. (A) Fail to comply with the LAGC scallop permit restrictions as specified in § 648.4(a)(2)(ii)(G) through (O).
(B) [Reserved]
(ii) Gear requirements. (A) Possess or use trawl gear that does not comply with any of the provisions or specifications in § 648.51(a), unless the vessel is fishing under the Northeast multispecies or monkfish DAS program.
(B) Possess or use dredge gear that does not comply with any of the provisions or specifications in § 648.51(b).
(iii) Possession and landing. (A) Land scallops more than once per calendar day.
(B) Possess in-shell scallops while in possession of the maximum allowed amount of shucked scallops specified for each LAGC scallop permit category in § 648.52.
(iv) VMS requirements. (A) Fail to comply with any of the VMS requirements specified in §§ 648.10, 648.59, or 648.62.
(B) Fail to comply with any requirement for declaring in or out of the LAGC scallop fishery or other notification requirements specified in § 648.10(f).
(C) If an LAGC scallop vessel declares a scallop trip shoreward of the VMS Demarcation Line, but not necessarily from port, in accordance with § 648.10(f), fail to declare out of the fishery in port and have fishing gear not available for immediate use as defined in § 648.2, until declared into the scallop fishery.
(D) Once declared into the scallop fishery in accordance with § 648.10(f), change its VMS declaration until the trip has ended and scallop catch has been offloaded.
(v) Scallop rotational area management program and scallop access area program requirements. (A) Fail to comply with any of the requirements specified in § 648.59.
(B) Declare into or leave port for an area specified in § 648.60 after the effective date of a notification published in the Federal Register stating that the number of LAGC trips have been taken, as specified in § 648.59.
(C) Fish for or land per trip, or possess in excess of 40 lb (18.1 kg) of shucked scallops at any time in or from any Scallop Access Area specified at § 648.60, unless declared into the Scallop Access Area Program.
(D) Fish for, possess, or land scallops in or from any Scallop Access Area without an observer on board, unless the vessel owner, operator, or manager has received a waiver to carry an observer for the specified trip and area fished.
(E) [Reserved]
(vi) Sectors. Fail to comply with any of the requirements and restrictions for General Category sectors and harvesting cooperatives specified in § 648.63.
(4) IFQ scallop permit. It is unlawful for any person owning or operating a vessel issued an IFQ scallop permit to do any of the following:
(i) Possession and landing. (A) Fish for or land per trip, or possess at any time, in excess of the possession and landing limits described in § 648.52(a).
(B) [Reserved]
(C) Declare into the NGOM scallop management area and fish against the NGOM Set-Aside after the effective date of a notification published in the Federal Register stating that after the NGOM Set-Aside has been harvested as specified in § 648.62, unless the vessel is fishing exclusively in state waters, declared a state-waters only NGOM trip, and is participating in an approved state waters exemption program as specified in § 648.54, or unless the vessel is participating in the scallop RSA program as specified in § 648.56.
(D)—(E) [Reserved]
(F) Fish for, possess, or land scallops in excess of a vessel's IFQ.
(ii) Owner and allocation cap. (A) Have an ownership interest in vessels that collectively are allocated more than 5 percent of the total IFQ scallop APL as specified in § 648.53(a)(9).
(B) Have an IFQ allocation on an IFQ scallop vessel of more than 2.5 percent of the total IFQ scallop APL as specified in § 648.53(a)(9).
(iii) IFQ Transfer Program. (A) Apply for an IFQ transfer that will result in the transferee having an aggregate ownership interest in more than 5 percent of the total IFQ scallop ACL.
(B) Apply for an IFQ transfer that will result in the receiving vessel having an IFQ allocation in excess of 2.5 percent of the total IFQ scallop ACL as specified in § 648.53(a)(4)(i).
(C) Fish for, possess, or land transferred IFQ prior to approval of the transfer by the Regional Administrator as specified in § 648.53(h)(5).
(D)-(F) [Reserved]
(G) Transfer scallop IFQ to, or receive scallop IFQ from, a vessel that has not been issued a valid IFQ scallop permit.
(iv) Cost Recovery Program. Fail to comply with any of the cost recovery requirements specified under § 648.53(g)(4).
(v) Fish for scallops in the Mid-Atlantic Accountability Measure Area, described in § 648.64(b)(2) with gear that does not meet the specifications described in § 648.64(c) during the period specified in the notice announcing the Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic Yellowtail Flounder or the Southern Windowpane Flounder Gear Restricted Area described in § 648.64(e) and (g), respectively.
(vi) Fish for scallops in the Georges Bank Accountability Measure Area described in § 648.64(b)(1), with gear that does not meet the specifications described in § 648.64(c) during the period specified in the notice announcing the Georges Bank Yellowtail Flounder or the Northern Windowpane Flounder Gear Restricted Area described in § 648.64(d) and (f), respectively.
(5) NGOM scallop permit. It is unlawful for any person owning or operating a vessel issued an NGOM scallop permit to do any of the following:
(i) Declare into, or fish for or possess scallops outside of the NGOM Scallop Management Area as defined in § 648.62.
(ii) [Reserved]
(iii) Fish for, possess, or land scallops in state or Federal waters of the NGOM management area after the effective date of notification in the Federal Register that the LAGC share of the NGOM Set-Aside has been harvested as specified in § 648.62, unless the vessel is fishing exclusively in state waters, declared a state-waters only NGOM trip, and is participating in an approved state waters exemption program as specified in § 648.54, or unless the vessel is participating in the scallop RSA program as specified in § 648.56.
(iv) Fish for, possess, or retain scallops in Federal waters of the NGOM after declaring a trip into NGOM state waters.
(j) Atlantic surfclam and ocean quahog. It is unlawful for any person to do any of the following:
(1) Possession and landing. (i) Fish for surfclams or ocean quahogs in any area closed to surfclam or ocean quahog fishing.
(ii) Shuck surfclams or ocean quahogs harvested in or from the EEZ at sea, unless permitted by the Regional Administrator under the terms of § 648.75.
(iii) Fish for, retain, or land both surfclams and ocean quahogs in or from the EEZ on the same trip.
(iv) Fish for, retain, or land ocean quahogs in or from the EEZ on a trip designated as a surfclam fishing trip under § 648.15(b); or fish for, retain, or land surfclams in or from the EEZ on a trip designated as an ocean quahog fishing trip under § 648.15(b).
(v) Fail to offload any surfclams or ocean quahogs harvested in the EEZ from a trip discontinued pursuant to § 648.15(b) prior to commencing fishing operations in waters under the jurisdiction of any state.
(vi) Land or possess any surfclams or ocean quahogs harvested in or from the EEZ without having been issued, or in excess of, an individual allocation.
(2) Transfer and purchase. (i) Receive for a commercial purpose other than solely for transport on land, surfclams or ocean quahogs harvested in or from the EEZ, whether or not they are landed under an allocation under § 648.74, unless issued a dealer/processor permit under this part.
(ii) Transfer any surfclams or ocean quahogs harvested in or from the EEZ to any person for a commercial purpose, other than solely for transport on land, without a surfclam or ocean quahog processor or dealer permit.
(iii) Offload unshucked surfclams or ocean quahogs harvested in or from the EEZ outside the Maine mahogany quahog zone from vessels not capable of carrying cages, other than directly into cages.
(3) Gear and tags requirements. (i) Alter, erase, mutilate, duplicate or cause to be duplicated, or steal any cage tag issued under this part.
(ii) Produce, or cause to be produced, cage tags required under this part without written authorization from the Regional Administrator.
(iii) Tag a cage with a tag that has been rendered null and void or with a tag that has been previously used.
(iv) Tag a cage of surfclams with an ocean quahog cage tag, or tag a cage of ocean quahogs with a surfclam cage tag.
(v) Possess an empty cage to which a cage tag required by § 648.77 is affixed, or possess any cage that does not contain surfclams or ocean quahogs and to which a cage tag required by § 648.77 is affixed.
(vi) Land or possess, after offloading, any cage holding surfclams or ocean quahogs without a cage tag or tags required by § 648.77, unless the person can demonstrate the inapplicability of the presumptions set forth in § 648.77(h).
(vii) Sell null and void tags.
(viii) Take action to circumvent an ITQ quota share cap or cage tag cap specified in 648.74(a)(2) or fail to take corrective action if such cap is exceeded inadvertently.
(4) VMS requirements. (i) Fail to maintain an operational VMS unit as specified in § 648.9, and comply with any of the notification requirements specified in § 648.15(b) including:
(A) Fish for, land, take, possess, or transfer surfclams or ocean quahogs under an open access surfclam or ocean quahog permit without having provided proof to the Regional Administrator that the vessel has a fully functioning VMS unit on board the vessel and declared a surfclam, ocean quahog, or Maine mahogany quahog fishing activity code via the VMS unit prior to leaving port as specified at § 648.15(b).
(B) Fish for, land, take, possess, or transfer ocean quahogs under a limited access Maine mahogany quahog permit without having provided proof to the Regional Administrator of NMFS that the vessel has a fully functioning VMS unit on board the vessel and declared a fishing trip via the VMS unit as specified at § 648.15(b).
(5) Maine mahogany quahog zone. (i) Land unshucked surfclams or ocean quahogs harvested in or from the EEZ outside the Maine mahogany quahog zone in containers other than cages from vessels capable of carrying cages.
(ii) Land unshucked surfclams and ocean quahogs harvested in or from the EEZ within the Maine mahogany quahog zone in containers other than cages from vessels capable of carrying cages unless, with respect to ocean quahogs, the vessel has been issued a Maine mahogany quahog permit under this part and is not fishing for an individual allocation of quahogs under § 648.74.
(iii) Offload unshucked surfclams harvested in or from the EEZ within the Maine mahogany quahog zone from vessels not capable of carrying cages, other than directly into cages.
(iv) Offload unshucked ocean quahogs harvested in or from the EEZ within the Maine mahogany quahog zone from vessels not capable of carrying cages, other than directly into cages, unless the vessel has been issued a Maine mahogany quahog permit under this part and is not fishing for an individual allocation of quahogs under § 648.74.
(v) Land or possess ocean quahogs harvested in or from the EEZ within the Maine mahogany quahog zone after the effective date published in the Federal Register notifying participants that Maine mahogany quahog quota is no longer available for the respective fishing year, unless the vessel is fishing for an individual allocation of ocean quahogs under § 648.74.
(6) Presumptions. For purposes of this part, the following presumptions apply:
(i) Possession of surfclams or ocean quahogs on the deck of any fishing vessel in closed areas, or the presence of any part of a vessel's gear in the water in closed areas is prima facie evidence that such vessel was fishing in violation of the provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and these regulations.
(ii) Surfclams or ocean quahogs landed from a trip for which notification was provided under § 648.15(b) or § 648.74(b) are deemed to have been harvested in the EEZ and count against the individual's annual allocation, unless the vessel has a valid Maine mahogany quahog permit issued pursuant to § 648.4(a)(4)(i) and is not fishing for an individual allocation under § 648.74.
(iii) Surfclams or ocean quahogs found in cages without a valid state tag are deemed to have been harvested in the EEZ and are deemed to be part of an individual's allocation, unless the vessel has a valid Maine mahogany quahog permit issued pursuant to § 648.4(a)(4)(i) and is not fishing for an individual allocation under § 648.74; or, unless the preponderance of available evidence demonstrates that he/she has surrendered his/her surfclam and ocean quahog permit issued under § 648.4 and he/she conducted fishing operations exclusively within waters under the jurisdiction of any state. Surfclams and ocean quahogs in cages with a Federal tag or tags, issued and still valid pursuant to this part, affixed thereto are deemed to have been harvested by the individual allocation holder to whom the tags were issued or transferred under § 648.74 or § 648.77(b).
(k) NE multispecies —(1) Permit requirements for all persons. It is unlawful for any person, including any owner or operator of a vessel issued a valid Federal NE multispecies permit or letter under § 648.4(a)(1)(i), unless otherwise specified in § 648.17, to do any of the following:
(i) Fish for, possess, or land NE multispecies, unless:
(A) The NE multispecies are being fished for or were harvested in or from the EEZ by a vessel holding a valid Federal NE multispecies permit under this part, or a letter under § 648.4(a)(1), and the operator on board such vessel has a valid operator's permit and has it on board the vessel.
(B) The NE multispecies were harvested by a vessel not issued a Federal NE multispecies permit, nor eligible to renew or be reissued a limited access NE multispecies permit as specified in § 648.4(b)(2), that fishes for NE multispecies exclusively in state waters.
(C) The NE multispecies were harvested in or from the EEZ by a recreational fishing vessel.
(D) Any haddock, and up to 100 lb (45 kg) of other regulated NE multispecies other than haddock, were harvested by a vessel issued a Category A or B Herring Permit on a declared herring trip, regardless of gear or area fished, or a vessel issued a Category C, D, or E Herring Permit that fished with midwater trawl gear, pursuant to the requirements in § 648.80(d) and (e), and such fish are not sold for human consumption.
(E) Otherwise specified in § 648.17.
(ii) Land, offload, remove, or otherwise transfer; or attempt to land, offload, remove or otherwise transfer; NE multispecies from one vessel to another vessel, unless both vessels have not been issued Federal NE multispecies permits and both fish exclusively in state waters, unless authorized in writing by the Regional Administrator, or otherwise allowed.
(iii) Sell, barter, trade, or otherwise transfer; or attempt to sell, barter, trade, or otherwise transfer; for a commercial purpose any NE multispecies from a trip, unless:
(A) The vessel is holding a Federal NE multispecies permit, or a letter under § 648.4(a)(1), and is not fishing under the charter/party vessel restrictions specified in § 648.89.
(B) The NE multispecies were harvested by a vessel without a Federal NE multispecies permit that fishes for NE multispecies exclusively in state waters.
(C) Or as otherwise specified in § 648.17.
(iv) Operate or act as an operator of a vessel fishing for or possessing NE multispecies in or from the EEZ, or holding a Federal NE multispecies vessel permit without having been issued and possessing a valid operator's permit.
(2) Permit requirements for vessel and operator permit holders. It is unlawful for any owner or operator of a vessel issued a valid Federal NE multispecies permit or letter under § 648.4(a)(1)(i), unless otherwise specified in § 648.17, to do any of the following:
(i) Fish for, possess, or land NE multispecies with or from a vessel that has had the length overall of such vessel, or its replacement, increased or upgraded in excess of limitations specified in § 648.4(a)(1)(i)(E) and (F).
(ii) Fish for, possess, or land NE multispecies with or from a vessel that has had the horsepower of such vessel or its replacement upgraded or increased in excess of the limitations specified in § 648.4(a)(1)(i)(E) and (F).
(iii) Fail to comply with the pre-trip notification requirements of the NE multispecies observer program specified in § 648.11(l).
(iv) Possess or land fish while setting fixed gear on a set-only trip as declared through the pre-trip notification system pursuant to § 648.11(l).
(v) Fish for, possess, land fish, enroll in a sector, or lease a permit or confirmation of permit history (CPH) as a lessor or lessee, with a permit that has been rendered unusable as specified in § 648.4(a)(1)(i)(N).
(vi) Acquire a limited access NE multispecies permit that would result in a permit holder exceeding any of the ownership accumulation limits specified in § 648.4(a)(1)(i)(N), unless authorized under § 648.4(a)(1)(i)(N).
(3) Dealer requirements. It is unlawful for any person to:
(i) Purchase, possess, import, export, or receive as a dealer, or in the capacity of a dealer, allocated regulated species or ocean pout in excess of the possession limits specified in § 648.82, § 648.85, § 648.86, or § 648.87 applicable to a vessel issued a NE multispecies permit, unless otherwise specified in § 648.17, or unless the regulated species or ocean pout are purchased or received from a vessel that caught them on a sector trip and such species are exempt from such possession limits in accordance with an approved sector operations plan, as specified in § 648.87(c).
(ii) Sell or transfer to another person for a commercial purpose, other than solely for transport on land, any NE multispecies harvested from the EEZ by a vessel issued a Federal NE multispecies permit, unless the transferee has a valid NE multispecies dealer permit.
(iii) Purchase, possess, import, export, or receive as a dealer, or in the capacity of a dealer, allocated regulated species from a vessel participating in the maximized retention electronic monitoring program in § 648.11(l) unless the offload of catch was observed by a dockside monitor or NMFS issued a waiver from dockside monitoring for the trip.
(iv) Assault, resist, oppose, impede, harass, intimidate, or interfere with or bar by command, impediment, threat, or coercion any observer or monitor conducting his or her duties or any electronic monitoring provider staff who collects data required under this part.
(v) Impede a dockside monitor's access to their premises, scales, and any fish received from vessels participating in the maximized retention electronic monitoring program; fail to facilitate dockside monitoring for vessels participating in a maximized retention electronic monitoring program; or fail to process, sort, label, and report fish from vessels participating in the maximized retention monitoring program, as required in § 648.11(l)(10)(iv).
(4) NAFO. It is unlawful for any owner or operator of a vessel issued a valid NE multispecies permit or letter under § 648.4(a)(1)(i), to fail to comply with the exemption specifications in § 648.17.
(5) Regulated Mesh Areas. It is unlawful for any person, including any owner or operator of a vessel issued a valid Federal NE multispecies permit or letter under § 648.4(a)(1)(i), unless otherwise specified in § 648.17, to do any of the following:
(i) Violate any of the provisions of § 648.80, including paragraphs (a)(5), the Small-mesh Northern Shrimp Fishery Exemption Area; (a)(6), the Cultivator Shoal Whiting Fishery Exemption Area; (a)(9), Small-mesh Area 1/Small-mesh Area 2; (a)(10), the Nantucket Shoals Dogfish Fishery Exemption Area; (h)(3)(i), the GOM Scallop Dredge Exemption Area; (a)(12), the Nantucket Shoals Mussel and Sea Urchin Dredge Exemption Area; (a)(13), the GOM/GB Monkfish Gillnet Exemption Area; (a)(14), the GOM/GB Dogfish Gillnet Exemption Area; (a)(15), the Raised Footrope Trawl Exempted Whiting Fishery; (a)(16), the GOM Grate Raised Footrope Trawl Exempted Whiting Fishery; (h)(3)(ii), the Georges Bank/Southern New England Scallop Dredge Exemption Area; (a)(19), the Eastern and Western Cape Cod Spiny Dogfish Exemption Areas; (b)(3), exemptions (small mesh); (b)(5), the SNE Monkfish and Skate Trawl Exemption Area; (b)(6), the SNE Monkfish and Skate Gillnet Exemption Area; (b)(8), the SNE Mussel and Sea Urchin Dredge Exemption Area; (b)(9), the SNE Little Tunny Gillnet Exemption Area; (h)(3)(ii); or (b)(12), the SNE Skate Bait Trawl Exemption Area. Each violation of any provision in § 648.80 constitutes a separate violation.
(ii) Enter or fish in the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank, or Southern New England Regulated Mesh Areas, except as provided in § 648.80(a)(3)(vi) and (b)(2)(vi), and, for purposes of transiting, all gear (other than exempted gear) must be stowed and not available for immediate use as defined in § 648.2.
(iii) Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank Regulated Mesh Areas. (A) Fish with, use, or have on board, within the areas described in § 648.80(a)(1) and (2), nets with mesh size smaller than the minimum mesh size specified in § 648.80(a)(3) and (4); except as provided in § 648.80(a)(5) through (8), (a)(9), (a)(10), (a)(15), (a)(16), (d), (e), and (i); unless the vessel has not been issued a NE multispecies permit and fishes for NE multispecies exclusively in state waters, or unless otherwise specified in § 648.17.
(B) Fish within the areas described in § 648.80(a)(6) with net mesh smaller than the minimum size specified in § 648.80(a)(3) or (4).
(iv) Southern New England Regulated Mesh Area. Fish with, use, or have available for immediate use within the area described in § 648.80(b)(1), net mesh smaller than the minimum size specified in § 648.80(b)(2), except as provided in § 648.80(b)(3), (b)(9), (d), (e), and (i), or unless the vessel has not been issued a Federal NE multispecies permit and fishes for multispecies exclusively in state waters, or unless otherwise specified in § 648.17.
(v) Mid-Atlantic Regulated Mesh Area. Fish with, use, or have available for immediate use within the area described in § 648.80(c)(1), nets of mesh size smaller than the minimum mesh size specified in § 648.80(c)(2); except as provided in § 648.80(c)(3), (d), (e), and (i); or unless the vessel has not been issued a Federal NE multispecies permit and fishes for NE multispecies exclusively in state waters, or unless otherwise specified in § 648.17.
(vi) Mid-water trawl exempted fishery. (A) Fish for, land, or possess NE multispecies harvested by means of pair trawling or with pair trawl gear, except under the provisions of § 648.80(d), or unless the vessels that engaged in pair trawling have not been issued multispecies permits and fish for NE multispecies exclusively in state waters.
(B) Possess, land, or fish for regulated species or ocean pout, except winter flounder as provided for in accordance with § 648.80(i) from or within the areas described in § 648.80(i), while in possession of scallop dredge gear on a vessel not fishing under the scallop DAS program as described in § 648.53, or fishing under a LAGC permit, unless the vessel and the dredge gear conform with the definition of not available for immediate use as defined in § 648.2, or unless the vessel has not been issued a Federal NE multispecies permit and fishes for, possesses, or lands NE multispecies exclusively in state waters.
(vii) Scallop vessels. (A) Violate any of the possession or landing restrictions on fishing with scallop dredge gear specified in §§ 648.80(h) and 648.94.
(B) Possess, land, or fish for regulated species, except winter flounder as provided for in accordance with § 648.80(i) from or within the areas described in § 648.80(i), while in possession of scallop dredge gear on a vessel not fishing under the scallop DAS program as described in § 648.53, or fishing under a general scallop permit, unless the vessel and the dredge gear conform with the definition of not available for immediate use as defined in § 648.2, or unless the vessel has not been issued a Federal NE multispecies permit and fishes for NE multispecies exclusively in state waters.
(viii) Northern shrimp and small mesh multispecies exempted fisheries. (A) Fish for, harvest, possess, or land in or from the EEZ northern shrimp, unless such shrimp were fished for or harvested by a vessel meeting the requirements specified in § 648.80(a)(5).
(B) Fish for, harvest, possess, or land in or from the EEZ, when fishing with trawl gear, any of the exempted species specified in § 648.80(a)(9)(i), unless such species were fished for or harvested by a vessel meeting the requirements specified in § 648.80(a)(5)(ii) or (a)(9)(ii).
(ix) Winter flounder state exemption program. Violate any provision of the state waters winter flounder exemption program as provided in § 648.80(i).
(6) Gear requirements —(i) For all persons. It is unlawful for any person, including any owner or operator of a vessel issued a valid NE multispecies permit or letter under § 648.4(a)(1)(i), unless otherwise specified in § 648.17, to do any of the following:
(A) Obstruct or constrict a net as described in § 648.80(g)(1) or (2).
(B) Fish for, harvest, possess, or land any species of fish in or from the GOM/GB Inshore Restricted Roller Gear Area described in § 648.80(a)(3)(vii) with trawl gear where the diameter of any part of the trawl footrope, including discs, rollers or rockhoppers, is greater than 12 inches (30.5 cm).
(C) Fish for, land, or possess NE multispecies harvested with brush-sweep trawl gear unless the vessel has not been issued a Federal NE multispecies permit and fishes for NE multispecies exclusively in state waters.
(D) Possess brush-sweep trawl gear while in possession of NE multispecies, unless the vessel has not been issued a Federal NE multispecies permit and fishes for NE multispecies exclusively in state waters.
(E) Use, set, haul back, fish with, possess on board a vessel, unless stowed and not available for immediate use as defined in § 648.2, or fail to remove, sink gillnet gear and other gillnet gear capable of catching NE multispecies, with the exception of single pelagic gillnets (as described in § 648.81(b)(2)(ii) and (d)(5)(ii)), in the areas and for the times specified in § 648.80(g)(6)(i) and (ii), except as provided in § 648.80(g)(6)(i) and (ii), and § 648.81(b)(2)(ii) and (d)(5)(ii), or unless otherwise authorized in writing by the Regional Administrator.
(F) Fish for, land, or possess NE multispecies harvested with the use of de-hookers (“crucifiers”) with less than 6-inch (15.2-cm) spacing between the fairlead rollers unless the vessel has not been issued a Federal NE multispecies permit and fishes for NE multispecies exclusively in state waters.
(G) Possess or use de-hookers (“crucifiers”) with less than 6-inch (15.2-cm) spacing between the fairlead rollers while in possession of NE multispecies, unless the vessel has not been issued a Federal NE multispecies permit and fishes for NE multispecies exclusively in state waters.
(ii) For vessel and operator permit holders. It is unlawful for any owner or operator of a vessel issued a valid NE multispecies permit or letter under § 648.4(a)(1)(i), unless otherwise specified in § 648.17, to do any of the following:
(A) Gillnet gear. ( 1 ) If the vessel has been issued a limited access NE multispecies permit and fishes under a NE multispecies DAS or on a sector trip with gillnet gear, fail to comply with gillnet tagging requirements specified in §§ 648.80(a)(3)(iv)(B)( 4 ), (a)(3)(iv)(C), (a)(4)(iv)(B)( 3 ), (b)(2)(iv)(B)( 3 ), and (c)(2)(v)(B)( 3 ), or fail to produce immediately, or cause to be produced immediately, gillnet tags when requested by an authorized officer.
( 2 ) Produce, or cause to be produced, gillnet tags under § 648.80(a)(3)(iv)(C), without the written confirmation from the Regional Administrator described in § 648.80(a)(3)(iv)(C).
( 3 ) Tag a gillnet or use a gillnet tag that has been reported lost, missing, destroyed, or that was issued to another vessel.
( 4 ) Sell, transfer, or give away gillnet tags that have been reported lost, missing, destroyed, or issued to another vessel.
( 5 ) Enter, fail to remove sink gillnet gear or gillnet gear capable of catching NE multispecies from, or be in the areas, and for the times, described in § 648.80(g)(6)(i) and (ii), except as provided in §§ 648.80(g)(6)(i) and 648.81(i).
(B) Hook gear. Fail to comply with the restrictions on fishing and gear specified in §§ 648.80(a)(3)(v), (a)(4)(v), (b)(2)(v), and (c)(2)(iv) if the vessel has been issued a limited access NE multispecies permit and fishes with hook gear in areas specified in § 648.80(a), (b), or (c).
(7) Closed areas and EFH —(i) All persons. It is unlawful for any person, including any owner or operator of a vessel issued a valid Federal NE multispecies permit or letter under § 648.4(a)(1)(i), unless otherwise specified in § 648.17, to do any of the following:
(A) Groundfish Closure Area restrictions. Enter, be on a fishing vessel in, or fail to remove gear from the EEZ portion of the areas described in § 648.81(a)(3), (4), and (5) and (d)(3), except as provided in § 648.81(a)(2), (d)(2), and (i).
(B) Groundfish Closure Area possession restrictions. Fish for, harvest, possess, or land regulated species in or from the closed areas specified in § 648.81(a) through (d) and (n), unless otherwise specified in § 648.81(c)(2)(iii), (d)(5)(i), (iv), (viii), and (ix), (i), (b)(2), or as authorized under § 648.85.
(C) Restricted Gear Areas. ( 1 ) Fish, or be in the areas described in § 648.81(f)(3) through (6) on a fishing vessel with mobile gear during the time periods specified in § 648.81(f)(1), except as provided in § 648.81(f)(2).
( 2 ) Fish, or be in the areas described in § 648.81(f)(3) through (5) on a fishing vessel with lobster pot gear during the time periods specified in § 648.81(f)(1).
( 3 ) Deploy in or fail to remove lobster pot gear from the areas described in § 648.81(f)(3) through (5), during the time periods specified in § 648.81(f)(1).
(D) Georges Bank Seasonal Closure Areas. Enter, fail to remove gear from, or be in the areas described in § 648.81(c) during the time periods specified, except as provided in § 648.81(c)(2).
(E) [Reserved]
(F) Closed Area II. Enter or be in the area described in § 648.81(a)(5) on a fishing vessel, except as provided in § 648.81(a)(5)(ii).
(G) [Reserved]
(ii) Vessel and permit holders. It is unlawful for any owner or operator of a vessel issued a valid NE multispecies permit or letter under § 648.4(a)(1)(i), unless otherwise specified in § 648.17, when fishing with bottom-tending mobile gear, fish in, enter, be on a fishing vessel in, the Habitat Management Areas described in § 648.370.
(8) DAS restrictions for all persons. It is unlawful for any person, including any owner or operator of a vessel issued a valid NE multispecies permit or letter under § 648.4(a)(1)(i), unless otherwise specified in § 648.17, to do any of the following:
(i) For vessels issued a limited access NE multispecies permit, or those issued a limited access NE multispecies permit and a limited access monkfish permit (Category C, D, F, G, or H), but not fishing under the limited access monkfish Category A or B provisions as allowed under § 648.92(b)(2), call into the DAS program prior to 1 hr before leaving port.
(ii) Call in DAS in excess of those allocated, leased, or permanently transferred, in accordance with the restrictions and conditions of § 648.82.
(9) DAS restrictions for vessel and operator permit holders. It is unlawful for any owner or operator of a vessel issued a valid NE multispecies permit or letter under § 648.4(a)(1)(i), unless otherwise specified in § 648.17, to do any of the following:
(i) If operating under the provisions of a limited access NE multispecies Handgear A permit south of the GOM Regulated Mesh Area, as defined at § 648.80(a)(1), fail to declare the vessel operator's intent to fish in this area via VMS or fail to obtain or retain on board a letter of authorization from the Regional Administrator, as required by § 648.82(b)(6)(iii).
(ii) DAS Leasing Program. (A) Provide false information on an application, required by § 648.82(k)(4)(xi), to downgrade the DAS Leasing Program baseline.
(B) Lease NE multispecies DAS or use leased DAS that have not been approved for leasing by the Regional Administrator as specified in § 648.82(k).
(C) Provide false information on, or in connection with, an application, required under § 648.82(k)(3), to effectuate the leasing of NE multispecies DAS.
(D) Act as lessor or lessee of a NE multispecies Category B DAS, or Category C DAS.
(E) Act as lessor or lessee of NE multispecies DAS, if the lessor's or the lessee's vessels do not comply with the size restrictions specified in § 648.82(k)(4)(ix).
(F) Sub-lease NE multispecies DAS.
(G) [Reserved]
(H) Lease NE multispecies DAS to a vessel that does not have a valid limited access multispecies permit.
(I) [Reserved]
(J) Lease NE multispecies DAS if the number of unused allocated DAS is less than the number of DAS requested to be leased.
(K) Lease NE multispecies DAS in excess of the duration specified in § 648.82(k)(4)(viii).
(L) Combine, transfer, or consolidate DAS allocations, except as provided for under the DAS Leasing Program or the DAS Transfer Program, as specified under § 648.82(k) and (l), respectively.
(M) Lease NE multispecies DAS to or from a common pool vessel if either the Lessor or the Lessee vessel is a sector vessel.
(N) Act as a lessor or lessee of NE multispecies DAS to or from a limited access permit that has been rendered unusable as specified in § 648.4(a)(1)(i)(N).
(iii) DAS Transfer Program. (A) Transfer NE multispecies DAS, or use transferred DAS, that have not been approved for transfer by the Regional Administrator, as specified in § 648.82(l).
(B) Provide false information on, or in connection with, an application, required by § 648.82(l)(2), for a NE multispecies DAS transfer.
(C) Permanently transfer only a portion of a vessel's total allocation of DAS.
(D) Permanently transfer NE multispecies DAS between vessels, if such vessels do not comply with the size restrictions specified in § 648.82(l)(1)(ii).
(E) Transfer NE multispecies DAS to or from a common pool vessel if either the Transferor or the Transferee vessel is a sector vessel.
(F) Transfer NE multispecies DAS to or from a sector vessel if either the Transferor or the Transferee vessel is enrolled in a different sector for that particular fishing year.
(iv) Gillnet fishery. (A) Fail to declare, and be, out of the non-exempt gillnet fishery as required by § 648.82(j)(1)(ii), using the procedure specified in § 648.82(h).
(B) For any common pool or sector vessel, fail to comply with the gillnet requirements and restrictions specified in § 648.82(j), unless otherwise exempted pursuant to § 648.87.
(C) If a vessel has been issued a limited access Day gillnet category designation, fail to comply with the restrictions and requirements specified in § 648.82(j)(1).
(D) If a vessel has been issued a limited access Trip gillnet category designation, fail to comply with the restrictions and requirements specified in § 648.82(j)(2).
(v) Spawning blocks. Fail to declare, and be, out of the NE multispecies DAS program as required by § 648.82(g), using the procedure described under § 648.82(h), as applicable.
(vi) DAS notification. (A) For purposes of DAS notification, if required, or electing, to have a VMS unit under § 648.10:
( 1 ) Fail to have a certified, operational, and functioning VMS unit that meets the specifications of § 648.9 on board the vessel at all times.
( 2 ) Fail to comply with the notification, replacement, or any other requirements regarding VMS usage specified in § 648.10(b).
(B) Fail to comply with any provision of the DAS notification program specified in § 648.10.
(vii) Charter/party vessels. Participate in the DAS program pursuant to § 648.82 when carrying passengers for hire on board a vessel during any portion of a fishing trip.
(10) Gear marking requirement for all persons. It is unlawful for any person, including any owner or operator of a vessel issued a valid NE multispecies permit or letter under § 648.4(a)(1)(i), unless otherwise specified in § 648.17, to fail to comply with the gear-marking requirements of § 648.84.
(11) U.S./Canada Resource Management Area —(i) Possession and landing restrictions of the U.S./Canada Area —(A) All Persons. ( 1 ) Fish for, harvest, possess or land any regulated NE multispecies from the areas specified in § 648.85(a)(1), unless in compliance with the restrictions and conditions specified in § 648.85(a)(3).
( 2 ) If fishing under a NE multispecies DAS in the Western U.S./Canada Area or Eastern U.S./Canada Area specified in § 648.85(a)(1), exceed the trip limits specified in § 648.85(a)(3)(iv), unless further restricted under § 648.85(b) or exempted under § 648.87.
( 3 ) If fishing inside the Eastern U.S./Canada Area and in possession of fish in excess of what is allowed under more restrictive regulations that apply outside of the Eastern U.S./Canada Area, fish outside of the Eastern U.S./Canada Area on the same trip, as prohibited under § 648.85(a)(3)(ii)(A).
( 4 ) If fishing both outside and inside of the areas specified for a SAP under § 648.85(b)(3) and (7), under a NE multispecies DAS in the Eastern U.S./Canada Area specified in § 648.85(a)(1), fail to abide by the DAS and possession restrictions under § 648.85(b)(7)(v)(A)( 2 ) through ( 4 ).
(B) Vessel and operator permit holders. Fail to comply with the GB yellowtail flounder trip limit specified under § 648.85(a)(3)(iv)(C).
(ii) Gear requirements for all persons. If fishing with trawl gear under a NE multispecies DAS or on a sector trip in the Eastern U.S./Canada Area defined in § 648.85(a)(1)(ii), fail to fish with a haddock separator trawl, flounder trawl net, or Ruhle trawl, as specified in § 648.85(a)(3)(iii) and (b)(6)(iv)(J)( 1 ), unless using other gear authorized under § 648.85(b)(6) or (8).
(iii) Notification and VMS requirements for all persons. (A) Enter or fish in the Western U.S./Canada Area or Eastern U.S./Canada Area specified in § 648.85(a)(1), unless declared into the area in accordance with § 648.85(a)(3)(ii).
(B) If declared into one of the areas specified in § 648.85(a)(1), fish during that same trip outside of the declared area, unless in compliance with the applicable restrictions specified under § 648.85(a)(3)(ii)(A) or (B).
(C) If the vessel has been issued a limited access NE multispecies DAS permit, and is in the area specified in § 648.85(a), fail to comply with the VMS requirements in § 648.85(a)(3)(i).
(D) If fishing under a NE multispecies DAS or on a sector trip in the Eastern U.S./Canada Area specified in § 648.85(a)(1)(ii), but not in a SAP specified in § 648.85(b) on the same trip, fail to comply with the requirements specified in § 648.85(a)(3).
(E) Fail to notify NMFS via VMS prior to departing the Eastern U.S./Canada Area, when fishing inside and outside of the area on the same trip, in accordance with § 648.85(a)(3)(ii)(A)( 1 ).
(F) When fishing inside and outside of the Eastern U.S./Canada Area on the same trip, fail to abide by the most restrictive requirements that apply to any area fished, including the DAS counting, trip limits, and reporting requirements that apply, as described in § 648.85(a)(3)(ii)(A).
(iv) Reporting requirements for all persons. (A) If fishing under a NE multispecies DAS or on a sector trip in the Western U.S./Canada Area or Eastern U.S./Canada Area specified in § 648.85(a)(1), fail to report in accordance with § 648.85(a)(3)(v).
(B) Fail to comply with the reporting requirements under § 648.85(a)(3)(ii)(A)( 2 ) when fishing inside and outside of the Eastern U.S./Canada Area on one trip.
(v) DAS —(A) All persons. If fishing under a NE multispecies DAS in the Eastern U.S./Canada Area specified in § 648.85(a)(1)(ii), and in one of the SAPs specified in § 648.85(b)(3) or (8) on the same trip, fail to comply with the no discard and DAS flip provisions specified in § 648.85(b)(3)(xi) and (b)(8)(v)(I), or the minimum Category A DAS requirement specified in § 648.85(b)(3)(xii) and (b)(8)(v)(J).
(B) Vessel and operator permit holders. ( 1 ) [Reserved]
( 2 ) For vessels fishing inside and outside the Eastern U.S./Canada Area on the same trip, fail to comply with the most restrictive regulations that apply on the trip as required by § 648.85(a)(3)(ii)(A).
(vi) Closure of the U.S./Canada Area for all persons. If fishing under a NE multispecies DAS or on a sector trip, declare into, enter, or fish in the Eastern U.S./Canada Area specified in § 648.85(a)(1) if the area is closed under the authority of the Regional Administrator as described in § 648.85(a)(3)(iv)(D) or (E), unless fishing in the Closed Area II Yellowtail Flounder/Haddock SAP specified in § 648.85(b)(3) or the Eastern U.S./Canada Haddock SAP Program specified in § 648.85(b)(7).
(12) SAP restrictions (i) It is unlawful for any person to:
(A) If declared into the areas specified in § 648.85(b), enter or exit the declared areas more than once per trip.
(B) If a vessel is fishing under a Category B DAS in the Closed Area II Yellowtail Flounder SAP specified in § 648.85(b)(3), the Regular B DAS Program specified in § 648.85(b)(6), or the Eastern U.S./Canada Haddock SAP specified in § 648.85(b)(7), remove any fish caught with any gear, including dumping the contents of a net, except on board the vessel.
(ii) General restrictions for vessel and operator permit holders. Discard legal-sized NE regulated multispecies, ocean pout, or Atlantic halibut while fishing under a SAP, as described in §§ 648.85(b)(3)(xi) or 648.85(b)(7)(v)(I).
(iii) Closed Area II Yellowtail Flounder/Haddock SAP restrictions for all persons. (A) If fishing under the Closed Area II Yellowtail Flounder/Haddock SAP, fish for, harvest, possess, or land any regulated NE multispecies or ocean pout from the area specified in § 648.85(b)(3)(ii), unless in compliance with § 648.85(b)(3)(i) through (xiii).
(B) Enter or fish in Closed Area II as specified in § 648.81(a)(5), unless declared into the area in accordance with § 648.85(b)(3)(v) or (b)(8)(v)(D).
(C) Enter or fish in Closed Area II under the Closed Area II Yellowtail Flounder/Haddock SAP outside of the season specified in § 648.85(b)(3)(iii).
(D) If fishing in the Closed Area II Yellowtail Flounder/Haddock SAP specified in § 648.85(b)(3), exceed the number of trips specified in § 648.85(b)(3)(vi) or (vii).
(E) If fishing in the Closed Area II Yellowtail Flounder/Haddock SAP specified in § 648.85(b)(3), exceed the trip limits specified in § 648.85(b)(3)(viii).
(F) If fishing in the Closed Area II Yellowtail Flounder/Haddock SAP specified in § 648.85(b)(3), fail to comply with the gear requirements specified in § 648.85(b)(3)(x).
(iv) [Reserved]
(v) Regular B DAS Program restrictions for vessel and operator permit holders. (A) If fishing in the Regular B DAS Program specified in § 648.85(b)(6), fail to comply with §§ 648.85(b)(6)(iv)(A) through (J).
(B) If fishing in the Regular B DAS Program specified in § 648.85(b)(6), fail to use a haddock separator trawl as described in § 648.85(a)(3)(iii)(A), or other approved gear as described in § 648.85(b)(6)(iv)(J).
(C) If possessing a Ruhle Trawl, either at sea or elsewhere, as allowed under § 648.85(b)(6)(iv)(J)( 1 ) or (b)(8)(v)(E)( 1 ), fail to comply with the net specifications under § 648.85(b)(6)(iv)(J)( 3 ).
(D) Discard legal-sized NE regulated multispecies, ocean pout, Atlantic halibut, or monkfish while fishing under a Regular B DAS in the Regular B DAS Program, as described in § 648.85(b)(6)(iv)(E).
(E) If fishing in the Regular B DAS Program specified in § 648.85(b)(6), fail to comply with the landing limits specified in § 648.85(b)(6)(iv)(D).
(F) If fishing under a Regular B DAS in the Regular B DAS Program, fail to comply with the DAS flip requirements of § 648.85(b)(6)(iv)(E) if the vessel harvests and brings on board more than the landing limit for a groundfish stock of concern specified in § 648.85(b)(6)(iv)(D), other groundfish specified under § 648.86, or monkfish under § 648.94.
(G) DAS usage restrictions. ( 1 ) If fishing in the Regular B DAS Program, fail to comply with the restriction on DAS use specified in § 648.82(d)(2)(i)(A).
( 2 ) If fishing in the Regular B DAS Program specified in § 648.85(b)(6), fail to comply with the minimum Category A DAS and Category B DAS accrual requirements specified in § 648.85(b)(6)(iv)(F).
( 3 ) Use a Regular B DAS in the Regular B DAS Program specified in § 648.85(b)(6), if the program has been closed as specified in § 648.85(b)(6)(iv)(G) or (H), or (b)(6)(vi).
(H) VMS requirements. ( 1 ) If fishing in the Regular B DAS Program specified in § 648.85(b)(6), fail to comply with the VMS requirement specified in § 648.85(b)(6)(iv)(A).
( 2 ) If fishing in the Regular B DAS Program specified in § 648.85(b)(6), fail to comply with the VMS declaration requirement specified in § 648.85(b)(6)(iv)(C).
(I) If fishing in the Regular B DAS Program specified in § 648.85(b)(6), fail to comply with the observer notification requirement specified in § 648.85(b)(6)(iv)(B).
(J) If fishing in the Regular B DAS Program specified in § 648.85(b)(6), fail to comply with the reporting requirements specified in § 648.85(b)(6)(iv)(I).
(vi) Eastern U.S./Canada Haddock SAP Restrictions —(A) All Persons. ( 1 ) If fishing under a NE multispecies DAS or on a sector trip in the Eastern U.S./Canada Haddock SAP specified in § 648.85(b)(8), in the area specified in § 648.85(b)(8)(ii), and during the season specified in § 648.85(b)(8)(iv), fail to comply with § 648.85(b)(8)(v).
( 2 ) VMS and declaration requirements. ( i ) If fishing under a NE multispecies DAS or on a sector trip in the Eastern U.S./Canada Haddock SAP in the area specified in § 648.85(b)(8)(ii), fail to comply with the VMS requirements in § 648.85(b)(8)(v)(B).
( ii ) If fishing under a NE multispecies DAS or on a sector trip, fish in the Eastern U.S./Canada Haddock SAP specified in § 648.85(b)(8), unless declared into the program in accordance with § 648.85(b)(8)(v)(D).
( 3 ) Enter or fish in the Eastern U.S./Canada Haddock SAP outside of the season specified in § 648.85(b)(8)(iv).
( 4 ) If possessing a Ruhle Trawl, either at sea or elsewhere, as allowed under § 648.85(b)(6)(iv)(J)( 1 ) or (b)(8)(v)(E)( 1 ), fail to comply with the net specifications under § 648.85(b)(6)(iv)(J)( 3 ).
( 5 ) Possession limits and restrictions. ( i ) If fishing under a NE multispecies DAS in the Eastern U.S./Canada Haddock SAP, exceed the possession limits specified in § 648.85(b)(8)(v)(F).
( ii ) If fishing under the Eastern U.S./Canada Haddock SAP, fish for, harvest, possess, or land any regulated NE multispecies from the area specified in § 648.85(b)(8)(ii), unless in compliance with the restrictions and conditions of § 648.85(b)(8)(v)(A) through (I).
( 6 ) If fishing in the Eastern U.S./Canada Haddock SAP specified in § 648.85(b)(8), fail to comply with the reporting requirements of § 648.85(b)(8)(v)(G).
( 7 ) If fishing under the Eastern U.S./Canada Haddock SAP specified in § 648.85(b)(8), fail to comply with the observer notification requirements of § 648.85(b)(8)(v)(C).
(B) Vessel and operator permit holders. ( 1 ) If fishing in the Eastern U.S./Canada Haddock SAP Area, and other portions of the Eastern U.S./Canada Haddock SAP Area on the same trip, fail to comply with the restrictions in § 648.85(b)(8)(v)(A).
( 2 ) DAS usage restrictions. ( i ) If fishing in the Eastern U.S./Canada Haddock SAP Area under a Category B DAS, fail to comply with the DAS flip requirements of § 648.85(b)(8)(v)(I), if the vessel possesses more than the applicable landing limit specified in §§ 648.85(b)(8)(v)(F) or 648.86.
( ii ) If fishing in the Eastern U.S./Canada Haddock SAP Area under a Category B DAS, fail to have the minimum number of Category A DAS available as required by § 648.85(b)(8)(v)(J).
( 3 ) Fish in the Eastern U.S./Canada Haddock SAP specified in § 648.85(b)(8), if the SAP is closed as specified in § 648.85(b)(8)(v)(K) or (L).
(13) Possession and landing restrictions. (i) It is unlawful for any person to:
(A) Under § 648.85 or § 648.86, fail to offload a sufficient amount of regulated species or ocean pout subject to a daily possession limit at the end of a fishing trip, as required by § 648.86(i).
(B) Scallop vessels. Possess or land fish caught with nets of mesh smaller than the minimum size specified in § 648.51, or with scallop dredge gear on a vessel not fishing under the scallop DAS program described in § 648.54, or fishing under a general scallop permit, unless said fish are caught, possessed, or landed in accordance with §§ 648.80 and 648.86, or unless the vessel has not been issued a Federal NE multispecies permit and fishes for NE multispecies exclusively in state waters.
(ii) Vessel and operator permit holders. (A) Land, or possess on board a vessel, more than the possession or landing limits specified in § 648.86(a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (g), (h), (j), (k), (l), (n), and (o); or violate any of the other provisions of § 648.86, unless otherwise specified in § 648.17.
(B) Possess or land per trip more than the possession or landing limits specified in § 648.86(a), (b), (c), (e), (g), (h), (j), (l), (m), (n), and (o); § 648.82(b)(5) and (6); § 648.85; or § 648.88, if the vessel has been issued a limited access NE multispecies permit or open access NE multispecies permit, as applicable.
(C) Fish for, possess at any time during a trip, or land regulated NE multispecies or ocean pout specified in § 648.86 after using up the vessel's annual DAS allocation or when not participating in the DAS program pursuant to § 648.82, unless otherwise exempted by § 648.82(b)(5), § 648.87, or § 648.89, or allowed pursuant to § 648.85(b)(6) or § 648.88.
(D) Atlantic cod. ( 1 ) Enter port, while on a NE multispecies DAS trip, in possession of more than the allowable limit of cod specified in § 648.86(b)(1), unless the vessel is fishing under the cod exemption specified in § 648.86(b)(4).
( 2 ) Enter port, while on a NE multispecies DAS trip, in possession of more than the allowable limit of cod specified in § 648.86(b)(2).
( 3 ) [Reserved]
( 4 ) Fail to declare through VMS an intent to be exempt from the GOM cod trip limit under § 648.86(b)(1), as required under § 648.86(b)(4), or fish north of the exemption line if in possession of more than the GOM cod trip limit specified under § 648.86(b)(1).
(E) Atlantic halibut. Possess or land per trip more than the possession or landing limit specified under § 648.86(c).
(F) White hake. Possess or land more white hake than allowed under § 648.86(e).
(G) Yellowtail flounder. While fishing in the areas specified in § 648.86(g)(1) with a NE multispecies Handgear A permit, or under the NE multispecies DAS program, or under the limited access monkfish Category C or D permit provisions, possess yellowtail flounder in excess of the limits specified under § 648.86(g)(1), unless fishing under the recreational or charter/party regulations, or transiting with gear stowed and not available for immediate use as defined in § 648.2.
(H) GB winter flounder. Possess or land more GB winter flounder than allowed under § 648.86(j).
(I) For common pool vessels, including vessels issued a limited access monkfish permit and fishing under the monkfish Category C or D permit provisions, land regulated species or ocean pout more than once within any 24-hr period.
(J) For common pool vessels, including vessels issued a limited access monkfish permit and fishing under the monkfish Category C or D permit provisions, fail to comply with the most restrictive trip limits applicable when fishing in multiple areas, as specified in § 648.85 or § 648.86.
(14) Sector requirements. It is unlawful for any person, including any owner or operator of a vessel issued a valid Federal NE multispecies permit and fishing on a sector trip to do any of the following:
(i) Fail to abide by the restrictions specified in § 648.87(b)(1).
(ii) Catch regulated species or ocean pout in excess of ACE allocated or transferred to that sector pursuant to § 648.87(b)(1)(i) and (viii), respectively.
(iii) Fish in a particular stock area, the Eastern U.S./Canada Area, or a SAP if the sector has not been allocated, does not acquire, or otherwise has insufficient ACE remaining/available for all stocks caught in that area, or fail to operate in a manner that would not catch stocks for which the sector has not been allocated ACE, as described in an approved sector operations plan pursuant to § 648.87(b)(2)(xiv), as prohibited in § 648.87(b)(1)(ii).
(iv) Violate the provisions of an approved sector operations plan or letter of authorization issued by the Regional Administrator, as required by § 648.87(b)(1)(iv) and (b)(2).
(v) Fail to remain in the sector for the remainder of the fishing year, as required by § 648.87(b)(1).
(vi) Unless otherwise required to use a NE multispecies DAS to participate in another fishery, fish in the NE multispecies DAS program in a given fishing year or, for common pool vessels, fish in an approved sector in a given fishing year.
(vii) If a vessel is removed from a sector for violating the Sector rules, fish under the NE multispecies regulations for common pool vessels.
(viii) Discard legal-sized regulated species or ocean pout allocated to sectors pursuant to § 648.87(b)(1)(i), as prohibited by § 648.87(b)(1)(v).
(ix) Fail to comply with the reporting requirements specified in §§ 648.11(l)(10)(iii) and 648.87(b)(1)(v).
(x) Leave port to begin a trip before an at-sea monitor has arrived and boarded the vessel if assigned to carry an at-sea monitor for that trip, or without an operational electronic monitoring system installed on board, as specified in § 648.11(l)(3) and (l)(10)(i).
(xi) Leave port to begin a trip if a vessel has failed a review of safety issues by an at-sea monitor and has not successfully resolved any identified safety deficiencies, as prohibited by § 648.11(l)(10)(i)(C).
(xii) Fail to comply with the electronic monitoring system requirements as specified in § 648.11(l)(10)(i)(A), including, but not limited to: ensuring the electronic monitoring system is fully operational; conducting a system check of the electronic monitoring system; ensuring camera views are unobstructed and clear; and ensuring that no person tampers with the electronic monitoring system.
(xiii) Fail to comply with the vessel monitoring plan requirements as specified in § 648.11(l)(10)(i)(B), including, but not limited to: carrying the vessel monitoring plan onboard the vessel at all times; complying with all catch handling protocols and other requirements in the vessel monitoring plan; submitting electronic monitoring data as required; and making the electronic monitoring system available to NMFS for inspection upon request.
(xiv) Offload fish without a dockside monitor present or without a waiver issued by NMFS when participating in the maximized retention electronic monitoring program.
(xv) Resist, oppose, impede, harass, intimidate, or interfere with or bar by command, impediment, threat, or coercion any dockside monitor conducting his or her duty to inspect a fish hold after offload.
(xvi) Fish under a waiver from the groundfish sector monitoring program issued under § 648.11(l)(5)(ii) or (iii) without complying with the requirements of § 648.11(l)(5)(ii) or (iii), respectively; the VMS declaration requirements at § 648.10; and the pre-trip notification requirements at § 648.11(l)(1).
(15) Open access permit restrictions —(i) All persons. (A) Violate any provision of the open access permit restrictions of § 648.88.
(B) Possess on board gear other than that specified in § 648.88(a)(2)(i), or fish with hooks greater than the number specified in § 648.88(a)(2)(iii), if fishing under an open access Handgear permit.
(C) Fish for, possess, or land regulated multispecies from March 1 to March 20, if issued an open access Handgear permit.
(ii) Vessel and operator permit holders —(A) Open access Handgear permit. It is unlawful for any person owning or operating a vessel issued an open access NE multispecies Handgear permit to do any of the following, unless otherwise specified in § 648.17:
( 1 ) Violate any provision of the open access Handgear permit restrictions of § 648.88(a).
( 2 ) Possess, at any time during a trip, or land per trip, more than the possession limit of NE multispecies specified in § 648.88(a), unless the vessel is a charter or party vessel fishing under the charter/party restrictions specified in § 648.89.
( 3 ) Use, or possess on board, gear capable of harvesting NE multispecies, other than rod and reel, or handline gear, or tub-trawls, while in possession of, or fishing for, NE multispecies.
( 4 ) Possess or land NE multispecies during the time period specified in § 648.88(a)(2).
( 5 ) If operating under the provisions of a limited access NE multispecies Handgear B permit south of the GOM Regulated Mesh Area, as defined at § 648.80(a)(1), fail to obtain or retain on board a letter of authorization from the Regional Administrator, as required by § 648.88(a)(2)(iv).
(B) Scallop multispecies possession limit permit. It is unlawful for any person owning or operating a vessel issued a scallop multispecies possession limit permit to possess or land more than the possession limit of NE multispecies specified in § 648.88(c), or to possess or land regulated species when not fishing under a scallop DAS, unless otherwise specified in § 648.17.
(C) Open access NE multispecies (non-regulated species permit). It is unlawful for any owner or operator of a vessel issued a valid open access NE multispecies permit to possess or land any regulated species, as defined in § 648.2, or to violate any applicable provisions of § 648.88, unless otherwise specified in § 648.14, § 648.86, or § 648.88.
(16) Recreational and charter/party requirements. It is unlawful for the owner or operator of a charter or party boat issued a valid Federal NE multispecies permit, or for a recreational vessel, as applicable, unless otherwise specified in § 648.17, to do any of the following if fishing under the recreational or charter/party regulations:
(i) Possession and landing. Possess cod, haddock, or Atlantic halibut in excess of the possession limits specified in § 648.89(c).
(ii) Gear requirements. Fish with gear in violation of the restrictions of § 648.89(a).
(iii) Seasonal and area restrictions. (A) Fail to comply with the applicable restrictions if transiting the GOM Regulated Mesh Area with cod on board that was caught outside the GOM Regulated Mesh Area.
(B) Fail to comply with the requirements specified in § 648.81(d)(5)(v) when fishing in the areas described in § 648.81(b)(3) and (4) and (d) during the time periods specified.
(C) If the vessel is a private recreational fishing vessel, fail to comply with the seasonal closure for cod or haddock described in § 648.89(c)(1) or, if the vessel has been issued a charter/party permit or is fishing under charter/party regulations, fail to comply with the seasonal closure for cod or haddock described in § 648.89(c)(2).
(iv) Restriction on sale and transfer. Sell, trade, barter, or otherwise transfer; or attempt to sell, trade, barter or otherwise transfer; NE multispecies for a commercial purpose as specified in § 648.89(d).
(v) Size limits. If fishing under the recreational or charter/party regulations, possess regulated species or ocean pout that are smaller than the minimum fish sizes or larger than maximum fish sizes specified in § 648.89(b)(1) and (b)(3).
(vi) Identification. If fishing under the recreational or charter/party regulations, possess regulated species or ocean pout without at least 2 square inches (5.1 square cm) of contiguous skin that allows for the ready identification of the species of fish upon landing.
(vii) Atlantic wolffish. If fishing under the recreational or charter/party regulations, possess Atlantic wolffish.
(viii) Ocean pout. If fishing under the recreational or charter/party regulations, possess ocean pout.
(ix) Windowpane flounder. If fishing under the recreational or charter/party regulations, possess windowpane flounder.
(17) Presumptions. For purposes of this part, the following presumptions apply: Regulated species possessed for sale that do not meet the minimum sizes specified in § 648.83 are deemed to have been taken from the EEZ or imported in violation of these regulations, unless the preponderance of all submitted evidence demonstrates that such fish were harvested by a vessel not issued a permit under this part and fishing exclusively within state waters, or by a vessel issued a valid High Seas Fishing Compliance permit that fished exclusively in the NAFO Regulatory Area. This presumption does not apply to fish being sorted on deck.
(18) Trimester TAC AM. It is unlawful for any person, including any owner or operator of a vessel issued a valid Federal NE multispecies permit or letter under § 648.4(a)(1)(i), unless otherwise specified in § 648.17, to fish for, harvest, possess, or land regulated species or ocean pout in or from the closed areas specified in § 648.82(n)(2)(ii) once such areas are closed pursuant to § 648.82(n)(2)(i).
(19) At-sea/electronic monitoring service providers. It is unlawful for any at-sea/electronic monitoring service provider, including individual at-sea monitors, to do any of the following:
(i) Fail to comply with the operational requirements, including the recordkeeping and reporting requirements, specified in § 648.87(b)(5).
(ii) Provide false or inaccurate information regarding area fished; species identification; or amount of each species kept, discarded, or landed.
(20) AMs for both stocks of windowpane flounder, ocean pout, Atlantic halibut, and Atlantic wolffish. It is unlawful for any person, including any owner or operator of a vessel issued a valid Federal NE multispecies permit or letter under § 648.4(a)(1)(i), unless otherwise specified in § 648.17, to fail to comply with the restrictions on fishing and gear specified in § 648.90(a)(5)(i)(D) through (H).
(21) Universal sector exemption programs —(i) Redfish Exemption Program. (A) While fishing under the provisions of the Redfish Exemption Program, it is unlawful for any person to:
( 1 ) Fish with a codend of mesh smaller than 5.5-inch (14.0-cm) diamond or square,
( 2 ) Fish outside of the Redfish Exemption Area specified in § 648.85(e)(1)(ii),
( 3 ) Fish in the Redfish Exemption Area Cod Closure specified in § 648.85(e)(1)(ii)(A) during the closure period,
( 4 ) Fish in the Redfish Exemption Area Seasonal Closure II specified in § 648.85(e)(1)(ii)(B) during the closure period,
( 5 ) Fail to comply with the declaration requirements of the Redfish Exemption Program specified in § 648.85(e)(1)(iv),
( 6 ) Fail to comply with the reporting requirements of the Redfish Exemption Program specified in § 648.85(e)(1)(v), or
( 7 ) Fail to comply with the gear requirements of the Redfish Exemption Program specified in § 648.85(e)(1)(vii), or fish with any gear other than trawl.
(B) It is unlawful for any person to fish under the provisions of the Redfish Exemption Program when prohibited from doing so by the Regional Administrator under § 648.85(e)(1)(viii)(C), or when ineligible or prohibited for any other reason.
(ii) [Reserved]
(l) Small-mesh multispecies. (1) It is unlawful for any person owning or operating a vessel issued a valid Federal multispecies permit to land, offload, or otherwise transfer; or attempt to land, offload, or otherwise transfer; small-mesh multispecies from one vessel to another in excess of the limits specified in § 648.13.
(2) Presumptions. For purposes of this part, the following presumption applies: All small-mesh multispecies retained or possessed on a vessel issued any permit under § 648.4 are deemed to have been harvested from the EEZ.
(m) Monkfish. It is unlawful for any person owning or operating a vessel that engages in fishing for monkfish to do any of the following, unless otherwise fishing in accordance with, and exempted under, the provisions of § 648.17:
(1) Permit requirement. (i) Fish for, possess, retain, or land monkfish, unless:
(A) The monkfish are being fished for, or were harvested, in or from the EEZ by a vessel issued a valid monkfish permit under § 648.4(a)(9).
(B) The vessel does not hold a valid Federal monkfish permit and fishes for or possesses monkfish exclusively in state waters.
(C) The vessel does not hold a valid Federal monkfish permit and engages in recreational fishing.
(D) The monkfish were harvested from the NAFO Regulatory Area in accordance with the provisions specified under § 648.17.
(ii) Fish for, possess, or land monkfish in or from the EEZ without having been issued and possessing a valid operator permit pursuant to § 648.5, and this permit is onboard the vessel.
(2) Gear requirements. (i) Fish with or use nets with mesh size smaller than the minimum mesh size specified in § 648.91(c) while fishing under a monkfish DAS, except as authorized by § 648.91(c)(1)(v).
(ii) Fail to immediately produce gillnet tags when requested by an authorized officer.
(iii) Tag a gillnet with, or otherwise use or possess, a gillnet tag that has been reported lost, missing, destroyed, or issued to another vessel, or use or possess a false gillnet tag.
(iv) Sell, transfer, or give away gillnet tags.
(v) If the vessel has been issued a valid limited access monkfish permit, and fishes under a monkfish DAS, fail to comply with gillnet requirements and restrictions specified in § 648.92(b)(8).
(3) Area restrictions. (i) Fail to comply with the restrictions applicable to limited access Category G and H vessels specified under § 648.92(b)(9).
(ii) Fail to comply with the Northern Fishery Management Area (NFMA) or Southern Fishery Management Area (SFMA) requirements specified at § 648.92(b)(1)(v).
(iii) Fail to comply with the New Jersey Atlantic Sturgeon Bycatch Reduction Area requirements specified at § 648.91(d).
(4) DAS requirements. (i) Fail to comply with the monkfish DAS provisions specified at § 648.92 when issued a valid limited access monkfish permit.
(ii) Combine, transfer, or consolidate monkfish DAS allocations.
(5) Size limits. Fail to comply with the monkfish size limit restrictions of § 648.93 when issued a valid monkfish permit under § 648.4(a)(9) or when fishing in the EEZ.
(6) Possession and landing. (i) Fail to comply with the monkfish possession limits and landing restrictions, including liver landing restrictions, specified under § 648.94.
(ii) Violate any provision of the monkfish incidental catch permit restrictions as specified in §§ 648.4(a)(9)(ii) or 648.94(c).
(7) Transfer and sale. (i) Sell, barter, trade, or otherwise transfer for a commercial purpose; or attempt to sell, barter, trade, or otherwise transfer for a commercial purpose; any monkfish from a vessel without having been issued a valid monkfish vessel permit, unless the vessel fishes for monkfish exclusively in state waters, or exclusively in the NAFO Regulatory Area in accordance with the provisions specified under § 648.17.
(ii) Purchase, possess, or receive as a dealer, or in the capacity of a dealer, monkfish in excess of the possession or trip limits specified in § 648.94.
(iii) Land, offload, or otherwise transfer; or attempt to land, offload, or otherwise transfer; monkfish from one vessel to another vessel, unless each vessel has not been issued a monkfish permit and fishes exclusively in state waters.
(8) Presumption. For purposes of this part, the following presumption applies: All monkfish retained or possessed on a vessel issued any permit under § 648.4 are deemed to have been harvested from the EEZ, unless the preponderance of evidence demonstrates that such fish were harvested by a vessel that fished exclusively in the NAFO Regulatory Area, as authorized under § 648.17.
(n) Summer flounder —(1) All persons. Unless participating in a research activity as described in § 648.22(g), it is unlawful for any person to do any of the following:
(i) Permit requirement. Possess summer flounder in or harvested from the EEZ, either in excess of the possession limit specified in § 648.106, or before or after the time period specified in § 648.105, unless the vessel was issued a summer flounder moratorium permit and the moratorium permit is on board the vessel and has not been surrendered, revoked, or suspended. However, possession of summer flounder harvested from state waters is allowed for state-only permitted vessels when transiting Federal waters within the Block Island Sound Transit Area provided they follow the provisions at § 648.111.
(ii) Transfer and purchase. (A) Purchase or otherwise receive for a commercial purpose, other than solely for transport on land, summer flounder from the owner or operator of a vessel issued a summer flounder moratorium permit, unless in possession of a valid summer flounder dealer permit.
(B) Purchase or otherwise receive for commercial purposes summer flounder caught by a vessel subject to the possession limit of § 648.106.
(C) Purchase or otherwise receive for a commercial purpose summer flounder landed in a state after the effective date published in the Federal Register notifying permit holders that commercial quota is no longer available in that state for the respective fishing year.
(iii) Gear requirements. Possess nets or netting with mesh not meeting the minimum mesh requirement of § 648.108 if the person possesses summer flounder harvested in or from the EEZ in excess of the threshold limit of § 648.106(a).
(2) Vessel and operator permit holders. Unless participating in a research activity as described in § 648.102(e), it is unlawful for any person owning or operating a vessel issued a summer flounder permit (including a moratorium permit) to do any of the following:
(i) Possession and landing. (A) Possess 100 lb (45.4 kg) or more of summer flounder between May 1 and October 31, or 200 lb (90.7 kg) or more of summer flounder between November 1 and April 30, unless the vessel meets the gear requirements or restrictions specified in § 648.108.
(B) Possess summer flounder in other than a container specified in § 648.106(d) if fishing with nets having mesh that does not meet the minimum mesh-size requirement specified in § 648.108(a), unless the vessel is fishing pursuant to the exemptions specified in § 648.108(b).
(C) Land summer flounder for sale in a state after the effective date of a notification in the Federal Register notifying permit holders that commercial quota is no longer available in that state.
(D) Sell or transfer to another person for a commercial purpose, other than solely for transport on land, any summer flounder, possessed or landed by a vessel not issued a summer flounder moratorium permit.
(ii) Transfer and purchase. Sell or transfer to another person for a commercial purpose, other than solely for transport on land, any summer flounder, unless the transferee has a valid summer flounder dealer permit.
(iii) Gear requirements. (A) Fish with or possess nets or netting that do not meet the minimum mesh requirement, or that are modified, obstructed or constricted, if subject to the minimum mesh requirement specified in § 648.108, unless the nets or netting are stowed in accordance with § 648.108(e).
(B) Fish with or possess nets or netting that do not meet the minimum mesh requirement, or that are modified, obstructed or constricted, if fishing with an exempted net described in § 648.108, unless the nets or netting are stowed in accordance with § 648.108(f).
(C) Fish west or south, as appropriate, of the line specified in § 648.108(b)(1) if exempted from the minimum mesh requirement specified in § 648.108 by a summer flounder exemption permit.
(3) Charter/party restrictions. Unless participating in a research activity as described in § 648.102(e), it is unlawful for the owner and operator of a party or charter boat issued a summer flounder permit (including a moratorium permit), when the boat is carrying passengers for hire or carrying more than three crew members if a charter boat or more than five members if a party boat, to:
(i) Carry passengers for hire, or carry more than three crew members for a charter boat or five crew members for a party boat, while fishing commercially pursuant to a summer flounder moratorium permit.
(ii) Possess summer flounder in excess of the possession limit established pursuant to § 648.106.
(iii) Fish for summer flounder other than during a season specified pursuant to § 648.105.
(iv) Sell or transfer summer flounder to another person for a commercial purpose.
(4) Presumption. For purposes of this part, the following presumption applies: All summer flounder retained or possessed on a vessel issued a permit under § 648.4 are deemed to have been harvested in the EEZ.
(o) Scup —(1) All persons. Unless a vessel is participating in a research activity as described in § 648.122(e) or unless a vessel has no Federal scup permit, possesses scup caught exclusively in state waters, and is transiting Federal waters within the Block Island Sound Transit Area in accordance with the provisions at § 648.131, it is unlawful for any person to do any of the following:
(i) Permit requirement. Fish for, catch, or retain for sale, barter, or trade scup in or from the EEZ north of 35°15.3′ N. lat. on board a party or charter boat without the vessel having been issued an applicable valid party or charter boat permit pursuant to § 648.4(a)(6), unless the vessel other than a party or charter vessel observes the possession limit restrictions and prohibition against sales specified in § 648.125.
(ii) Possession and landing. (A) Possess scup in or harvested from the EEZ north of 35°15.3′ N. lat. in an area closed, or before or after a season established pursuant to §§ 648.124 and 648.127.
(B) Possess scup in excess of the possession limit established pursuant to § 648.125.
(C) Fish for, possess, or land scup harvested in or from the EEZ north of 35°15.3′ N. lat. for a commercial purpose after the effective date of a notification published in the Federal Register stating that the commercial quota has been harvested.
(D) Fish for, catch, possess, or retain scup in or from the EEZ north of 35°15.3′ N. lat. in excess of the amount specified in § 648.125, unless the vessel complies with all of the gear restrictions in § 648.125.
(E) Fish for, catch, retain, or land scup in or from the EEZ north of 35°15.3′ N. lat. in excess of the limit established through the annual specification process and published in the Federal Register pursuant to § 648.122(a).
(iii) Minimum fish size. Possess, other than solely for transport on land, scup harvested in or from the EEZ north of 35°15.3′ N. lat. that do not meet the minimum fish size specified in § 648.126.
(iv) Transfer and purchase. Purchase or otherwise receive for a commercial purpose scup harvested from the EEZ north of 35°15.3′ N. lat., or from a vessel issued a scup moratorium permit after the effective date of a notification published in the Federal Register stating that the commercial quota has been harvested.
(v) Gear requirements. Fail to comply with any of the gear restrictions specified in § 648.125.
(vi) Gear restricted areas. Fish for, catch, possess, retain, or land longfin squid, silver hake, or black sea bass in or from the areas and during the time periods described in § 648.124(a) or (b) while in possession of any trawl nets or netting that do not meet the minimum mesh restrictions or that are obstructed or constricted as specified in §§ 648.124 and 648.125(a), unless the nets or netting are stowed in accordance with § 648.125(a)(5).
(2) Vessel and operator permit holders. Unless participating in a research activity as described in § 648.122(e), it is unlawful for any person owning or operating a vessel issued a scup permit (including a moratorium permit) to do any of the following:
(i) Possession and landing. (A) Possess scup in excess of the threshold amount specified in § 648.125, unless the vessel meets the minimum mesh-size restrictions specified in § 648.125.
(B) Land scup for sale after the effective date of a notification published in the Federal Register stating that the commercial quota has been harvested.
(C) Possess scup in, or harvested from, the EEZ in an area closed by, or before or after a season established pursuant to § 648.124.
(ii) Transfer and purchase. (A) Sell or transfer to another person for a commercial purpose, other than solely for transport on land, any scup, unless the transferee has a dealer permit issued under § 648.6.
(B) Transfer scup at sea, or attempt to transfer at sea to any vessel, any scup taken from the EEZ, unless in compliance with the provisions of § 648.13(i).
(3) Charter/party requirements. Unless participating in a research activity as described in § 648.122(e), it is unlawful for the owner or operator of a party or charter boat issued a scup permit (including a moratorium permit), when the boat is carrying passengers for hire, or when carrying more than three crew members, if a charter boat, or more than five members, if a party boat to:
(i) Carry passengers for hire, or carry more than three crew members for a charter boat, or five crew members for a party boat, while fishing for scup under the terms of a moratorium permit issued pursuant to § 648.4(a)(6).
(ii) Possess scup in excess of the possession limit established pursuant to § 648.128.
(iii) Fish for scup other than during a season established pursuant to § 648.124.
(iv) Sell scup or transfer scup to another person for a commercial purpose other than solely for transport on land.
(v) Possess scup that do not meet the minimum fish size specified in § 648.126(b).
(4) Presumption. For purposes of this part, the following presumption applies: All scup retained or possessed on a vessel issued a permit under § 648.4 are deemed to have been harvested in the EEZ, north of 35°15.3′ N. lat., unless a preponderance of the evidence shows the fish were harvested by a vessel that fished exclusively in state waters.
(p) Black sea bass —(1) All persons. Unless participating in a research activity as described in § 648.142(e), it is unlawful for any person to do any of the following:
(i) Permit requirement. Possess black sea bass in or harvested from the EEZ north of 35°15.3′ N. lat., either in excess of the possession limit established pursuant to § 648.145, or before or after the time period established pursuant to § 648.146, unless the person is operating a vessel issued a moratorium permit under § 648.4 and the moratorium permit is on board the vessel. However, possession of black sea bass harvested from state waters is allowed for state-only permitted vessels when transiting Federal waters within the Block Island Sound Transit Area provided they follow the provisions at § 648.151.
(ii) Possession and landing. Fish for, catch, possess, land, or retain black sea bass in or from the EEZ north of 35°15.3′ N. lat. (the latitude of Cape Hatteras Light, NC, to the U.S.-Canadian border) in excess of the amount specified in § 648.144(a)(1)(i), unless the vessel complies with all of the gear restrictions at § 648.144(a).
(iii) Transfer and purchase. Purchase or otherwise receive for commercial purposes, other than solely for transport on land, black sea bass landed for sale by a moratorium vessel in any state, or part thereof, north of 35°15.3′ N. lat., after the effective date of a notification published in the Federal Register stating that the commercial annual quota has been harvested and the EEZ is closed to the harvest of black sea bass.
(iv) Gear restriction. Fail to comply with any of the gear restrictions specified in § 648.144.
(v) Size limits. Fish for, possess, land, or retain black sea bass in or from the EEZ that does not comply with the minimum or maximum (as applicable) fish size specified in § 648.147.
(vi) Special management zone. Fail to comply with any of the restrictions for special management zones specified in § 648.148(b).
(2) Vessel and operator permit holders. Unless participating in a research activity as described in § 648.142(e), it is unlawful for any person owning or operating a vessel issued a black sea bass permit (including a moratorium permit) to do any of the following:
(i) Permit requirement. Sell or transfer to another person for a commercial purpose, other than solely for transport on land, any black sea bass from a vessel, unless the transferee has a valid black sea bass dealer permit.
(ii) Possession and landing. (A) Land black sea bass for sale in any state, or part thereof, north of 35°15.3′ N. lat. after the effective date of a notification published in the Federal Register stating that the commercial annual quota has been harvested and the EEZ is closed to the harvest of black sea bass.
(B) [Reserved]
(C) Land black sea bass for sale in any state south of North Carolina.
(D) Possess black sea bass after the effective date of a notification published in the Federal Register stating that the commercial annual quota has been harvested and the EEZ is closed to the harvest of black sea bass, unless the vessel has been issued a Southeast Region Snapper/Grouper Permit and fishes for and possess black sea bass south of 35°15.3′ N. lat.
(3) Charter/party restrictions. Unless participating in a research activity as described in § 648.142(e), it is unlawful for the owner or operator of a party or charter boat issued a black sea bass permit (including a moratorium permit), when the boat is carrying passengers for hire or carrying more than three crew members, if a charter boat, or more than five members, if a party boat, to:
(i) Fish for black sea bass under the terms of a moratorium permit issued pursuant to § 648.4(a)(7).
(ii) Possess, retain, or land black sea bass in excess of the possession limit established pursuant to § 648.145.
(iii) Fish for black sea bass other than during a time allowed pursuant to § 648.146.
(iv) Sell black sea bass or transfer black sea bass from a vessel to another person for a commercial purpose other than solely for transport on land.
(4) Presumption. For purposes of this part, the following presumption applies: All black sea bass retained or possessed on a vessel issued a permit under § 648.4 are deemed to have been harvested in the EEZ, unless the vessel also has been issued a Southeast Region Snapper/Grouper permit and fishes for, retains, or possesses black sea bass south of 35°15.3′ N. lat.
(q) Bluefish. Unless participating in a research activity as described in § 648.162(g), it is unlawful for any person to do any of the following:
(1) Permit requirement. Possess in or harvest from the EEZ, Atlantic bluefish, in excess of the daily possession limit found at § 648.164, unless the vessel is issued a valid Atlantic bluefish vessel permit under § 648.4(a)(8)(i) and the permit is on board the vessel and has not been surrendered, revoked, or suspended.
(2) Possession and landing. (i) Land bluefish for sale in a state after the effective date of a notification in the Federal Register pursuant to § 648.163(b), that the commercial quota is no longer available in that state.
(ii) Land bluefish for sale after the effective date of a notification in the Federal Register pursuant to § 648.163(a), that the bluefish fishery is closed.
(3) Transfer and purchase. (i) Sell, barter, trade or transfer; or attempt to sell, barter, trade or otherwise transfer; other than for transport, bluefish that were harvested in or from the EEZ, unless the vessel has been issued a valid bluefish permit under § 648.4(a)(8)(i).
(ii) Purchase or otherwise receive for a commercial purpose bluefish harvested from the EEZ after the effective date of the notification published in the Federal Register stating that the commercial quota has been harvested.
(iii) Purchase or otherwise receive for a commercial purpose bluefish harvested by a Federally permitted vessel after the effective date of the notification published in the Federal Register stating that the commercial quota has been harvested.
(4) Charter/party restrictions. Carry passengers for hire, or carry more than three crew members for a charter boat or five crew members for a party boat, while fishing commercially pursuant to a bluefish permit issued under § 648.4(a)(8).
(5) Presumption. For purposes of this part, the following presumption applies: All bluefish possessed on board a party or charter vessel issued a permit under § 648.4(a)(8)(ii) are deemed to have been harvested from the EEZ.
(r) Atlantic herring —(1) All persons. It is unlawful for any person to do any of the following:
(i) Permit requirement. Operate, or act as an operator of, a vessel with an Atlantic herring permit, or a vessel fishing for or possessing herring in or from the EEZ, unless the operator has been issued, and is in possession of, a valid operator permit.
(ii) Possession and landing. (A) Fish for, possess, retain or land herring, unless:
( 1 ) The herring are being fished for, or were harvested in or from, the EEZ by a vessel holding a valid herring permit under this part and the operator on board such vessel possesses a valid operator permit that is on board the vessel.
( 2 ) The herring were harvested by a vessel not issued a herring permit that fished exclusively in state waters.
( 3 ) The herring were harvested in or from the EEZ by a vessel engaged in recreational fishing.
( 4 ) The herring were possessed for personal use as bait.
( 5 ) Unless otherwise specified in § 648.17.
(B) Attempt or do any of the following: Fish for, possess, transfer, receive, land, or sell, more than the possession limits specified at § 648.201(a) from a management area subject to a possession limit adjustment or fishery closure, or from a river herring and shad catch cap closure area that has been closed to specified gear pursuant to § 648.201(a)(4)(ii), if the vessel has been issued and holds a valid herring permit.
(iii) Processing requirements. (A) Process herring that was caught in or from the EEZ by a U.S. vessel that exceeds the size limits specified in § 648.4(a)(10)(iii), in excess of the specification of USAP.
(B) Discard herring carcasses at sea after removing the roe, if a Federally permitted vessel; or in the EEZ, if not a Federally permitted vessel.
(C) Catch, take, or harvest herring for roe, at sea, if a Federally permitted vessel; or if not Federally permitted, in or from the EEZ in excess of any limit established by § 648.206(b)(24).
(iv) Transfer and purchase. (A) Purchase, possess, receive; or attempt to purchase, possess, or receive; as a dealer, or in the capacity of a dealer, herring harvested in or from the EEZ, without having been issued, and in possession of, a valid herring dealer permit.
(B) Purchase, possess, receive; or attempt to purchase, possess, or receive; as a processor, or in the capacity of a processor, herring from a fishing vessel with a herring permit or from a dealer with a herring dealer permit, without having been issued, and in possession of, a valid herring processor permit.
(C) Sell, barter, trade, or otherwise transfer; or attempt to sell, barter, trade, or otherwise transfer; for a commercial purpose, any herring, unless the harvesting vessel has been issued a herring permit, or unless the herring were harvested by a vessel without a Federal herring permit that fished exclusively in state waters.
(D) Purchase, possess, or receive, for a commercial purpose; or attempt to purchase, possess, or receive, for a commercial purpose; herring caught by a vessel without a herring permit, unless the herring was harvested by a vessel without a Federal herring permit that fished exclusively in state waters.
(E) Transfer, or attempt to transfer, herring to a Canadian transshipment vessel that is permitted in accordance with Public Law 104-297, if the amount of herring transshipped exceeds the amount of the border transfer specified in § 648.200.
(F) Purchase, receive, possess, have custody or control of, sell, barter, trade or transfer, or attempt to purchase, receive, possess, have custody or control of, sell, barter, trade or transfer, more than the applicable 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) or 40,000 lb (18,143.7 kg) possession limit of herring from a vessel if the herring is from a management area subject to a possession limit for Atlantic herring pursuant to § 648.201(a).
(v) Gear and vessel requirements. (A) If fishing with midwater trawl or purse seine gear, fail to comply with the requirements of § 648.80(d) and (e).
(B) Catch, take, or harvest Atlantic herring in or from the EEZ with a U.S. vessel that exceeds the size limits specified in § 648.4(a)(10)(iii).
(vi) Area requirements. (A) For the purposes of observer deployment, fail to notify NMFS/FSB at least 48 hr prior to departing on a declared herring trip with a vessel issued a Category A or B Herring Permit and fishing with midwater trawl or purse seine gear, or on a trip with a vessel issued a Category C, D, or E Herring Permit that is fishing with midwater trawl gear in Management Areas 1A, 1B, and/or 3, as defined in § 648.200(f)(1) and (3), pursuant to the requirements in § 648.80(d) and (e).
(B) Possess, land, transfer, receive, sell, purchase, trade, or barter; or attempt to transfer, receive, sell, purchase, trade, or barter, or sell more than 2,000 lb (907 kg) of Atlantic herring per trip taken from the Herring GOM Haddock Accountability Measure Area and/or the Herring GB Haddock Accountability Measure Area, defined in § 648.86(a)(3)(ii)(A)( 1 ), by a vessel issued an Atlantic herring permit and that fished with midwater trawl gear, after the haddock cap for the area(s) has been reached pursuant to § 648.86(a)(3), unless all herring possessed or landed by the vessel was caught outside the applicable Accountability Measure Area(s).
(C) Transit the Herring GOM Haddock Accountability Measure Area and/or the Herring GB Haddock Accountability Measure Area, defined in § 648.86(a)(3)(ii)(A)( 1 ), with a vessel issued an Atlantic herring permit and that fished with midwater trawl gear, when the 2,000-lb (907.2 kg) limit specified in § 648.86(a)(3)(ii)(A)( 1 ) is in place for the area being transited, in possession of more than 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of herring, unless all herring on board was caught outside of the applicable Herring GOM Haddock Accountability Measure Area and/or the Herring GB Haddock Accountability Measure Area, and all fishing gear is stowed and not available for immediate use, as defined in § 648.2.
(D) Fish for herring in Area 1A from June 1 through September 30 with midwater trawl gear.
(E) Possess or land haddock taken from the Herring GOM Haddock Accountability Measure Area and/or the Herring GB Haddock Accountability Measure Area, defined in § 648.86(a)(3)(ii)(A)( 1 ), by a vessel issued an Atlantic herring permit and that fished with midwater trawl gear, after the haddock cap for the area(s) has been reached pursuant to § 648.86(a)(3), unless all haddock possessed or landed by the vessel was caught outside the applicable Accountability Measure Area(s).
(F) Transit the Herring GOM Haddock Accountability Measure Area and/or the Herring GB Haddock Accountability Measure Area, defined in § 648.86(a)(3)(ii)(A)( 1 ), with a vessel issued an Atlantic herring permit and that fished with midwater trawl gear, when the 0-lb (0-kg) haddock possession limit in § 648.86(a)(3)(ii)(A)( 1 ) is in place for the area being transited, in possession of haddock, unless all haddock on board was caught outside of the applicable Herring GOM Haddock Accountability Measure Area and/or the Herring GB Haddock Accountability Measure Area, and all fishing gear is stowed and not available for immediate use, as defined in § 648.2.
(G) Fish for, possess, or retain herring in any management area during a season that has zero percent of the herring sub-ACL allocated as specified in § 648.201(d).
(vii) Transit and transport. (A) Transit or be in an area subject to a possession limit adjustment or fishery closure pursuant to § 648.201(a) with more than the applicable 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) or 40,000 lb (18,143.7 kg) herring possession limit, unless such herring were caught in an area not subject to the 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) or 40,000 lb (18,143.7 kg) limit specified in § 648.201(a), all fishing gear is stowed and not available for immediate use as defined in § 648.2, and the vessel is issued a permit appropriate to the amount of herring on board and the area where the herring was harvested.
(B) Receive Atlantic herring at sea in or from the EEZ, solely for transport, without an Atlantic herring carrier letter of authorization from the Regional Administrator or having declared an Atlantic herring carrier trip via VMS consistent with the requirements at § 648.4(a)(10)(ii).
(C) Fail to comply with a letter of authorization from the Regional Administrator.
(D) Transit Area 1A from June 1 through September 30 with more than 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of herring while having on board midwater trawl gear that is not properly stowed or available for immediate use as defined in § 648.2.
(E) Discard haddock at sea that has been brought on deck, or pumped into the hold, of a vessel issued a Category A or B Herring Permit fishing on a declared herring trip, regardless of gear or area fished, or on a trip with a vessel issued a Category C, D, or E Herring Permit fishing with midwater trawl gear, pursuant to the requirements in § 648.80(d) and (e).
(F) Transit or be in an area that has zero percent sub-ACL available for harvest specified at § 648.201(d) with herring on board, unless such herring were caught in an area or areas with an available sub-ACL specified at § 648.201(d), all fishing gear is stowed and not available for immediate use as defined in § 648.2, and the vessel is issued a vessel permit that authorizes the amount of herring on board for the area where the herring was harvested.
(viii) VMS requirements. (A) Catch, take, or harvest Atlantic herring in or from the EEZ, if a limited access herring vessel, unless equipped with an operable VMS unit.
(B) Fail to notify NMFS Office of Law Enforcement through VMS of the time and place of offloading at least 6 hours prior to landing or, if fishing ends less than 6 hours before landing, as soon as the vessel stops catching fish, if a vessel has been issued a limited access herring permit ( i.e., Category A, B, or C ) or a Category E Herring Permit or has declared an Atlantic herring carrier trip via VMS.
(C) Fail to declare via VMS into the herring fishery by entering the appropriate herring fishery code and appropriate gear code prior to leaving port at the start of each trip to harvest, possess, or land herring, if a vessel has been issued a limited access herring permit ( i.e., Category A, B, or C ) or issued a Category E Herring Permit or is intending to act as an Atlantic herring carrier.
(2) Vessel and operator permit holders. It is unlawful for any person owning or operating a vessel holding a valid Federal Atlantic herring permit, or issued an operator's permit, to do any of the following:
(i) Sell, purchase, receive, trade, barter, or transfer haddock or other regulated NE multispecies (cod, witch flounder, plaice, yellowtail flounder, pollock, winter flounder, windowpane flounder, redfish, white hake, and Atlantic wolffish); or attempt to sell, purchase, receive, trade, barter, or transfer haddock or other regulated NE multispecies for human consumption; if the regulated NE multispecies are landed by a vessel issued a Category A or B Herring Permit fishing on a declared herring trip, regardless of gear or area fished, or by a vessel issued a Category C, D, or E Herring Permit fishing with midwater trawl gear pursuant to § 648.80(d).
(ii) Fail to comply with requirements for herring processors/dealers that handle individual fish to separate out, and retain, for at least 12 hours, all haddock offloaded from a vessel issued a Category A or B Herring Permit that fished on a declared herring trip regardless of gear or area fished, or by a vessel issued a Category C, D, or E Herring Permit that fished with midwater trawl gear pursuant to § 648.80(d).
(iii) Sell, purchase, receive, trade, barter, or transfer; or attempt to sell, purchase, receive, trade, barter, or transfer; to another person, any haddock or other regulated NE. multispecies (cod, witch flounder, plaice, yellowtail flounder, pollock, winter flounder, windowpane flounder, redfish, white hake, and Atlantic wolffish) separated out from a herring catch offloaded from a vessel issued a Category A or B Herring Permit that fished on a declared herring trip regardless of gear or area fished, or by a vessel issued a Category C, D, or E Herring Permit that fished with midwater trawl gear pursuant to § 648.80(d).
(iv) While operating as an at-sea herring processor, fail to comply with requirements to separate out and retain all haddock offloaded from a vessel issued a Category A or B Herring Permit that fished on a declared herring trip regardless of gear or area fished, or by a vessel issued a Category C, D, or E Herring Permit that fished with midwater trawl gear pursuant to § 648.80(d).
(v) Fish with midwater trawl gear in any Northeast Multispecies Closed Area, as defined in § 648.81(a)(3) through (5) and (c)(3) and (4), without an observer on board, if the vessel has been issued an Atlantic herring permit.
(vi) Slip or operationally discard catch, as defined at § 648.2, unless for one of the reasons specified at § 648.202(b)(2), if fishing any part of a tow inside the Northeast Multispecies Closed Areas, as defined at § 648.81(a)(3) through (5) and (c)(3) and (4).
(vii) Fail to immediately leave the Northeast Multispecies Closed Areas or comply with reporting requirements after slipping catch or operationally discarding catch, as required by § 648.202(b)(4).
(viii) Slip catch, as defined at § 648.2, unless for one of the reasons specified at § 648.11(m)(7)(i).
(ix) For vessels with Category A or B Herring Permits, fail to move 15 nm (27.78 km), as required by §§ 648.11(m)(7)(iv) and (v) and 648.202(b)(4)(iv).
(x) For vessels with Category A or B Herring Permits, fail to immediately return to port, as required by §§ 648.11(m)(7)(vi) and 648.202(b)(4)(iv).
(xi) Fail to complete, sign, and submit a Released Catch Affidavit as required by §§ 648.11(m)(7)(iii) and 648.202(b)(4)(ii).
(xii) Fail to report or fail to accurately report a slippage event on the Atlantic herring daily VMS catch report, as required by §§ 648.11(m)(7)(iii) and 648.202(b)(4)(iii).
(xiii) For vessels with Category A or B Herring Permits, fail to comply with industry-funded monitoring requirements at § 648.11(m).
(xiv) For a vessel with a Category A or B Herring Permit, fail to comply with its NMFS-approved vessel monitoring plan requirements, as described at § 648.11(m).
(3) Presumption. For purposes of this part, the following presumption applies: All Atlantic herring retained or possessed on a vessel issued any permit under § 648.4 are deemed to have been harvested from the EEZ, unless the preponderance of all submitted evidence demonstrates that such Atlantic herring were harvested by a vessel fishing exclusively in state waters.
(s) Spiny dogfish —(1) All persons. It is unlawful for any person to do any of the following:
(i) Permit requirement. Purchase or otherwise receive, other than solely for transport on land, spiny dogfish from any person on board a vessel issued a Federal spiny dogfish permit, unless the purchaser/receiver is in possession of a valid spiny dogfish dealer permit.
(ii) Transfer and purchase. Purchase or otherwise receive for a commercial purpose spiny dogfish landed by a Federally permitted vessel in any state, from Maine to Florida, after the EEZ is closed to the harvest of spiny dogfish.
(2) Vessel and operator permit holders. It is unlawful for any person owning or operating a vessel issued a valid Federal spiny dogfish permit or issued a valid Federal operator's permit to do any of the following:
(i) Permit requirement. Sell, barter, trade or transfer; or attempt to sell, barter, trade or otherwise transfer; other than solely for transport on land, spiny dogfish, unless the dealer, transferor, or transferee has a valid dealer permit issued under § 648.6(a).
(ii) Possession and landing. (A) Fish for or possess spiny dogfish harvested in or from the EEZ after the EEZ is closed to the harvest of spiny dogfish.
(B) Land spiny dogfish for a commercial purpose after the EEZ is closed to the harvest of spiny dogfish.
(C) Possess more than the daily possession limit of spiny dogfish specified in § 648.235.
(iii) Prohibition on finning. Violate any of the provisions in §§ 600.1203 and 600.1204 applicable to the dogfish fishery that prohibit finning.
(iv) Area requirements. Fail to comply with the Atlantic Sturgeon Bycatch Reduction Areas requirements specified at § 648.234(a).
(t) Red crab. It is unlawful for any person to do any of the following:
(1) Permit requirement. Fish for, catch, possess, transport, land, sell, trade, or barter; or attempt to fish for, catch, possess, transport, land, sell, trade, or barter; any red crab or red crab parts in or from the EEZ portion of the Red Crab Management Unit, unless in possession of a valid Federal limited access red crab vessel permit or Federal red crab incidental catch permit.
(2) Possession and landing. (i) Fish for, catch, possess, transport, land, sell, trade, or barter; or attempt to fish for, catch, possess, transport, land, sell, trade, or barter; red crab in excess of the limits specified in § 648.263.
(ii) Restriction on female red crabs. Fish for, catch, possess, transport, land, sell, trade, or barter; or attempt to fish for, catch, possess, transport, land, sell, trade, or barter; female red crabs in excess of one standard U.S. fish tote.
(iii) Fish for, possess, or land red crab, in excess of the incidental limit specified at § 648.263(b)(1), after determination that the TAL has been reached and notice of the closure date has been made.
(3) Transfer and purchase. (i) Transfer at sea, or attempt to transfer at sea, either directly or indirectly, any red crab or red crab parts taken in or from the EEZ portion of the red crab management unit to any vessel.
(ii) Purchase, possess, or receive; or attempt to purchase, possess, or receive; more than 500 lb (226.8 kg) of whole red crab, or its equivalent in weight in accordance with the conversion provisions in § 648.263(a)(2), caught or possessed in the EEZ portion of the red crab management unit by a vessel without a valid Federal limited access red crab permit.
(iii) Purchase, possess, or receive; or attempt to purchase, possess, or receive; up to 500 lb (226.8 kg) of whole red crab, or its equivalent in weight in accordance with the conversion provisions in § 648.263(a)(2), caught in the EEZ portion of the Red Crab Management Unit by a vessel that has not been issued a valid limited access red crab permit or red crab incidental catch permit under this subpart.
(iv) Purchase or otherwise receive for a commercial purpose in excess of the incidental limit specified at § 648.263(b)(1), after determination that the TAL has been reached and notice of the closure date has been made.
(4) Prohibitions on processing and mutilation. (i) Retain, possess, or land red crab claws and legs separate from crab bodies in excess of one standard U.S. fish tote, if fishing on a red crab trip with a valid Federal limited access red crab permit.
(ii) Retain, possess, or land any red crab claws and legs separate from crab bodies if the vessel has not been issued a valid Federal limited access red crab permit or has been issued a valid Federal limited access red crab permit, but is not fishing on a dedicated red crab trip.
(iii) Retain, possess, or land more than two claws and eight legs per crab if the vessel has been issued a valid Federal red crab incidental catch permit, or has been issued a valid Federal limited access red crab permit and is not fishing on a dedicated red crab trip.
(iv) Possess or land red crabs that have been fully processed at sea, i.e., engage in any activity that removes meat from any part of a red crab, unless a preponderance of available evidence shows that the vessel fished exclusively in state waters and was not issued a valid Federal permit.
(5) Gear requirements. Fail to comply with any gear requirements or restrictions specified at § 648.264.
(6) Presumption. For purposes of this part, the following presumption applies: All red crab retained or possessed on a vessel issued any permit under § 648.4 are deemed to have been harvested in or from the Red Crab Management Unit, unless the preponderance of all submitted evidence demonstrates that such red crab were harvested by a vessel fishing exclusively outside of the Red Crab Management Unit or in state waters.
(u) Golden and blueline tilefish. It is unlawful for any person owning or operating a vessel to do any of the following:
(1) Permit requirements —(i) Operator permit. Operate, or act as an operator of, a vessel with a tilefish permit, or a vessel fishing for or possessing golden or blueline tilefish in or from the Tilefish Management Unit, unless the operator has been issued, and is in possession of, a valid operator permit. This requirement does not apply to operators of private recreational vessels.
(ii) Dealer permit. Purchase, possess, receive for a commercial purpose; or attempt to purchase, possess, or receive for a commercial purpose; as a dealer, or in the capacity of a dealer, golden or blueline tilefish that were harvested in or from the Tilefish Management Unit, without having been issued, and in possession of, a valid tilefish dealer permit.
(iii) Vessel permit. (A) Sell, barter, trade, or otherwise transfer from a vessel; or attempt to sell, barter, trade, or otherwise transfer from a vessel; for a commercial purpose, other than solely for transport on land, any golden or blueline tilefish, unless the vessel has been issued a commercial tilefish permit, or unless the tilefish were harvested by a vessel without a commercial tilefish permit that fished exclusively in State waters.
(B) Operate a vessel that takes recreational fishermen for hire to fish for golden or blueline tilefish in the Tilefish Management Unit without a valid tilefish charter/party vessel permit, as required in § 648.4(a)(12)(i).
(C) Operate a private recreational vessel to fish for, retain, and/or possess blueline or golden tilefish, in the Tilefish Management Unit, without a valid tilefish private recreational permit as required in § 648.4(a)(12)(iii).
(2) Possession and landing. (i) Fish for, possess, retain, or land golden or blueline tilefish, unless:
(A) The tilefish are being fished for or were harvested in or from the Tilefish Management Unit by a vessel holding a valid tilefish permit under this part, and the operator on board such vessel has been issued an operator permit that is on board the vessel.
(B) The tilefish were harvested by a vessel that has not been issued a tilefish permit and that was fishing exclusively in State waters.
(C) The tilefish were harvested in or from the Tilefish Management Unit by a vessel with a Federal private recreational tilefish permit or a Federal charter/party tilefish permit.
(ii) Land or possess golden or blueline tilefish harvested in or from the Tilefish Management Unit, in excess of either:
(A) The relevant commercial trip limit specified at § 648.295, unless possessing golden tilefish authorized pursuant to a valid tilefish IFQ allocation permit, as specified in § 648.294(a).
(B) The relevant recreational possession limit specified at § 648.296, if engaged in recreational fishing including charter/party vessels.
(iii) Land golden tilefish harvested in or from the Tilefish Management Unit in excess of that authorized under a tilefish IFQ allocation permit as described at § 648.294(a).
(iv) Fish for golden or blueline tilefish inside and outside of the Tilefish Management Unit on the same trip.
(v) Discard golden tilefish harvested in or from the Tilefish Management Unit, as defined in § 648.2, unless participating in recreational fishing, as defined in § 648.2, or while fishing subject to a trip limit pursuant to § 648.295(a).
(vi) Land or possess golden tilefish in or from the Tilefish Management Unit, on a vessel issued a valid tilefish permit under this part, after the incidental golden tilefish fishery is closed pursuant to § 648.295(a)(3), unless fishing under a valid tilefish IFQ allocation permit as specified in § 648.294(a), or engaged in recreational fishing.
(vii) Land or possess blueline tilefish in or from the Tilefish Management Unit, on a vessel issued a valid tilefish permit under this part, after the commercial blueline tilefish fishery is closed pursuant to § 648.295(b)(2), unless engaged in recreational fishing.
(viii) Land or possess golden or blueline tilefish in or from the Tilefish Management Unit, on a vessel issued a valid commercial tilefish permit under this part, that do not have the head and fins naturally attached to the fish.
(ix) Engage in recreational fishing for golden tilefish with fishing gear that is not compliant with the gear restrictions specified at § 648.296.
(x) Engage in recreational fishing for blueline tilefish outside of the recreational open season specified at § 648.296(b).
(3) Transfer and purchase. (i) Purchase, possess, or receive for a commercial purpose, other than solely for transport on land; or attempt to purchase, possess, or receive for a commercial purpose, other than solely for transport on land; golden or blueline tilefish caught by a vessel without a tilefish permit, unless the tilefish were harvested by a vessel without a tilefish permit that fished exclusively in State waters.
(ii) Purchase or otherwise receive for commercial purposes golden or blueline tilefish caught in the EEZ from outside the Tilefish Management Unit unless otherwise permitted under 50 CFR part 622.
(4) Presumption. For purposes of this part, the following presumption applies: All golden or blueline tilefish retained or possessed on a vessel issued any permit under § 648.4 are deemed to have been harvested in or from the Tilefish Management Unit, unless the preponderance of all submitted evidence demonstrates that such tilefish were harvested by a vessel fishing exclusively in state waters.
(v) Skates —(1) All persons. It is unlawful for any person to fish for, possess, transport, sell or land skates in or from the EEZ portion of the skate management unit, unless:
(i) Onboard a vessel that possesses a valid skate vessel permit.
(ii) Onboard a federally permitted lobster vessel (i.e., transfer at sea recipient) while in possession of only whole skates as bait that are less than the maximum size specified at § 648.322(c).
(2) All Federal permit holders. It is unlawful for any owner or operator of a vessel holding a valid Federal permit to do any of the following:
(i) Retain, possess, or land thorny skates taken in or from the EEZ portion of the skate management unit specified at § 648.2.
(ii) Retain, possess, or land barndoor skates taken in or from the EEZ portion of the skate management unit when fishing under a bait letter of authorization as described in § 648.322(c).
(iii) [Reserved]
(3) Skate permitted vessel requirements. It is unlawful for any owner or operator of a vessel holding a valid Federal skate permit to do any of the following:
(i) Skate wings. Fail to comply with the conditions of the skate wing possession and landing limits specified at § 648.322(b), unless holding a valid letter of authorization to fish for and land skates as bait at § 648.322(c).
(ii) Possession and transfer. (A) Transfer at sea, or attempt to transfer at sea, to any vessel, any skates unless in compliance with the provisions of §§ 648.13(h) and 648.322(c).
(B) Purchase, possess, trade, barter, or receive; or attempt to purchase, possess, trade, barter, or receive; skates caught in the EEZ portion of the skate management unit by a vessel that has not been issued a valid Federal skate permit under this part.
(C) Fish for, catch, possess, transport, land, sell, trade, or barter; or attempt to fish for, catch, possess, transport, land, sell, trade, or barter; whole skates and skate wings in excess of the possession limits specified at § 648.322.
(iii) DAS notification and skate wing possession. Fail to comply with the provisions of the DAS notification program specified in §§ 648.53, 648.82, and 648.92; for the Atlantic sea scallop, NE multispecies, and monkfish fisheries, respectively; when issued a valid skate permit and fishing under the skate wing possession limits at § 648.322.
(iv) SNE Trawl and Gillnet Exemption areas restrictions. Fail to comply with the restrictions under the SNE Trawl and Gillnet Exemption areas for the NE skate fisheries at §§ 648.80(b)(5)(i)(B) and 648.80(b)(6)(i)(B).
(4) Presumption. For purposes of this part, the following presumption applies: All skates retained or possessed on a vessel are deemed to have been harvested in or from the Skate Management Unit, unless the preponderance of evidence demonstrates that such skates were harvested by a vessel, that has not been issued a Federal skate permit, fishing exclusively outside of the EEZ portion (such as fishing within the NAFO Regulatory Area under § 648.17(a)(3)) of the skate management unit or only in state waters.
(w) Mid-Atlantic forage species. It is unlawful for any person owning or operating a vessel issued a valid commercial permit under this part to fish for, possess, transfer, receive, or land; or attempt to fish for, possess, transfer, receive, or land; more than 1,700 lb (771.11 kg) of all Mid-Atlantic forage species combined per trip in or from the Mid-Atlantic Forage Species Management Unit, as defined at § 648.351(b). A vessel not issued a commercial permit in accordance with § 648.4 that fished exclusively in state waters or a vessel that fished Federal waters outside of the Mid-Atlantic Forage Species Management Unit that is transiting the area with gear that is stowed and not available for immediate use is exempt from this prohibition.
§ 648.15   Facilitation of enforcement.
(a) General. See § 600.504 of this chapter.
(b) Special notification requirements applicable to surfclam and ocean quahog vessel owners and operators —(1) Surfclam and ocean quahog open access permitted vessels. Vessel owners or operators issued an open access surfclam or ocean quahog open access permit for fishing in the ITQ Program, as specified at § 648.74, are required to declare their intended fishing activity via VMS prior to leaving port.
(2) Maine mahogany quahog limited access permitted vessels. Beginning January 1, 2009, vessel owners or operators issued a limited access Maine mahogany quahog permit for fishing for Maine mahogany quahogs in the Maine mahogany quahog zone, as specified at § 648.78, are required to declare via VMS, prior to leaving port, and entering the Maine mahogany quahog zone, their intended fishing activity, unless otherwise exempted under paragraph § 648.4(a)(4)(ii)(B)( 1 ).
(3) Declaration out of surfclam and ocean quahog fisheries. Owners or operators that are transiting between ports or fishing in a fishery other than surfclams and ocean quahogs must either declare out of fisheries or declare the appropriate fishery, if required, via the VMS unit, before leaving port. The owner or operator discontinuing a fishing trip in the EEZ or Maine mahogany quahog zone must return to port and offload any surfclams or ocean quahogs prior to commencing fishing operations in the waters under the jurisdiction of any state.
(4) Inspection by authorized officer. The vessel permits, the vessel, its gear, and catch shall be subject to inspection upon request by an authorized officer.
(5) Authorization for use of fishing trip notification via telephone. The Regional Administrator may authorize or require the notification of surfclam or ocean quahog fishing trip information via a telephone call to the NMFS Office of Law Enforcement nearest to the point of offloading, instead of the use of VMS. If authorized, the vessel owner or operator must accurately provide the following information prior to departure of his/her vessel from the dock to fish for surfclams or ocean quahogs in the EEZ: Name of the vessel; NMFS permit number assigned to the vessel; expected date and time of departure from port; whether the trip will be directed on surfclams or ocean quahogs; expected date, time, and location of landing; and name of individual providing notice. If use of a telephone call-in notification is authorized or required, the Regional Administrator shall notify affected permit holders through a letter, notification in the Federal Register, e-mail, or other appropriate means.
(c) Radio hails. Permit holders, while underway, must be alert for communication conveying enforcement instructions and immediately answer via VHF-FM radio, channel 16 when hailed by an authorized officer. Vessels not required to have VHF-FM radios by the Coast Guard are exempt from this requirement.
(d) Retention of haddock by herring dealers and processors. (1) Federally permitted herring dealers and processors, including at-sea processors, that cull or separate out from the herring catch all fish other than herring in the course of normal operations, must separate out and retain all haddock offloaded from a vessel issued a Category A or B Herring Permit that fished on a declared herring trip regardless of gear or area fished, or by a vessel issued a Category C, D, or E Herring Permit that fished with midwater trawl gear pursuant to § 648.80(d). Such haddock may not be sold, purchased, received, traded, bartered, or transferred, and must be retained, after they have been separated, for at least 12 hours for dealers and processors on land, and for 12 hours after landing by at-sea processors. The dealer or processor, including at-sea processors, must clearly indicate the vessel that landed the retained haddock or transferred the retained haddock to an at-sea processor. Authorized officers must be given access to inspect the haddock.
(2) All haddock separated out and retained is subject to reporting requirements specified at § 648.7.
(e) Retention of haddock by herring vessels using midwater trawl gear. A vessel issued a Category A or B Herring Permit fishing on a declared herring trip regardless of gear or area fished, or a vessel issued a Category C, D, or E Herring Permit and fishing with midwater trawl gear pursuant to § 648.80(d), may not discard any haddock that has been brought on the deck or pumped into the hold.
§ 648.16   Penalties.
See § 600.735.
§ 648.17   Exemptions for vessels fishing in the NAFO Regulatory Area.
(a) Fisheries included under exemption —(1) NE multispecies. A vessel issued a valid High Seas Fishing Compliance Permit under part 300 of this title and that complies with the requirements specified in paragraph (b) of this section, is exempt from NE multispecies permit, mesh size, effort-control, minimum fish size, and possession limit restrictions, specified in §§ 648.4, 648.80, 648.82, 648.83, and 648.86, respectively, while transiting the EEZ with NE multispecies on board the vessel, or landing NE multispecies in U.S. ports that were caught while fishing in the NAFO Regulatory Area.
(2) Monkfish. A vessel issued a valid High Seas Fishing Compliance Permit under part 300 of this title and that complies with the requirements specified in paragraph (b) of this section is exempt from monkfish permit, mesh size, effort-control, and possession limit restrictions, specified in §§ 648.4, 648.91, 648.92 and 648.94, respectively, while transiting the EEZ with monkfish on board the vessel, or landing monkfish in U.S. ports that were caught while fishing in the NAFO Regulatory Area.
(3) Skates. A vessel issued a valid High Seas Fishing Compliance Permit under part 300 of this title and that complies with the requirements specified in paragraph (b) of this section is exempt from skate permit and possession limit restrictions, specified in §§ 648.4 and 648.322, respectively, and from Atlantic sea scallop, NE multispecies, or monkfish DAS effort control restrictions specified in §§ 648.53, 648.82, and 648.92, respectively, and from mesh size and gear restrictions specified in §§ 648.51, 648.80, and 648.91, respectively, while transiting the EEZ with skates on board the vessel, or landing skates in U.S. ports that were caught while fishing in the NAFO Regulatory Area. These vessels may possess, retain, and land barndoor skate; however, they may not possess, retain, or land other prohibited skate species specified in §§ 648.14(v) and 648.322(g).
(b) General requirements. (1) The vessel operator has a valid letter of authorization issued by the Regional Administrator on board the vessel;
(2) For the duration of the trip, the vessel fishes, except for transiting purposes, exclusively in the NAFO Regulatory Area and does not harvest fish in, or possess fish harvested in, or from, the EEZ;
(3) When transiting the EEZ, all gear is properly stowed in accordance with the definition of not available for immediate use as defined in § 648.2; and
(4) The vessel operator complies with the High Seas Fishing Compliance Permit and all NAFO conservation and enforcement measures while fishing in the NAFO Regulatory Area.
§ 648.18   Standardized bycatch reporting methodology.
NMFS shall comply with the Standardized Bycatch Reporting Methodology (SBRM) provisions established in the following fishery management plans by the Standardized Bycatch Reporting Methodology: An Omnibus Amendment to the Fishery Management Plans of the Mid-Atlantic and New England Regional Fishery Management Councils, completed March 2015, also known as the SBRM Omnibus Amendment, by the New England Fishery Management Council, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, National Marine Fisheries Service Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, and National Marine Fisheries Service Northeast Fisheries Science Center: Atlantic Bluefish; Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish; Atlantic Sea Scallop; Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog; Atlantic Herring; Atlantic Salmon; Deep-Sea Red Crab; Monkfish; Northeast Multispecies; Northeast Skate Complex; Spiny Dogfish; Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass; and Tilefish. The Director of the Federal Register approves this incorporation by reference in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. You may obtain a copy of the SBRM Omnibus Amendment from the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office ( www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov, 978-281-9300). You may inspect a copy at the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930 or at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For information on the availability of this material at NARA, call 202-741-6030, or go to: www.archives.gov/federal_register/code_of_federal_regulations/ibr_locations.html.
§ 648.20   Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC) control rules.
The SSC shall review the following criteria, and any additional relevant information, to assign managed stocks to one of four types of control rules based on the species' assessments and its treatment of uncertainty when developing ABC recommendations. The SSC shall review the ABC control rule assignment for stocks each time an ABC is recommended. ABCs may be recommended for up to three years for all stocks, with the exception of five years for spiny dogfish. The SCC may specify constant, multi-year ABCs, derived from the average of ABCs (or average risk of overfishing) if the average probability of overfishing remains between zero and 40 percent, and does not exceed a 50-percent probability in any given year. The average ABCs may remain constant for up to three years for all stocks, with the exception of five years for spiny dogfish. The SSC may deviate from the control rule methods and recommend an ABC that differs from the result of the ABC control rule application; however, any such deviation must include the following: A description of why the deviation is warranted; description of the methods used to derive the alternative ABC; and an explanation of how the deviation is consistent with National Standard 2. The four types of ABC control rules are described below.
(a) ABC control rule for a stock with an OFL probability distribution that is analytically-derived and accepted by the SSC. (1) The SSC determines that the assessment OFL and the assessment's treatment of uncertainty are acceptable, based on the following:
(i) All important sources of scientific uncertainty are captured in the stock assessment model;
(ii) The probability distribution of the OFL is calculated within the stock assessment and adequately describes the OFL uncertainty;
(iii) The stock assessment model structure and treatment of the data prior to use in the model include relevant details of the biology of the stock, fisheries that exploit the stock, and data collection methods;
(iv) The stock assessment provides the following estimates: Fishing mortality rate (F) at MSY or an acceptable proxy maximum fishing mortality threshold (MFMT) to define OFL, biomass, biological reference points, stock status, OFL, and the respective uncertainties associated with each value; and
(v) No substantial retrospective patterns exist in the stock assessment estimates of fishing mortality, biomass, and recruitment.
(2) An ABC for stocks with an accepted OFL probability distribution that is analytically-derived will be determined by applying the acceptable probability of overfishing from the MAFMC's risk policy found in § 648.21(a) through (d) to the probability distribution of the OFL.
(b) ABC control rule for a stock with an OFL probability distribution that is modified by the assessment team and accepted by the SSC. (1) The SSC determines the assessment OFL is acceptable and the SSC accepts the assessment team's modifications to the analytically-derived OFL probability distribution, based on the following:
(i) Key features of the stock biology, the fisheries that exploit it, and/or the data collection methods for stock information are missing from, or poorly estimated in, the stock assessment;
(ii) The stock assessment provides reference points (which may be proxies), stock status, and uncertainties associated with each; however, the uncertainty is not fully promulgated through the stock assessment model and/or some important sources of uncertainty may be lacking;
(iii) The stock assessment provides estimates of the precision of biomass, fishing mortality, and reference points;
(iv) The accuracy of the minimum fishing mortality threshold and projected future biomass is estimated in the stock assessment using ad hoc methods; and
(v) The modified OFL probability distribution provided by the assessment team acceptably addresses the uncertainty of the assessment.
(2) An ABC for stocks with an OFL probability distribution that is modified by the assessment team and accepted by the SSC will be determined by applying the acceptable probability of overfishing from the MAFMC's risk policy found in § 648.21(a) through (d) to the probability distribution of the OFL as modified by the assessment team.
(c) ABC control rule for a stock with an OFL probability distribution that is modified by the SSC. (1) The SSC determines the assessment OFL is acceptable but the SSC derives the appropriate uncertainty for OFL based on meta-analysis and other considerations. This requires the SSC to determine that the stock assessment does not contain an estimated probability distribution of OFL or the OFL probability distribution in the stock assessment is judged by the SSC to not adequately reflect uncertainty in the OFL estimate.
(2) An ABC for stocks with an OFL probability distribution that is modified by the SSC will be determined by either:
(i) Applying the acceptable probability of overfishing from the MAFMC's risk policy found in § 648.21(a) through (d) to the SSC-adjusted OFL probability distribution. The SSC will use default assignments of uncertainty in the adjusted OFL probability distribution based on literature review and valuation of control rule performance; or,
(ii) If the SSC cannot develop an OFL probability distribution, a default control rule of 75 percent of the F MSY value will be applied to derive ABC.
(d) ABC control rule for when an OFL cannot be specified. (1) The SSC determines that the OFL cannot be specified given the available information.
(2) An ABC for stocks with an OFL that cannot be specified will be determined by using control rules based on biomass and catch history and application of the MAFMC's risk policy found in § 648.21(a) through (d).
§ 648.21   Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council risk policy.
The risk policy shall be used by the SSC in conjunction with the ABC control rules in § 648.20(a) through (d) to ensure the MAFMC's preferred tolerance for the risk of overfishing is addressed in the ABC development and recommendation process.
(a) Stocks under a rebuilding plan. The probability of not exceeding the F necessary to rebuild the stock within the specified time frame (rebuilding F or F REBUILD ) must be at least 50 percent, unless the default level is modified to a higher probability for not exceeding the rebuilding F through the formal stock rebuilding plan. A higher probability of not exceeding the rebuilding F would be expressed as a value greater than 50 percent (e.g., 75-percent probability of not exceeding rebuilding F, which corresponds to a 25-percent probability of exceeding rebuilding F).
(b) Stocks not subject to a rebuilding plan. (1) For stocks with a ratio of biomass (B) to biomass at MSY (B MSY) of 1.0 or lower, the maximum probability of overfishing as informed by the OFL distribution shall decrease linearly from a maximum value of 45 percent until the probability of overfishing becomes zero at a B/B MSY ratio of 0.10.
(2) For stocks with biomass that exceeds B MSY and the B/B MSY ratio is greater than 1.0, the probability of overfishing shall increase linearly from a probability of overfishing of 45 percent to a maximum probability of overfishing of 49 percent when the B/B MSY ratio is equal to 1.5 or greater.
(c) Most restrictive ABC recommendation. (1) Unless otherwise allowed in paragraph (c)(2) or (3) of this section, for instances in which the application of the risk policy approaches in paragraph (b) of this section using OFL distribution results in a more restrictive ABC recommendation than the calculation of ABC derived from the use of F REBUILD at the MAFMC-specified overfishing risk level as outlined in paragraph (a) of this section, the Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) shall recommend to the MAFMC the lower of the ABC values.
(2) The SSC may specify higher 2023-2032 ABCs for Atlantic mackerel based on F REBUILD instead of the methods outlined in paragraph (a) of this section to implement a rebuilding program that would rebuild this stock by 2032.
(3) The SSC may specify higher ABCs for bluefish based on F REBUILD , as outlined in paragraph (a) of this section, instead of the risk policy approaches in paragraph (b) of this section in order to implement a rebuilding program that would rebuild this stock by 2028.
(d) Stock without an OFL or OFL proxy. (1) If an OFL cannot be determined from the stock assessment, or if a proxy is not provided by the SSC during the ABC recommendation process, ABC levels may not be increased until such time that an OFL has been identified.
(2) The SSC may deviate from paragraph (d)(1) of this section, provided that the following two criteria are met: Biomass-based reference points indicate that the stock is greater than B MSY and stock biomass is stable or increasing, or if biomass based reference points are not available, best available science indicates that stock biomass is stable or increasing; and the SSC provides a determination that, based on best available science, the recommended increase to the ABC is not expected to result in overfishing. Any such deviation must include a description of why the increase is warranted, description of the methods used to derive the alternative ABC, and a certification that the ABC is not likely to result in overfishing on the stock.
§ 648.22   Mackerel, squid, and butterfish specifications.
(a) Initial recommended annual specifications. The Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Monitoring Committee (Monitoring Committee) shall meet annually to develop and recommend the following specifications for consideration by the Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Committee of the MAFMC:
(1) Illex squid —Initial OY (IOY), including Research Set-Aside (RSA), domestic annual harvest (DAH), and domestic annual processing (DAP) for Illex squid, which, subject to annual review, may be specified for a period of up to 3 years;
(2) Butterfish —Annual catch limit (ACL); Annual catch target (ACT) including RSA, DAH, DAP; bycatch level of the total allowable level of foreign fishing (TALFF), if any; and butterfish discard cap for the longfin squid fishery for butterfish; which, subject to annual review, may be specified for a period of up to 3 years;
(3) Atlantic mackerel —ACL; commercial ACT, including RSA, DAH, Atlantic mackerel Tier 3 landings cap (up to 7 percent of the DAH), DAP; joint venture processing (JVP) if any; TALFF, if any; and recreational ACT, including RSA for Atlantic mackerel; which, subject to annual review, may be specified for a period of up to 3 years. The Monitoring Committee may also recommend that certain ratios of TALFF, if any, for Atlantic mackerel to purchases of domestic harvested fish and/or domestic processed fish be established in relation to the initial annual amounts.
(4) Longfin squid —
(i) IOY, including RSA, DAH, and DAP for longfin squid, which, subject to annual review, may be specified for a period of up to 3 years; and
(ii) Inseason adjustment, upward or downward, to the specifications for longfin squid, as specified in paragraph (e) of this section.
(5) Atlantic chub mackerel —ACL, ACT, and total allowable landings (TAL), which, subject to annual review, may be specified for a period of up to 3 years.
(b) Guidelines. As the basis for its recommendations under paragraph (a) of this section, the Monitoring Committee shall review the best available data to recommend specifications consistent with the following:
(1) Longfin and/or Illex squid. (i) The ABC for any fishing year must be either the maximum OY, or a lower amount, if stock assessments indicate that the potential yield is less than the maximum OY. The OYs specified during a fishing year may not exceed the following amounts:
(A) Longfin squid—The catch associated with a fishing mortality rate of F Threshold .
(B) Illex squid —Catch associated with a fishing mortality rate of F MSY.
(ii) IOY is a modification of ABC based on social and economic factors. The IOY is composed of RSA and DAH. RSA will be based on requests for research quota as described in paragraph (g) of this section. DAH will be set after deduction for RSA, if applicable.
(2) Atlantic Mackerel —(i) ABC. The MAFMC's SSC shall recommend a stock-wide ABC to the MAFMC, as described in § 648.20. The stock-wide Atlantic mackerel ABC is reduced from the OFL based on an adjustment for scientific uncertainty; the stock-wide ABC must be less than or equal to the OFL.
(ii) ACL. The ACL or Domestic ABC is calculated using the formula ACL/Domestic ABC = stock-wide ABC − C, where C is the estimated catch of Atlantic mackerel in Canadian waters for the upcoming fishing year.
(iii) OY. OY may not exceed the ACL, and must take into account the need to prevent overfishing while allowing the fishery to achieve OY on a continuing basis. OY is prescribed on the basis of MSY, as reduced by social, economic, and ecological factors.
(iv) ACT. The Monitoring Committee shall identify and review relevant sources of management uncertainty to recommend ACTs for the commercial and recreational fishing sectors as part of the specifications process.
(A) Commercial sector ACT. Commercial ACT is composed of RSA, DAH, Tier 3 landings cap (up to 7 percent of DAH), dead discards, and TALFF, if any. RSA will be based on requests for research quota as described in paragraph (g) of this section. DAH, Tier 3 landings cap (up to 7 of the DAH), DAP, and JVP will be set after deduction for RSA, if applicable, and must be projected by reviewing data from sources specified in paragraph (b) of this section and other relevant data, including past domestic landings, projected amounts of Atlantic mackerel necessary for domestic processing and for joint ventures during the fishing year, projected recreational landings, and other data pertinent for such a projection. The JVP component of DAH is the portion of DAH that domestic processors either cannot or will not use. Economic considerations for the establishment of JVP and TALFF include:
( 1 ) Total world export potential of Atlantic mackerel producing countries.
( 2 ) Total world import demand of Atlantic mackerel consuming countries.
( 3 ) U.S. export potential based on expected U.S. harvests, expected U.S. consumption, relative prices, exchange rates, and foreign trade barriers.
( 4 ) Increased/decreased revenues to the U.S. from foreign fees.
( 5 ) Increased/decreased revenues to U.S. harvesters (with/without joint ventures).
( 6 ) Increased/decreased revenues to U.S. processors and exporters.
( 7 ) Increases/decreases in U.S. harvesting productivity due to decreases/increases in foreign harvest.
( 8 ) Increases/decreases in U.S. processing productivity.
( 9 ) Potential impact of increased/decreased TALFF on foreign purchases of U.S. products and services and U.S.-caught fish, changes in trade barriers, technology transfer, and other considerations.
(B) Recreational sector ACT. Recreational ACT is composed of RSA, dead discards, and the Recreational Harvest Limit (RHL).
(v) Performance review. The Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Committee shall conduct a detailed review of fishery performance relative to the Atlantic mackerel ACL at least every 5 years.
(A) If the Atlantic mackerel ACL is exceeded with a frequency greater than 25 percent ( i.e., more than once in 4 years or any two consecutive years), the Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Monitoring Committee will review fishery performance information and make recommendations to the MAFMC for changes in measures intended to ensure ACLs are not exceeded as frequently.
(B) The MAFMC may specify more frequent or more specific ACL performance review criteria as part of a stock rebuilding plan following a determination that a stock has become overfished.
(C) Performance reviews shall not substitute for annual reviews that occur to ascertain if prior year ACLs have been exceeded, but may be conducted in conjunction with such reviews.
(vi) River herring and shad catch cap. The Monitoring Committee shall provide recommendations regarding a cap on the catch of river herring (alewife and blueback) and shad (American and hickory) in the Atlantic mackerel fishery based on best available scientific information, as well as measures (seasonal or regional quotas, closure thresholds) necessary for implementation.
(3) Butterfish —(i) ABC. The MAFMC's SSC shall recommend an ABC to the MAFMC, as described in § 648.20. The butterfish ABC is reduced from the OFL based on an adjustment for scientific uncertainty; the ABC must be less than or equal to the OFL.
(ii) ACL. The butterfish ACL will be set equal to the butterfish ABC.
(iii) OY. OY may not exceed the ACL, and must take into account the need to prevent overfishing while allowing the fishery to achieve OY on a continuing basis. OY is prescribed on the basis of MSY, as reduced by social, economic, and ecological factors.
(iv) ACT. The Monitoring Committee shall identify and review relevant sources of management uncertainty to recommend the butterfish ACT as part of the specifications process. The ACT is composed of RSA, DAH, dead discards, and bycatch TALFF that is equal to 0.08 percent of the allocated portion of the mackerel TALFF. RSA will be based on requests for research quota as described in paragraph (g) of this section. DAH and bycatch TALFF will be set after deduction for RSA, if applicable.
(v) Butterfish discard cap. The butterfish discard cap will be based on a portion of the ACT (set annually during specifications) and the specified cap amount will be allocated to the longfin squid fishery as follows: Trimester I—43 percent; Trimester II—17 percent; and Trimester III—40 percent.
(vi) Any underages of the cap for Trimester I that are greater than 25 percent of the Trimester I cap will be reallocated to Trimester II and III (split equally between both trimesters) of the same year. The reallocation of the cap from Trimester I to Trimester II is limited, such that the Trimester II cap may only be increased by 50 percent; the remaining portion of the underage will be reallocated to Trimester III. Any underages of the cap for Trimester I that are less than 25 percent of the Trimester I quota will be applied to Trimester III of the same year. Any overages of the cap for Trimester I and II will be subtracted from Trimester III of the same year.
(vii) Performance review. The Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Committee shall conduct a detailed review of fishery performance relative to the butterfish ACL in conjunction with review for the Atlantic mackerel fishery, as outlined in this section.
(4) Additional measures. The Monitoring Committee may also provide recommendations on the following items, if necessary:
(i) Observer provisions to maximize sampling at § 648.11(n)(2);
(ii) Exceptions for the requirement to pump/haul aboard all fish from net for inspection by at-sea observers in § 648.11(n)(3);
(5) Atlantic chub mackerel —(i) ABC. The MAFMC's SSC shall recommend a stock-wide ABC to the MAFMC, as described in § 648.20. The stock-wide Atlantic chub mackerel ABC is reduced from the OFL based on an adjustment for scientific uncertainty; the stock-wide ABC must be less than or equal to the OFL.
(ii) Maximum sustainable yield (MSY). The Atlantic chub mackerel MSY shall be set equal to the Atlantic chub mackerel ABC.
(iii) OY. The Atlantic chub mackerel OY shall be set equal to or less than the Atlantic chub mackerel ABC.
(iv) ACL. The ACL for the Atlantic Chub Mackerel Management Unit is calculated by subtracting an estimate of Atlantic chub mackerel catch from South Carolina through Florida from the Atlantic chub mackerel ABC or OY, whichever is less. The Monitoring Committee shall recommend an appropriate estimate of such catch on an annual basis through the specifications process. The ACL shall apply to both commercial and recreational catch of Atlantic chub mackerel; there will not be separate ACLs for the commercial and recreational Atlantic chub mackerel fisheries.
(v) ACT. The Atlantic chub mackerel ACT shall be equal to or less than the Atlantic chub mackerel ACL after deducting an estimate of management uncertainty. The Monitoring Committee shall identify and review relevant sources of management uncertainty to recommend an overall ACT to the MAFMC for both the commercial and recreational fishing sectors as part of the specifications process.
(vi) TAL. The Atlantic chub mackerel TAL shall be equal to or less than the Atlantic chub mackerel ACT after deducting an estimate of dead discards in both the commercial and recreational fisheries. The Monitoring Committee shall evaluate available data to recommend an estimate of total discards used to calculate the TAL in its recommendation to the MAFMC as part of the specifications process.
(c) Recommended measures. Based on the review of the data described in paragraph (b) of this section and requests for research quota as described in paragraph (g) of this section, the Monitoring Committee will recommend to the Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Committee the measures from the following list that it determines are necessary to ensure that the specifications are not exceeded:
(1) RSA set from a range of 0 to 3 percent of:
(i) The IOY for longfin squid and/or Illex.
(ii) The commercial and/or recreational ACT for Atlantic mackerel.
(iii) The ACT for butterfish.
(2) Commercial quotas or total allowable landing limits, set after reductions for research quotas, management uncertainty, discards, an estimate of Atlantic chub mackerel catch from South Carolina through Florida, or any other applicable deduction specified in this section.
(3) The amount of longfin squid, Illex squid, and butterfish that may be retained and landed by vessels issued the incidental catch permit specified in § 648.4(a)(5)(vi), and the amount of Atlantic mackerel that may be retained, possessed and landed by any of the limited access Atlantic mackerel permits described at § 648.4(a)(5)(iii) and the incidental Atlantic mackerel permit at § 648.4(a)(5)(iv).
(4) Commercial minimum fish sizes.
(5) Commercial trip limits.
(6) Commercial seasonal quotas/closures for longfin squid, Illex squid, and Atlantic chub mackerel; and landings cap for the Tier 3 Limited Access Atlantic mackerel permit.
(7) Minimum mesh sizes.
(8) Commercial gear restrictions.
(9) Recreational allocation for Atlantic mackerel.
(10) Recreational minimum fish size.
(11) Recreational possession limits.
(12) Recreational season.
(13) Changes, as appropriate, to the SBRM, including the coefficient of variation (CV) based performance standard, the means by which discard data are collected/obtained, fishery stratification, the process for prioritizing observer sea-day allocations, reports, and/or industry-funded observers or observer set aside programs.
(14) Modification of existing accountability measures (AMs) utilized by the Monitoring Committee.
(d) Annual fishing measures. (1) The Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Committee will review the recommendations of the Monitoring Committee. Based on these recommendations and any public comment received thereon, the Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Committee must recommend to the MAFMC appropriate specifications and any measures necessary to assure that the specifications will not be exceeded. The MAFMC will review these recommendations and, based on the recommendations and any public comment received thereon, must recommend to the Regional Administrator appropriate specifications and any measures necessary to assure that the ACL will not be exceeded. The MAFMC's recommendations must include supporting documentation, as appropriate, concerning the environmental, economic, and social impacts of the recommendations. The Regional Administrator will review the recommendations and will publish a proposed rule in the Federal Register proposing specifications and any measures necessary to assure that the specifications will not be exceeded and providing a 30-day public comment period. If the proposed specifications differ from those recommended by the MAFMC, the reasons for any differences must be clearly stated and the revised specifications must satisfy the criteria set forth in this section. The MAFMC's recommendations will be available for inspection at the office of the Regional Administrator during the public comment period. If the annual specifications for Illex squid, longfin squid, Atlantic mackerel, Atlantic chub mackerel, or butterfish are not published in the Federal Register prior to the start of the fishing year, the previous year's annual specifications, excluding specifications of TALFF, will remain in effect. The previous year's specifications will be superseded as of the effective date of the final rule implementing the current year's annual specifications.
(2) The Regional Administrator will make a final determination concerning the specifications for each species and any measures necessary to assure that the specifications will not be exceeded. After the Regional Administrator considers all relevant data and any public comments, notification of the final specifications and any measures necessary to assure that the specifications will not be exceeded and responses to the public comments will be published in the Federal Register. If the final specification amounts differ from those recommended by the MAFMC, the reason(s) for the difference(s) must be clearly stated and the revised specifications must be consistent with the criteria set forth in paragraph (b) of this section.
(e) Inseason adjustments. The specifications established pursuant to this section may be adjusted by the Regional Administrator, in consultation with the MAFMC, during the fishing year by publishing notification in the Federal Register.
(f) Distribution of annual longfin squid commercial quota. (1) A commercial quota for longfin squid will be allocated annually into trimester periods, based on the following percentages: Trimester I (January-April)—43.0 percent; Trimester II (May-August)—17.0 percent; and Trimester III (September-December)—40.0 percent.
(2) Any underages of commercial period quota for Trimester I that are greater than 25 percent of the Trimester I quota will be reallocated to Trimesters II and III of the same year. The reallocation of quota from Trimester I to Trimester II is limited, such that the Trimester II quota may only be increased by 50 percent; the remaining portion of the underage will be reallocated to Trimester III. Any underages of commercial period quota for Trimester I that are less than 25 percent of the Trimester I quota will be applied to Trimester III of the same year. Any overages of commercial quota for Trimesters I and II will be subtracted from Trimester III of the same year.
(g) Research set-aside (RSA) quota. Prior to the MAFMC's quota-setting meetings:
(1) NMFS will publish a Request for Proposals (RFP) in the Federal Register, consistent with procedures and requirements established by the NOAA Grants Office, to solicit proposals from industry for the upcoming fishing year, based on research priorities identified by the MAFMC.
(2) NMFS will convene a review panel, including the MAFMC's Comprehensive Management Committee and technical experts, to review proposals submitted in response to the RFP.
(i) Each panel member will recommend which research proposals should be authorized to utilize research quota, based on the selection criteria described in the RFP.
(ii) The NEFSC Director and the NOAA Grants Office will consider each panel member's recommendation, and provide final approval of the projects. The Regional Administrator may, when appropriate, exempt selected vessel(s) from regulations specified in each of the respective FMPs through written notification to the project proponent.
(3) The grant awards approved under the RFPs will be for the upcoming fishing year. Proposals to fund research that would start prior to, or that would end after the fishing year, will not be eligible for consideration. All research and/or compensation trips must be completed within the fishing year for which the research grant was awarded.
(4) Research projects will be conducted in accordance with provisions approved and provided in an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) issued by the Regional Administrator.
(5) If a proposal is disapproved by the NEFSC Director or the NOAA Grants Office, or if the Regional Administrator determines that the allocated research quota cannot be utilized by a project, the Regional Administrator shall reallocate the unallocated or unused amount of research quota to the respective commercial and recreational fisheries by publication of a notice in the Federal Register in compliance with the Administrative Procedure Act, provided:
(i) The reallocation of the unallocated or unused amount of research quota is in accord with National Standard 1, and can be available for harvest before the end of the fishing year for which the research quota is specified; and
(ii) Any reallocation of unallocated or unused research quota shall be consistent with the proportional division of quota between the commercial and recreational fisheries in the relevant FMP and allocated to the remaining quota periods for the fishing year proportionally.
(6) Vessels participating in approved research projects may be exempted from certain management measures by the Regional Administrator, provided that one of the following analyses of the impacts associated with the exemptions is provided:
(i) The analysis of the impacts of the requested exemptions is included as part of the annual quota specification packages submitted by the MAFMC; or
(ii) For proposals that require exemptions that extend beyond the scope of the analysis provided by the MAFMC, applicants may be required to provide additional analysis of impacts of the exemptions before issuance of an EFP will be considered, as specified in the EFP regulations at § 648.12(b).
§ 648.23   Mackerel, squid, and butterfish gear restrictions.
(a) Mesh restrictions and exemptions. Vessels subject to the mesh restrictions in this paragraph (a) must render any net, or any piece of net, with a mesh size smaller than that specified in paragraphs (a)(1), (2), and (3) of this section not available for immediate use as defined in § 648.2.
(1) Butterfish fishery. Owners or operators of otter trawl vessels possessing more than 5,000 lb (2.27 mt) of butterfish harvested in or from the EEZ may only fish with nets having a minimum codend mesh of 3 inches (7.62 cm) diamond or square mesh, as measured by methods specified in § 648.80(f), applied throughout the codend for at least 100 continuous meshes forward of the terminus of the net, or for codends with less than 100 meshes, the minimum mesh size codend shall be a minimum of one-third of the net, measured from the terminus of the codend to the headrope.
(2) Longfin squid fishery. (i) Owners or operators of otter trawl vessels possessing longfin squid harvested in or from the EEZ may only fish with nets having a minimum mesh size of 2 1/8 inches (54 mm) during Trimesters I (Jan-Apr) and III (Sept-Dec), or 1 7/8 inches (48 mm) during Trimester II (May-Aug), diamond or square mesh, as measured by methods specified in § 648.80(f), applied throughout the codend for at least 150 continuous meshes forward of the terminus of the net, or, for codends with less than 150 meshes, the minimum mesh size codend shall be a minimum of one-third of the net measured from the terminus of the codend to the headrope.
(ii) During closures of the longfin squid fishery resulting from the butterfish discard cap, described in § 648.24(c)(3), vessels fishing for longfin squid using jigging gear are exempt from the closure possession limit specified in § 648.26(b), provided that all otter trawl gear is stowed and not available for immediate use as defined in § 648.2.
(3) Net obstruction or constriction. Owners or operators of otter trawl vessels fishing for and/or possessing butterfish or longfin squid shall not use any device, gear, or material, including, but not limited to, nets, net strengtheners, ropes, lines, or chafing gear, on the top of the regulated portion of a trawl net except any of the following materials may be used as specified:
(i) Splitting straps, and/or bull ropes or wire around the entire circumference of the codend provided these materials do not obstruct or constrict the top or the trawl net while it is being towed;
(ii) Net strengtheners (covers) that do not have a mesh opening of less than 5 inches (12.7 cm) diamond or square mesh, as measured by methods specified in § 648.80(f); and
(iii) A liner may be used to close the opening created by the rings in the aftermost portion of the net, provided the liner extends no more than 10 meshes forward of the aftermost portion of the net, the inside webbing of the codend shall be the same circumference or less than any strengthener and the liner is no more than 2 ft (61 cm) longer than any net strengthener.
(4) Top of the regulated portion of the net means the 50 percent of the entire regulated portion of the net that would not be in contact with the ocean bottom if, during a tow, the regulated portion of the net were laid flat on the ocean floor.
(5) Illex fishery. Seaward of the following coordinates, connected in the order listed by straight lines except otherwise noted, otter trawl vessels possessing longfin squid harvested in or from the EEZ and fishing for Illex during the months of June, July, August in Trimester II, and September in Trimester III are exempt from the longfin squid gear requirements specified in paragraph (a)(2) of this section, provided that landward of the specified coordinates they do not have available for immediate use, as defined in § 648.2, any net, or any piece of net, with a mesh size less than 1 7/8 inches (48 mm) diamond mesh in Trimester II, and 2 1/8 inches (54 mm) diamond mesh in Trimester III, or any piece of net, with mesh that is rigged in a manner that is prohibited by paragraphs (a)(2) and (a)(3)(ii) of this section.
[ 1 ] The intersection of 43°58.0′ N. latitude and the US-Canada Maritime Boundary.
[ 2 ] Points M9 and M10 are intended to fall along and are connected by the US-Canada Maritime Boundary.
[ 3 ] The intersection of 35°28.0′ N. latitude and the outward limit of the U.S. EEZ.
(6) Mackerel, squid, and butterfish bottom trawling restricted areas —(i) Oceanographer Canyon. No permitted mackerel, squid, or butterfish vessel may fish with bottom trawl gear in the Oceanographer Canyon or be in the Oceanographer Canyon unless transiting. Vessels may transit this area provided the bottom trawl gear is stowed and not available for immediate use as defined in § 648.2. Oceanographer Canyon is defined by straight lines connecting the following points in the order stated (copies of a chart depicting this area are available from the Regional Administrator upon request):
Oceanographer Canyon
(ii) Lydonia Canyon. No permitted mackerel, squid, or butterfish vessel may fish with bottom trawl gear in the Lydonia Canyon or be in the Lydonia Canyon unless transiting. Vessels may transit this area provided the bottom trawl gear is stowed and not available for immediate use as defined in § 648.2. Lydonia Canyon is defined by straight lines connecting the following points in the order stated (copies of a chart depicting this area are available from the Regional Administrator upon request):
Lydonia Canyon
(b) [Reserved]
(c) Mesh obstruction or constriction. The owner or operator of a fishing vessel shall not use any mesh construction, mesh configuration, or other means that effectively decreases the mesh size below the minimum mesh size, except that a liner may be used to close the opening created by the rings in the aftermost portion of the net, provided the liner extends no more than 10 meshes forward of the aftermost portion of the net. The inside webbing of the codend shall be the same circumference or less than the outside webbing (strengthener). In addition, the inside webbing shall not be more than 2 ft (61 cm) longer than the outside webbing.