2478 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 10 / Thursday, January 15, 2009 / Proposed Rules 

Fisheries Act and comply with all 

requirements of § 600.1504. 

(3) In determining whether there has 

been a catastrophic regional fishery 

disaster, the Secretary must conclude 

that the severity of the economic 

impacts on the coastal or fishing 

communities are beyond the normal 

range of revenue fluctuations during the 

5-year period immediately preceding 

the claimed disaster. 

§ 600.1504 Initiating an evaluation request. 

(a) The Secretary may accept requests 

for fisheries disaster assistance under 

section 312(a) or section 315 of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act from the 

Governor of an affected state, or two or 

more Governors if under section 315, or 

an elected or politically appointed 

representative of the affected fishing 

community (i.e., mayor, city manager, or 

county executive). The Secretary may 

accept requests for fisheries disaster 

assistance under section 308(b) or 

section 308(d) of the Interjurisdictional 

Fisheries Act from an elected or 

politically appointed representative of 

the affected fishing community (i.e., 

mayor, city manager, or county 

executive). All such requests should be 

submitted to the Secretary by letter and 

must include: 

(1) A clear definition of the fishery, 

including identification of all fish stocks 

and whether it includes non-Federal 

fisheries as well as Federal fisheries, 

and the geographical boundaries of the 

fishery for which the request is being 

made; 

(2) The rationale and supporting 

documentation as required by this 

subpart, including: 

(i) Characteristics of the fishery which 

is the subject of the request and other 

related fisheries that participants also 

fish in (size and value; number of 

participants; seasonal and other 

environmental limitations; socioeconomic data; landings data; and 

market conditions); 

(ii) Decline in landings, economic 

impact, revenues, or net revenues by 

vessel category, port, etc. (this should 

represent the proportion of the affected 

fishery resource compared to the 

commercial fishery as a whole, not just 

for the affected fishery resource); 

(iii) Number of participants involved 

by vessel category, port, etc.; 

(iv) Length of time the resource (or 

access to it) has been or will be 

restricted; 

(v) Documented decline in the 

stock(s); 

(vi) In the case of a fishery disaster 

request for a fishery that has been 

subject to overfishing during the 5-year 

period immediately preceding the 

claimed disaster, the Secretary will 

presume that overfishing or inadequate 

harvest controls was the cause of the 

claimed disaster unless the requester 

provides: 

(A) Information that demonstrates that 

overfishing did not cause the disaster if 

the stock(s) was subject to overfishing 

during the 5-year period immediately 

preceding the claimed disaster; and 

(B) Information that demonstrates that 

adequate harvest controls were in place 

during the 5-year period immediately 

preceding the claimed disaster if the 

disaster was claimed to be caused by 

undetermined causes. 

(vii) Documented spending plan 

which describes the activities that could 

be used to mitigate adverse impacts if a 

commercial fishery failure due to a 

fishery resource disaster were 

determined; and 

(viii) A comprehensive economic and 

socio-economic evaluation of the 

affected region’s fisheries, including 

economic losses to coastal and fishing 

communities, if the request is for a 

catastrophic regional fishery disaster. 

(3) The amount of financial assistance 

needed to alleviate the claimed 

commercial fishery failure (under 

Magnuson-Stevens Act section 312(a) or 

315 and under the Interjurisdictional 

Fisheries Act section 308(b)), the serious 

disruption affecting future production 

(under Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act 

section 308(b)), or harm incurred (under 

Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act section 

308(d)), including which groups of 

fishery participants would be eligible to 

receive assistance. 

(b) The Secretary will presume that 

overfishing or inadequate harvest 

controls was the cause of the claimed 

disaster unless the requester 

demonstrates otherwise. 

(c) The requester may submit any 

additional information he or she 

believes relevant to an evaluation of the 

request. The requester is encouraged to 

contact the appropriate NMFS regional 

office informally for assistance in 

identifying materials that would assist 

in the evaluation before submitting the 

initiation letter. 

(d) After receiving the initial request, 

the Secretary may request any 

additional information that it deems 

necessary to complete his/her 

evaluation and reach a decision. 

(e) Requests without a rationale and 

supporting documentation for 

determining a commercial fishery 

failure will be denied. If the request fails 

to meet any one of the appropriate three 

prongs required to make a 

determination, the Secretary shall send 

the applicant a letter explaining his/her 

reasons for disapproving the request. 

(f) Any new request from the 

applicant for disaster assistance in the 

same fishery for which a positive 

determination has previously been 

made must include an explanation of a 

new triggering event based on new data 

that evidences an appreciable change in 

the fishery resource, and the economic 

conditions of the commercial fishery 

showing new harm. 

(g) Any vessel-specific fishery 

information submitted to the Secretary 

with a request for a Magnuson-Stevens 

section 312(a) or 315 determination 

would be subject to the confidentiality 

provisions and limitations of section 

402(b) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and 

regulations in 50 CFR 600 subpart E. 

Information submitted with a request for 

an Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act 

section 308(b) or 308(d) determination 

will be protected to the extent permitted 

by statute. 

(h) The Secretary may also initiate 

his/her own evaluation and make a 

determination for fisheries disaster 

assistance based on relevant facts or 

data. 

§ 600.1505 Evaluation process. 

The Secretary shall initiate an 

evaluation of the letter requesting a 

determination as soon as practicable 

after receiving it. The Secretary shall 

conduct his/her evaluation in 

accordance with § 600.1503. The 

Secretary shall inform the requester of 

the outcome of the evaluation, including 

reasons for the decision. 

§ 600.1506 [Reserved] 

§ 600.1507 [Reserved] 

§ 600.1508 [Reserved] 

§ 600.1509 [Reserved] 

§ 600.1510 [Reserved] 

[FR Doc. E9–810 Filed 1–14–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 080410547–81602–01] 

RIN 0648–AW70 

Magnuson–Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

Provisions; Fisheries of the 

Northeastern United States 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with PROPOSALS

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 10 / Thursday, January 15, 2009 / Proposed Rules 2479 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: Several sections of the 

regulations governing the Fisheries of 

the Northeastern United States contain 

minor inadvertent errors, omissions, 

and ambiguities. This proposed rule 

would revise the portions of the 

Northeast (NE) fishery regulations that 

relate to the Vessel Monitoring System 

(VMS) and prohibitions, standardize the 

VMS vendor requirements, and add 

prohibitions and other regulations to 

clarify existing policies and 

requirements. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received on or before February 17, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by 0648–AW70, by any one of 

the following methods: 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e–Rulemaking Portal: http:/ 

www.regulations.gov. 

• Mail: Paper, disk, or CD–ROM 

comments should be sent to Regional 

Administrator, National Marine 

Fisheries Service, 55 Great Republic 

Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the 

outside of the envelope, ‘‘Comments on 

the Proposed Rule to Modify VMS and 

Prohibitions Regulations.’’ 

• Fax: (978) 281–9135; attention Moira 

Kelly. 

Instructions: All comments received 

are a part of the public record and will 

generally be posted to http:// 

www.regulations.gov without change. 

All personal identifying information (for 

example, name, address, etc.) 

voluntarily submitted by the commenter 

may be publicly accessible. Do not 

submit confidential business 

information or otherwise sensitive or 

protected information. 

NMFS will accept anonymous 

comments (enter N/A in the required 

fields, if you wish to remain 

anonymous). You may submit 

attachments to electronic comments in 

Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or 

Adobe PDF file formats only. 

Written comments regarding the 

burden-hour estimates or other aspects 

of the collection–of–information 

requirements contained in this proposed 

rule may be submitted to the Regional 

Administrator, Northeast Region, 

National Marine Fisheries Service, and 

by e–mail to 

DavidlRostker@omb.eop.gov or fax to 

(202) 395–7285. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Moira C. Kelly, Fishery Policy Analyst, 

phone (978) 281–9218, fax (978) 281– 

9135. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

This proposed rule would revise 

portions of the NE fishery regulations by 

reorganizing the VMS and prohibitions 

sections, standardizing the VMS vendor 

requirements, and adding prohibitions 

and other regulations that would correct 

or clarify existing policies and 

requirements. The proposed changes 

would be enacted under the authority 

given to the Secretary of Commerce to 

promulgate regulations to fully carry out 

the requirements of the Magnuson– 

Stevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act (Magnuson–Stevens 

Act). The proposed changes are 

summarized below. 

VMS–Related Modifications 

This action would standardize the 

qualification requirements of VMS 

vendors and VMS units between the NE 

Region and the National VMS program. 

The Regional Administrator, NE Region, 

NMFS (RA), would retain the authority 

to approve or disapprove a vendor or 

unit for use in the NE Region; however, 

the standards against which the vendors 

are judged would be the same as used 

by the National VMS program. This 

action would ensure that the VMS 

vendors meet industry–accepted criteria 

while the NE Region’s specific VMS 

needs are achieved. 

For consistency across fishery 

management plans (FMPs), a measure 

implemented under the Surfclam and 

Ocean Quahog FMP requiring vessel 

owners to call the Office of Law 

Enforcement (OLE) to verify 

connectivity between a new or 

replacement VMS unit and OLE prior to 

the vessel sailing on its first trip using 

VMS would be expanded to all vessel 

owners. This expansion would allow 

OLE to ensure that the units are 

installed and registered correctly in all 

of the necessary systems. In addition, 

this action would reorganize the VMS 

regulations so that the requirements that 

apply to vessel owners/operators are 

separate and distinguishable from the 

requirements that apply to VMS 

vendors. Further, the VMS Demarcation 

Line would be modified through the 

addition of a new coordinate intended 

to allow vessels from Monhegan Island, 

Isle au Haut, and Matinicus Isle, Maine, 

to more easily comply with the VMS 

requirements of the NE Multispecies 

FMP. 

Prohibitions–Related Modifications 

The prohibitions section (§ 648.14) is 

currently difficult to navigate because it 

is generally not well organized. The 

reorganization of the prohibitions 

section would assist industry in more 

easily understanding the rules and 

regulations and serve to improve 

compliance with those requirements. 

This proposed rule would group 

together the prohibitions relating to a 

specific FMP, title the sections and 

subsections, and provide more guidance 

on where to find a specific prohibition. 

This action also would add prohibitions 

to clarify or correct existing 

requirements. The additional 

prohibitions, which relate to regulations 

that have already been reviewed and 

approved through appropriate 

rulemaking procedures, clarify that 

aiding and abetting actions prohibited 

by the Magnuson–Stevens Act, or any 

other statute administered by NOAA, is 

prohibited; that observers are prohibited 

from providing false information; that 

miscoding of trips through the VMS by 

vessel owners/operators is not 

permissible; that transferring regulated 

species at sea, without authorization 

from the RA, or as otherwise permitted, 

is prohibited; and, that any vessel 

possessing or retaining any species 

regulated by the NE Region must be 

under its own power. 

Other Modifications 

Several regulations pertaining to VMS 

were recently inadvertently deleted 

when two final rules affecting the same 

sections of the regulations were 

published at about the same time. The 

final rule implementing Surfclam/Ocean 

Quahog Framework Adjustment (FW) 1 

inadvertently deleted sections of the 

VMS regulations that were modified or 

added under the NE Multispecies FW 42 

correction rule. This rule would 

reinstate those regulations. Other 

sections that would be clarified relate to 

recordkeeping requirements and twine– 

top measurements of scallop dredges. 

Under this proposed rule, the 

recordkeeping regulations would be 

modified to specify some of the types of 

records vessel owners and dealers are 

required to retain, and to clarify that any 

person acting in the capacity of a 

federally permitted dealer is subject to 

the same requirements as a federally 

permitted dealer. Further, this rule 

would clarify how to measure twine–top 

in scallop dredges and assist industry 

members with complying with the 

minimum mesh size requirements of the 

Atlantic Sea Scallop FMP. Other minor 

adjustments to the regulations would 

correct the references of the Regular B 

Days–At–Sea (DAS) Program by 

removing the word ‘‘pilot,’’ and make 

other corrections to cross–references. 

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2480 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 10 / Thursday, January 15, 2009 / Proposed Rules 

A detailed description of the 

proposed regulatory changes, including 

their justification, is provided in the 

following paragraphs. 

Proposed Measures 

1. VMS Type Approval Regulations 

Currently, the NE Region is the only 

NMFS region that has a different set of 

qualifications than the National VMS 

Program that VMS vendors and units 

must meet in order to sell approved 

VMS units to Federal permit holders. 

This action is intended to standardize 

the NE Region’s qualifications with 

those of the National VMS Program, 

while retaining the RA’s ability to 

approve or disapprove VMS vendors or 

units for use in the NE Region 

independently from the National VMS 

Program. Standardizing the VMS vendor 

and unit requirements would add the 

definition of a ‘‘mobile transmitting 

unit’’ as the formal definition of a VMS 

unit, and the definition of a ‘‘mobile 

communications service provider’’ as 

the formal definition of a VMS vendor. 

2. Revisions to VMS Demarcation Line 

and Other VMS Requirements 

The final rule implementing measures 

approved under FW 42 to the NE 

Multispecies FMP (71 FR 62156; 

November 22, 2006) required all vessels 

fishing for groundfish under a NE 

multispecies DAS to use VMS. Counting 

of a vessel’s DAS begins once the vessel 

crosses the VMS Demarcation Line, a 

line running roughly parallel to the 

coast, as specified at § 648.10(a). Prior to 

the implementation of the FW 42 VMS 

requirement, several NE multispecies 

vessels were observed to be operating 

out of several small islands off the coast 

of Maine; namely, Monhegan Island, Isle 

au Haut, and Matinicus Isle. These 

vessels could not be charged any NE 

multispecies DAS while using the VMS, 

because the islands are seaward of the 

VMS Demarcation Line by several miles. 

In order to begin a DAS trip while using 

the VMS, a vessel must make a 

declaration in port, and cross the 

Demarcation Line on its way out to sea. 

The first VMS position detected 

seaward of the Demarcation Line is the 

beginning time for charging DAS. 

However, vessels fishing from these 

islands cannot trigger the DAS clock 

because they begin their trips seaward 

of the VMS Demarcation Line and, as a 

result, the VMS does not detect that a 

vessel operating out of these islands has 

begun (or ended) a trip under a DAS. 

This action would modify the existing 

VMS Demarcation Line to include 

Monhegan Island, ME, so that those 

vessels are accurately charged DAS, as 

appropriate. The revised Demarcation 

Line also allows vessels from the other 

Maine islands to steam inside the 

Demarcation Line easily, as it is much 

closer, and begin their trip. 

The final rule implementing measures 

for FW 1 to the Surfclam and Ocean 

Quahog FMP inadvertently removed 

previously approved sections of the 

VMS regulations. This proposed rule 

would reinstate those regulations that 

had previously been found at 

§ 648.10(b)(2)(i) through (iv). A 

correcting amendment that became 

effective December 27, 2007 (72 FR 

73274) amended § 648.10(b)(2)(iii); 

however, because that section had been 

removed prior to publication of the 

correcting amendment, the modification 

was not enacted. This amendment 

would implement that modification 

with the reinstatement of that regulation 

pertaining to how DAS are calculated as 

a vessel crosses the Demarcation Line or 

enters the Eastern U.S./Canada Area. 

FW 1 also implemented a requirement 

that surfclam and ocean quahog vessel 

owners call OLE when installing or 

replacing a VMS unit to ensure 

connectivity between the vessel’s unit 

and the OLE database. Previously, 

vessel owners who installed or replaced 

a unit would attempt to declare a trip 

and/or sail before the unit was 

registered by the National VMS Program 

or assigned to the NE Region. This 

would result in vessel owners appearing 

to sail with no code, or a trip not being 

recorded correctly, causing problems for 

both the vessel owner and OLE. This 

action would expand the surfclam and 

ocean quahog verification requirement 

to all vessel owners to confirm that their 

unit is in compliance with all the 

registration requirements of the various 

systems employed by the VMS program. 

3. Reorganization of VMS and 

Prohibitions Sections 

In addition to the changes and 

additions described above, the VMS and 

prohibitions sections would be 

reorganized by this proposed rule. The 

VMS sections (§§ 648.9 and 648.10) 

would be reorganized by relevance to a 

VMS vendor or unit requirement, or a 

vessel owner/operator requirement. The 

prohibitions section (§ 648.14) would be 

organized by FMP and, within each 

fishery specific sub-section, by 

relevance to regulatory requirements 

(e.g., permit requirements, possession 

and landing restrictions, gear 

requirements, etc.). 

4. Additional Prohibitions 

The following prohibitions would be 

added by this proposed rule and are 

intended to clarify existing policies or 

regulations in order to increase 

understanding among affected parties 

and improve enforcement: 

(1) A prohibition on the aiding and 

abetting of actions prohibited by the 

Magnuson–Stevens Act, or any 

regulation, notice, or permit issued in 

accordance with the Magnuson–Stevens 

Act, or any other statute administered 

by NOAA. This prohibition would 

clarify existing policy that the act of 

assisting in a violation of Federal 

fisheries regulations is itself a violation. 

(2) A prohibition specifying that it is 

a violation for an observer to provide 

false or inaccurate data or other 

information to NMFS. This prohibition 

would clarify existing requirements for 

observers under their contracts. 

(3) A prohibition clarifying that it is 

a violation to provide a VMS activity 

code that does not reflect the intended 

fishing activity. 

(4) A prohibition clarifying that it is 

a violation to transfer at sea species 

regulated in the NE Region, without a 

Letter of Authorization or otherwise 

allowed, by vessels issued a valid 

Federal permit. 

(5) A prohibition clarifying that any 

vessel fishing for, possessing, or 

retaining species regulated in the NE 

Region must be under its own power, 

unless it is an emergency. 

5. Revisions to Recordkeeping 

Requirements 

This proposed rule would revise the 

current recordkeeping requirements by 

identifying some of the types of records 

that are required to be kept regarding 

fish possessed by a vessel; or possessed, 

received, or purchased by a dealer that 

are required to be reported. This 

revision would clarify, for vessel owners 

and dealers, which records must be 

preserved and available for inspection 

by authorized officers, or other NMFS 

employees, as designated by the RA. To 

accomplish this, this rule would 

provide examples of the types of records 

that are required to be retained by 

dealers. 

In addition, this rule would clarify 

that an individual acting in the capacity 

of a dealer, as defined by § 648.2, is 

required to submit a detailed report of 

all fish purchased or received for a 

commercial purpose, as federally 

permitted dealers are required to do. 

6. Addition of Twine–top Measurement 

Regulation 

This proposed rule would add a 

provision to clarify how twine–top 

should be measured to determine 

compliance with the scallop dredge gear 

requirements found at § 648.51(b). 

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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 10 / Thursday, January 15, 2009 / Proposed Rules 2481 

7. Other Corrections 

All references to the above sections 

would be modified to correctly cross– 

reference the intended citation. Minor 

corrections to the existing prohibitions 

would also be enacted to increase their 

readability or correct inadvertent errors. 

Also, the word ‘‘pilot’’ would be 

removed from all references to the 

Regular B DAS Program. As of 

November 22, 2006, the effective date of 

NE Multispecies FW 42, neither 

program is considered to be a pilot 

program. In addition, an existing 

prohibition that it is unlawful for a 

vessel to possess more than two claws 

and eight legs per red crab, unless the 

vessel has been issued a red crab limited 

access red crab permit and is fishing 

under a DAS would be clarified by 

adding the supporting regulation to the 

red crab possession and landing 

restrictions. 

Classification 

Pursuant to section 305(d) of the 

Magnuson–Stevens Act, the Assistant 

Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, has 

determined that this proposed rule is 

consistent with the FMPs of the NE 

Region, other provisions of the 

Magnuson–Stevens Act, and other 

applicable law, subject to further 

consideration after public comment. 

This proposed rule has been 

determined to be not significant for 

purposes of Executive Order 12866. 

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of 

the Department of Commerce certified 

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 

Small Business Administration that this 

proposed rule, if adopted, would not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. 

The factual basis for this determination 

is as follows: 

The proposed action would affect a 

substantial number of small entities, as all 

vessels issued a Federal permit in the NE 

Region would be affected by this action. The 

proposed action would correct/clarify the 

existing regulations to ensure that the current 

regulations accurately reflect measures 

adopted by the New England and Mid– 

Atlantic Fishery Management Councils and 

approved by the Secretary of Commerce. This 

action would ensure that the economic 

impacts analyzed in previous actions would 

be realized, but would not impose any 

additional economic impacts on affected 

entities. The proposed action would not 

significantly reduce profit for affected 

vessels, as the proposed measures are either 

administrative in nature and would not affect 

vessel operations, or would have no 

economic impact beyond that previously 

analyzed. This action would simply clarify or 

reinstate such requirements, respectively, but 

would not increase costs associated with 

these measures. 

As a result, an initial regulatory 

flexibility analysis is not required, and 

none has been prepared. 

This proposed rule contains a non– 

substantive change to a previously 

approved collection–of–information 

requirement subject to review and 

approval by OMB under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act (PRA). This requirement 

will be submitted to OMB for approval 

prior to the final rule. Public reporting 

burden for requiring all VMS users to 

confirm connectivity with the Office of 

Law Enforcement is estimated to 

average less than 5 minutes per 

response, including the time for 

reviewing instructions, searching 

existing data sources, gathering and 

maintaining the data needed, and 

completing and reviewing the collection 

information. 

Public comment is sought regarding: 

whether this proposed collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

agency, including whether the 

information shall have practical utility; 

the accuracy of the burden estimate; 

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and ways to minimize the 

burden of the collection of information, 

including through the use of automated 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology. Send comments 

on these or any other aspects of the 

collection of information to the 

Northeast Regional Office at the 

ADDRESSES above, and by e–mail to 

DavidlRostker@omb.eop.gov or fax to 

(202) 395–7285. 

Notwithstanding any other provision 

of the law, no person is required to 

respond to, and no person shall be 

subject to penalty for failure to comply 

with, a collection of information subject 

to the requirements of the PRA, unless 

that collection of information displays a 

currently valid OMB control number. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648 

Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

Dated: January 9, 2009. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, 50 CFR part 648 is proposed 

to be amended as follows: 

PART 648—FISHERIES OF THE 

NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES 

1. The authority citation for part 648 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. 

2. In § 648.2, definitions for ‘‘MCSP’’, 

‘‘MTU’’, and ‘‘Records’’ are added in 

alphabetical order to read as follows: 

§ 648.2 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

MCSP means a Mobile 

Communications Service Provider, 

which is an operator of a mobile 

communications service used to provide 

wireless connectivity between mobile 

platforms and fixed platforms, and 

enables location transmission and two– 

way message exchange between the 

vessel and NMFS, when using a 

compatible MTU. 

* * * * * 

MTU means a Mobile Transmitting 

Unit, which is a transceiver or 

communications device, including 

antennae, dedicated message terminal 

and display, and an input device such 

as a keyboard installed on a fishing 

vessel participating in the VMS 

program. 

* * * * * 

Records, with respect to records 

required to be kept by § 648.7, means 

those that include, but are not limited 

to, any written, recorded, graphic, 

electronic, or digital material; as well as 

other information stored in or accessible 

through a computer or other information 

retrieval system; worksheets; weighout 

slips; preliminary, interim, and final 

tally sheets; tags; notes; logbooks; 

statements; receipts; checks; ledgers; 

notebooks; diaries; spreadsheets; 

diagrams; graphs; charts; tapes; disks; or 

computer printouts. 

* * * * * 

3. In § 648.4, paragraphs (a)(8)(ii) and 

(a)(9)(i)(N)(3)(i) are revised to read as 

follows: 

§ 648.4 Vessel permits. 

(a) * * * 

(8) * * * 

(ii) Party and charter vessels. All 

party or charter boats must have been 

issued and carry on board a valid party 

or charter boat permit to fish for, 

possess, or land Atlantic bluefish in or 

from the EEZ if carrying passengers for 

hire. Persons on board such vessels 

must observe the possession limits 

established pursuant to § 648.164 and 

the prohibitions on sale specified in 

§ 648.14(q). 

* * * * * 

(9) * * * 

(i) * * * 

(N) * * * 

(3) * * * 

(i) A vessel denied a limited access 

monkfish Category G or H permit may 

fish under the monkfish DAS program, 

provided that the denial has been 

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2482 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 10 / Thursday, January 15, 2009 / Proposed Rules 

appealed, the appeal is pending, and the 

vessel has on board a letter from the 

Regional Administrator authorizing the 

vessel to fish under the monkfish DAS 

program. The letter of authorization 

must be carried on board the vessel. A 

vessel with such a letter of authorization 

shall not exceed the annual allocation of 

monkfish DAS as specified in 

§ 648.92(b)(1) and must report the use of 

monkfish DAS according to the 

provisions of § 648.10. If the appeal is 

finally denied, the Regional 

Administrator shall send a notice of 

final denial to the vessel owner; the 

letter authorizing temporary 

participation in the monkfish fishery 

shall become invalid 5 days after receipt 

of the notice of denial, but no later than 

10 days from the date of the denial 

letter. If the appeal is approved, any 

DAS used during pendency of the 

appeal shall be deducted from the 

vessel’s annual allocation of monkfish 

DAS for that fishing year. 

* * * * * 

4. In § 648.7, paragraphs (a)(1) 

introductory text, (d), and (e) are revised 

to read as follows: 

§ 648.7 Recordkeeping and reporting 

requirements. 

* * * * * 

(a) * * * 

(1) Detailed report. Federally 

permitted dealers, and any individual 

acting in the capacity of a dealer, must 

submit to the Regional Administrator or 

to the official designee a detailed report 

of all fish purchased or received for a 

commercial purpose, other than solely 

for transport on land, within the time 

period specified in paragraph (f) of this 

section, by one of the available 

electronic reporting mechanisms 

approved by NMFS, unless otherwise 

directed by the Regional Administrator. 

The following information, and any 

other information required by the 

Regional Administrator, must be 

provided in each report: 

* * * * * 

(d) Inspection. Upon the request of an 

authorized officer or an employee of 

NMFS designated by the Regional 

Administrator to make such inspections, 

all persons required to submit reports 

under this part must make immediately 

available for inspection copies of 

reports, and all records upon which 

those reports are or will be based, that 

are required to be submitted or kept 

under this part. 

(e) Record retention. Any record, as 

defined at § 648.2, related to fish 

possessed, received, or purchased by a 

dealer that is required to be reported, 

must be retained and be available for 

immediate review for a total of 3 years 

after the date the fish were first 

possessed, received, or purchased. 

Dealers must retain the required records 

and reports at their principal place of 

business. Copies of fishing log reports 

must be kept on board the vessel and 

available for review for at least 1 year, 

and must be retained for a total of 3 

years after the date the fish were last 

possessed, landed, and sold. 

* * * * * 

5. Section 648.9 is revised to read as 

follows: 

§ 648.9 VMS vendor and unit 

requirements. 

(a) Approval. The type approval 

requirements for VMS MTUs and 

MCSPs for the Northeast Region are 

those as published by the NMFS Office 

of Law Enforcement in the Federal 

Register, and are available upon request. 

Both the minimum national standards 

and any established regional standards 

must be met in order to receive approval 

for use in the Northeast Region. The 

Regional Administrator shall approve 

all MTUs and MCSPs operating in the 

Northeast Region. 

(b) Maintenance. Once approved, 

VMS units must maintain the minimum 

standards for which they were approved 

in the type approval requirements. Any 

changes made to the original submission 

for approval of an MTU or MCSP by 

NMFS must follow the procedures 

outlined in the type approval 

requirements. 

(c) Notification. A list of approved 

VMS vendors will be published on the 

Northeast Regional Office web site and 

in each proposed and final rule for 

implementing or modifying VMS 

requirements for specific fisheries. 

(d) Revocations. In the event that a 

VMS vendor is deleted from the list of 

approved vendors, vessel owners that 

purchased a VMS unit from that vendor 

to meet Northeast requirements will be 

considered authorized to use that unit 

for the remainder of the unit’s service 

life. 

6. Section 648.10 is revised to read as 

follows: 

§ 648.10 VMS and DAS requirements for 

vessel owners/operators. 

(a) VMS Demarcation Line. The VMS 

Demarcation Line is defined by straight 

lines connecting the following 

coordinates in the order stated (a copy 

of a map showing the line is available 

from the Regional Administrator upon 

request): 

VMS DEMARCATION LINE

Description N. Lat. W. Long. 

1. Northern terminus point (Canada landmass) 45°03′ 66°47′ 

2. A point east of West Quoddy Head Light 44°48.9′ 66°56.1′ 

3. A point east of Little River Light 44°39.0′ 67°10.5′ 

4. Whistle Buoy ‘‘8BI’’ (SSE of Baker Island) 44°13.6′ 68°10.8′ 

5. Isle au Haut Light 44°03.9′ 68°39.1′ 

6. A point south of Monhegan Island 43°43.3′ 69°18.6′ 

7. Pemaquid Point Light 43°50.2′ 69°30.4′ 

8. A point west of Halfway Rock 43°38.0′ 70°05.0′ 

9. A point east of Cape Neddick Light 43°09.9′ 70°34.5′ 

10. Merrimack River Entrance ‘‘MR’’ Whistle Buoy 42°48.6′ 70°47.1′ 

11. Halibut Point Gong Buoy ‘‘1AHP’’ 42°42.0′ 70°37.5′ 

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VMS DEMARCATION LINE—Continued 

Description N. Lat. W. Long. 

12. Connecting reference point 42°40′ 70°30′ 

13. Whistle Buoy ‘‘2’’ off Eastern Point 42°34.3′ 70°39.8′ 

14. The Graves Light (Boston) 42°21.9′ 70°52.2′ 

15. Minots Ledge Light 42°16.2′ 70°45.6′ 

16. Farnham Rock Lighted Bell Buoy 42°05.6′ 70°36.5′ 

17. Cape Cod Canal Bell Buoy ‘‘CC’’ 41°48.9′ 70°27.7′ 

18. A point inside Cape Cod Bay 41°48.9′ 70°05′ 

19. Race Point Lighted Bell Buoy ‘‘RP’’ 42°04.9′ 70°16.8′ 

20. Peaked Hill Bar Whistle Buoy ‘‘2PH’’ 42°07.0′ 70°06.2′ 

21. Connecting point, off Nauset Light 41°50′ 69°53′ 

22. A point south of Chatham ‘‘C’’ Whistle Buoy 41°38′ 69°55.2′ 

23. A point in eastern Vineyard Sound 41°30′ 70°33′ 

24. A point east of Martha’s Vineyard 41°22.2′ 70°24.6′ 

25. A point east of Great Pt. Light, Nantucket 41°23.4′ 69°57′ 

26. A point SE of Sankaty Head, Nantucket 41°13′ 69°57′ 

27. A point west of Nantucket 41°15.6′ 70°25.2′ 

28. Squibnocket Lighted Bell Buoy ‘‘1’’ 41°15.7′ 70°46.3′ 

29. Wilbur Point (on Sconticut Neck) 41°35.2′ 70°51.2′ 

30. Mishaum Point (on Smith Neck) 41°31.0′ 70°57.2′ 

31. Sakonnet Entrance Lighted Whistle Buoy ‘‘SR’’ 41°25.7′ 71°13.4′ 

32. Point Judith Lighted Whistle Buoy ‘‘2’’ 41°19.3′ 71°28.6′ 

33. A point off Block Island Southeast Light 41°08.2′ 71°32.1′ 

34. Shinnecock Inlet Lighted Whistle Buoy ‘‘SH’’ 40°49.0′ 72°28.6′ 

35. Scotland Horn Buoy ‘‘S’’, off Sandy Hook (NJ) 40°26.5′ 73°55.0′ 

36. Barnegat Lighted Gong Buoy ‘‘2’’ 39°45.5′ 73°59.5′ 

37. A point east of Atlantic City Light 39°21.9′ 74°22.7′ 

38. A point east of Hereford Inlet Light 39°00.4′ 74°46′ 

39. A point east of Cape Henlopen Light 38°47′ 75°04′ 

40. A point east of Fenwick Island Light 38°27.1′ 75°02′ 

41. A point NE of Assateague Island (VA) 38°00′ 75°13′ 

42. Wachapreague Inlet Lighted Whistle Buoy ‘‘A’’ 37°35.0′ 75°33.7′ 

43. A point NE of Cape Henry 36°55.6′ 75°58.5′ 

44. A point east of Currituck Beach Light 36°22.6′ 75°48′ 

45. Oregon Inlet (NC) Whistle Buoy 35°48.5′ 75°30′ 

46. Wimble Shoals, east of Chicamacomico 35°36′ 75°26′ 

47. A point SE of Cape Hatteras Light 35°12.5′ 75°30′ 

48. Hatteras Inlet Entrance Buoy ‘‘HI’’ 35°10′ 75°46′ 

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VMS DEMARCATION LINE—Continued 

Description N. Lat. W. Long. 

49. Ocracoke Inlet Whistle Buoy ‘‘OC’’ 35°01.5′ 76°00.5′ 

50. A point east of Cape Lookout Light 34°36.5′ 76°30′ 

51. Southern terminus point 34°35′ 76°41′ 

(b) Vessels required to use VMS. The 

following vessels must have installed on 

board an operational VMS unit that 

meets the minimum performance 

criteria specified in, or as modified 

pursuant to § 648.9(a): 

(1) A scallop vessel issued a Full–time 

or Part–time limited access scallop 

permit, or an LAGC scallop permit; 

(2) A scallop vessel issued an 

Occasional limited access permit when 

fishing under the Sea Scallop Area 

Access Program specified under 

§ 648.60; 

(3) A vessel issued a limited access 

monkfish, Occasional scallop, or 

Combination permit, whose owner 

elects to provide the notifications 

required by this paragraph (b), unless 

otherwise authorized or required by the 

Regional Administrator under paragraph 

(d) of this section; 

(4) A vessel issued a limited access 

NE multispecies permit that fishes 

under a NE multispecies Category A or 

B DAS; 

(5) A vessel issued a surfclam (SF 1) 

or an ocean quahog (OQ 6) open access 

permit; 

(6) Effective January 1, 2009, a vessel 

issued a Maine mahogany quahog (OQ 

7) limited access permit, unless 

otherwise exempted under paragraph 

§ 648.4(a)(4)(ii)(B)(1); 

(7) A limited access monkfish vessel 

electing to fish in the Offshore Fishery 

Program in the SFMA, as provided in 

§ 648.95; and 

(8) A vessel issued a limited access 

herring permit (i.e., All Areas Limited 

Access Permit, Areas 2 and 3 Limited 

Access Permit, Incidental Catch Limited 

Access Permit). 

(c) Operating requirements for all 

vessels. (1) Except as provided in 

paragraph (c)(2) of this section, or 

unless otherwise required by paragraph 

(c)(1)(ii) of this section, all required 

VMS units must transmit a signal 

indicating the vessel’s accurate position, 

as specified under paragraph (c)(1)(i) of 

this section: 

(i) At least every hour, 24 hr a day, 

throughout the year; or 

(ii) At least twice per hour, 24 hr a 

day, throughout the year, for vessels 

issued a scallop permit and subject to 

the requirements of § 648.4(a)(2)(ii)(B). 

(2) Power–down exemption. (i) Any 

vessel required to transmit the vessel’s 

location at all times, as required in 

paragraph (c)(1) of this section, is 

exempt from this requirement if it meets 

one or more of the following conditions 

and requirements: 

(A) The vessel will be continuously 

out of the water for more than 72 

consecutive hours, the vessel signs out 

of the VMS program by obtaining a valid 

letter of exemption pursuant to 

paragraph (c)(2)(ii) of this section, and 

the vessel complies with all conditions 

and requirements of said letter; 

(B) For vessels fishing with a valid NE 

multispecies limited access permit, a 

valid surfclam and ocean quahog permit 

specified at § 648.4(a)(4), or an Atlantic 

sea scallop limited access permit, the 

vessel owner signs out of the VMS 

program for a minimum period of 30 

consecutive days by obtaining a valid 

letter of exemption pursuant to 

paragraph (c)(2)(ii) of this section, the 

vessel does not engage in any fisheries 

until the VMS unit is turned back on, 

and the vessel complies with all 

conditions and requirements of said 

letter; 

(C) The vessel has been issued a 

limited access herring permit, and is in 

port, unless required by other permit 

requirements for other fisheries to 

transmit the vessel’s location at all 

times. Such a vessel must re–power the 

VMS and submit a valid VMS activity 

declaration prior to leaving port; or 

(D) The vessel has been issued an 

LAGC permit, is not in possession of 

any scallops onboard the vessel, is tied 

to a permanent dock or mooring, the 

vessel operator has notified NMFS 

through VMS by transmitting the 

appropriate VMS power–down code 

that the VMS will be powered down, 

and the vessel is not required by other 

permit requirements for other fisheries 

to transmit the vessel’s location at all 

times. Such a vessel must re–power the 

VMS and submit a valid VMS activity 

declaration prior to moving from the 

fixed dock or mooring. VMS codes and 

instructions are available from the 

Regional Administrator. 

(ii) Letter of exemption—(A) 

Application. A vessel owner may apply 

for a letter of exemption from the VMS 

transmitting requirements specified in 

paragraph (c)(1) of this section for his/ 

her vessel by sending a written request 

to the Regional Administrator and 

providing the following: The location of 

the vessel during the time an exemption 

is sought; the exact time period for 

which an exemption is needed ( i.e., the 

time the VMS signal will be turned off 

and turned on again); and, in the case 

of a vessel meeting the conditions of 

paragraph (c)(2)(i)(A) of this section, 

sufficient information to determine that 

the vessel will be out of the water for 

more than 72 consecutive hours. The 

letter of exemption must be on board the 

vessel at all times, and the vessel may 

not turn off the VMS signal until the 

letter of exemption has been received. 

(B) Issuance. Upon receipt of an 

application, the Regional Administrator 

may issue a letter of exemption to the 

vessel if it is determined that the vessel 

owner provided sufficient information 

as required under this paragraph (c)(2), 

and that the issuance of the letter of 

exemption will not jeopardize accurate 

monitoring of the vessel’s DAS. Upon 

written request, the Regional 

Administrator may change the time 

period for which the exemption is 

granted. 

(d) Presumption. If a VMS unit fails to 

transmit an hourly signal of a vessel’s 

position, the vessel shall be deemed to 

have incurred a DAS, or fraction thereof, 

for as long as the unit fails to transmit 

a signal, unless a preponderance of 

evidence shows that the failure to 

transmit was due to an unavoidable 

malfunction or disruption of the 

transmission that occurred while the 

vessel was properly declared out of the 

scallop fishery, NE multispecies fishery, 

or monkfish fishery, as applicable, or 

while the vessel was not at sea. 

(e) VMS notifications—(1) VMS 

installation notification. (i) The owner 

of such a vessel specified in paragraph 

(b) of this section, with the exception of 

a vessel issued a limited access NE 

multispecies permit as specified in 

paragraph (b)(4) of this section, must 

provide documentation to the Regional 

Administrator at the time of application 

for a limited access permit that the 

vessel has an operational VMS unit 

installed on board that meets the 

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minimum performance criteria, unless 

otherwise allowed under paragraph (b) 

of this section. 

(ii) Vessel owners must confirm the 

VMS unit’s operation and 

communications service to NMFS by 

calling the Office of Law Enforcement 

(OLE) to ensure that position reports are 

automatically sent to and received by 

NMFS OLE. 

(iii) NMFS does not regard the fishing 

vessel as meeting the VMS requirements 

until automatic position reports and a 

manual declaration are received. 

(iv) If a vessel has already been issued 

a limited access permit without the 

owner providing such documentation, 

the Regional Administrator shall allow 

at least 30 days for the vessel to install 

an operational VMS unit that meets the 

minimum performance criteria, and for 

the owner to provide documentation of 

such installation to the Regional 

Administrator. 

(v) The owner of a vessel issued a 

limited access NE multispecies permit 

that fishes or intends to fish under a 

Category A or B DAS as specified in 

paragraph (b)(1)(vi) of this section must 

provide documentation to the Regional 

Administrator that the vessel has an 

operational VMS unit installed on 

board, meeting all requirements of this 

part, prior to fishing under a groundfish 

DAS. 

(vi) NMFS shall provide notification 

to all affected permit holders providing 

detailed information on procedures 

pertaining to VMS purchase, 

installation, and use. 

(2) Replacement VMS installations. 

Should a VMS unit require replacement, 

a vessel owner must submit 

documentation to the Regional 

Administrator, within 3 days of 

installation and prior to the vessel’s 

next trip, verifying, as described in this 

paragraph (e), that the new VMS unit is 

an operational approved system as 

described under § 648.9(a). 

(3) Access. As a condition to obtaining 

a limited access scallop, multispecies, 

an Atlantic herring, a surfclam, ocean 

quahog, or Maine mahogany quahog 

permit; or as a condition of using a VMS 

unit; all vessel owners must allow 

NMFS, the USCG, and their authorized 

officers or designees access to the 

vessel’s DAS data, if applicable, and to 

location data obtained from its VMS 

unit, if required, at the time of or after 

its transmission to the vendor or 

receiver, as the case may be. 

(4) Tampering. Tampering with a 

VMS, a VMS unit, or a VMS signal, is 

prohibited. Tampering includes any 

activity that may affect the unit’s ability 

to operate or signal properly, or to 

accurately compute or report the 

vessel’s position. 

(5) Fishery participation notification. 

(i) A vessel subject to the VMS 

requirements of § 648.9 and paragraphs 

(b) through (d) of this section that has 

crossed the VMS Demarcation Line 

under paragraph (a) of this section is 

deemed to be fishing under the DAS 

program, the General Category scallop 

fishery, or other fishery requiring the 

operation of VMS as applicable, unless 

prior to leaving port, the vessel’s owner 

or authorized representative declares 

the vessel out of the scallop, NE 

multispecies, or monkfish fishery, as 

applicable, for a specific time period. 

NMFS must be notified by transmitting 

the appropriate VMS code through the 

VMS, or unless the vessel’s owner or 

authorized representative declares the 

vessel will be fishing in the Eastern 

U.S./Canada Area, as described in 

§ 648.85(a)(3)(ii), under the provisions 

of that program. 

(ii) Notification that the vessel is not 

under the DAS program, the General 

Category scallop fishery, or any other 

fishery requiring the operation of VMS, 

must be received by NMFS prior to the 

vessel leaving port. A vessel may not 

change its status after the vessel leaves 

port or before it returns to port on any 

fishing trip. 

(iii) DAS counting for a vessel that is 

under the VMS notification 

requirements of paragraph (b) of this 

section, with the exception of vessels 

that have elected to fish exclusively in 

the Eastern U.S./Canada Area on a 

particular trip, as described in 

paragraph (b)(i) of this section, begins 

with the first location signal received 

showing that the vessel crossed the 

VMS Demarcation Line after leaving 

port. DAS counting ends with the first 

location signal received showing that 

the vessel crossed the VMS Demarcation 

Line upon its return to port. 

(iv) For those vessels that have elected 

to fish exclusively in the Eastern U.S./ 

Canada Area pursuant to 

§ 648.85(a)(3)(ii), the requirements of 

this paragraph (b) begin with the first 

location signal received showing that 

the vessel crossed into the Eastern U.S./ 

Canada Area and end with the first 

location signal received showing that 

the vessel crossed out of the Eastern 

U.S./Canada Area upon beginning its 

return trip to port, unless the vessel 

elects to also fish outside the Eastern 

U.S./Canada Area on the same trip, in 

accordance with § 648.85(a)(3)(ii)(A). 

(v) The Regional Administrator may 

authorize or require the use of the call– 

in system instead of the use of VMS, as 

described under paragraph (h) of this 

section. Furthermore, the Regional 

Administrator may authorize or require 

the use of letters of authorization as an 

alternative means of enforcing 

possession limits, if VMS cannot be 

used for such purposes. 

(f) Atlantic sea scallop vessel VMS 

notification requirements. Less than 1 hr 

prior to leaving port, the owner or 

authorized representative of a scallop 

vessel that is required to use VMS as 

specified in paragraph (b)(1) of this 

section must notify the Regional 

Administrator by entering the 

appropriate VMS code that the vessel 

will be participating in the scallop DAS 

program, Area Access Program, or 

general category scallop fishery. VMS 

codes and instructions are available 

from the Regional Administrator upon 

request. 

(1) IFQ scallop vessels. An IFQ 

scallop vessel that has crossed the VMS 

Demarcation Line specified under 

paragraph (a) of this section is deemed 

to be fishing under the IFQ program, 

unless prior to the vessel leaving port, 

the vessel’s owner or authorized 

representative declares the vessel out of 

the scallop fishery (i.e., agrees that the 

vessel will not possess, retain, or land 

scallops) for a specific time period by 

notifying the Regional Administrator 

through the VMS. An IFQ scallop vessel 

that is fishing north of 42°20′ N. lat. is 

deemed to be fishing under the NGOM 

scallop fishery unless prior to the vessel 

leaving port, the vessel’s owner or 

authorized representative declares the 

vessel out of the scallop fishery, as 

specified in paragraphs (e)(5)(i) and (ii) 

of this section, and the vessel does not 

possess, retain, or land scallops. 

(2) NGOM scallop fishery. An NGOM 

scallop vessel is deemed to be fishing 

under the NGOM scallop fishery unless 

prior to the vessel leaving port, the 

vessel’s owner or authorized 

representative declares the vessel out of 

the scallop fishery, as specified in 

paragraphs (e)(5)(i) and (ii) of this 

section, and the vessel does not possess, 

retain, or land scallops. 

(3) Incidental scallop fishery. An 

Incidental scallop vessel that has 

crossed the VMS Demarcation Line on 

any declared fishing trip for any species 

is deemed to be fishing under the 

Incidental scallop fishery unless, prior 

to the vessel leaving port, the vessel’s 

owner or authorized representative 

declares the vessel out of the scallop 

fishery, as specified in paragraphs 

(e)(5)(i) and (ii) of this section, and the 

vessel does not possess, retain, or land 

scallops. 

(4) Catch reports. All scallop vessels 

fishing in the Sea Scallop Area Access 

Program as described in § 648.60 are 

required to submit daily reports through 

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VMS of scallops kept and yellowtail 

flounder caught (including discarded 

yellowtail flounder) on each Access 

Area trip. The VMS catch reporting 

requirements are specified in 

§ 648.60(a)(9). A vessel issued an IFQ or 

NGOM scallop permit must report 

through VMS the amount of scallops 

kept on each trip declared as a scallop 

trip or on trips that are not declared 

through VMS as scallop trips, but on 

which scallops are caught incidentally. 

VMS catch reports by IFQ and NGOM 

scallop vessels must be sent prior to 

crossing the VMS Demarcation Line on 

the way back to port at the end of the 

trip, and must include the amount of 

scallop meats to be landed, the 

estimated time of arrival in port, the 

port at which the scallops will be 

landed, and the vessel trip report serial 

number recorded from that trip’s vessel 

trip report. 

(5) Scallop vessels fishing under 

exemptions. Vessels fishing under the 

exemptions provided by § 648.54 (a) 

and/or (b)(1) must comply with the 

exemption requirements and notify the 

Regional Administrator by VMS 

notification or by call–in notification as 

follows: 

(i) VMS notification for scallop vessels 

fishing under exemptions. (A) Notify the 

Regional Administrator, via their VMS, 

prior to the vessel’s first trip under the 

state waters exemption program, that 

the vessel will be fishing exclusively in 

state waters; and 

(B) Notify the Regional Administrator, 

via their VMS, prior to the vessel’s first 

planned trip in the EEZ, that the vessel 

is to resume fishing under the vessel’s 

DAS allocation. 

(ii) Call–in notification for scallop 

vessels fishing under exemptions. (A) 

Notify the Regional Administrator by 

using the call–in system and providing 

the following information at least 7 days 

prior to fishing under the exemption: 

(1) Owner and caller name and 

address; 

(2) Vessel name and permit number; 

and 

(3) Beginning and ending dates of the 

exemption period. 

(B) Remain under the exemption for a 

minimum of 7 days. 

(C) If, under the exemption for a 

minimum of 7 days and wishing to 

withdraw earlier than the designated 

end of the exemption period, notify the 

Regional Administrator of early 

withdrawal from the program by calling 

the call–in system, providing the 

vessel’s name and permit number and 

the name and phone number of the 

caller, and stating that the vessel is 

withdrawing from the exemption. The 

vessel may not leave port to fish in the 

EEZ until 48 hr after notification of 

early withdrawal is received by the 

Regional Administrator. 

(D) The Regional Administrator will 

furnish a phone number for call–ins 

upon request. 

(E) Such vessels must comply with 

the VMS notification requirements 

specified in paragraph (e) of this section 

by notifying the Regional Administrator 

by entering the appropriate VMS code 

that the vessel is fishing outside of the 

scallop fishery. VMS codes and 

instructions are available from the 

Regional Administrator upon request. 

(g) VMS notification requirements for 

other fisheries. (1) Unless otherwise 

specified in this part, or via letters sent 

to affected permit holders under 

paragraph (e)(1)(iv) of this section, the 

owner or authorized representative of a 

vessel that is required to use VMS, as 

specified in paragraph (b) of this 

section, must notify the Regional 

Administrator of the vessel’s intended 

fishing activity by entering the 

appropriate VMS code prior to leaving 

port at the start of each fishing trip. 

(2) Notification of a vessel’s intended 

fishing activity includes, but is not 

limited to, gear and DAS type to be 

used; area to be fished; and whether the 

vessel will be declared out of the DAS 

fishery, or will participate in the NE 

multispecies and monkfish DAS 

fisheries, including approved special 

management programs. 

(3) A vessel cannot change any aspect 

of its VMS activity code outside of port, 

except as follows: 

(i) NE multispecies vessels are 

authorized to change the category of 

DAS used (i.e., flip its DAS), as 

provided at § 648.85(b), or change the 

area declared to be fished so that the 

vessel may fish both inside and outside 

of the Eastern U.S./Canada Area on the 

same trip, as provided at 

§ 648.85(a)(3)(ii)(A). 

(ii) Vessels issued both a NE 

multispecies permit and a monkfish 

permit are authorized to change their 

DAS declaration from a NE multispecies 

Category A DAS to a monkfish DAS, 

while remaining subject to the to the NE 

multispecies DAS usage requirements 

under § 648.92(b)(1)(i), during the 

course of a trip, as provided at 

§ 648.92(b)(1)(iii)(A). 

(4) VMS activity codes and 

declaration instructions are available 

from the Regional Administrator upon 

request. 

(h) Call–in notification. The owner of 

a vessel issued a limited access 

monkfish or red crab permit who is 

participating in a DAS program and who 

is not required to provide notification 

using a VMS, and a scallop vessel 

qualifying for a DAS allocation under 

the occasional category that has not 

elected to fish under the VMS 

notification requirements of paragraph 

(e) of this section and is not 

participating in the Sea Scallop Area 

Access program as specified in § 648.60, 

and any vessel that may be required by 

the Regional Administrator to use the 

call–in program under paragraph (i) of 

this section, are subject to the following 

requirements: 

(1) Less than 1 hr prior to leaving 

port, for vessels issued a limited access 

NE multispecies DAS permit or, for 

vessels issued a limited access NE 

multispecies DAS permit and a limited 

access monkfish permit (Category C, D, 

F, G, or H), unless otherwise specified 

in this paragraph (h), and, prior to 

leaving port for vessels issued a limited 

access monkfish Category A or B permit, 

the vessel owner or authorized 

representative must notify the Regional 

Administrator that the vessel will be 

participating in the DAS program by 

calling the call–in system and providing 

the following information: 

(i) Owner and caller name and phone 

number; 

(ii) Vessel name and permit number; 

(iii) Type of trip to be taken; 

(iv) Port of departure; and 

(v) That the vessel is beginning a trip. 

(2) A DAS begins once the call has 

been received and a confirmation 

number is given by the Regional 

Administrator, or when a vessel leaves 

port, whichever occurs first, unless 

otherwise specified in paragraph 

(e)(2)(iii) of this section. 

(3) Vessels issued a limited access 

monkfish Category C, D, F, G, or H 

permit that are allowed to fish as a 

monkfish Category A or B vessel in 

accordance with the provisions of 

§ 648.92(b)(2)(i) are subject to the call– 

in notification requirements for limited 

access monkfish Category A or B vessels 

specified under this paragraph (h) for 

those monkfish DAS when there is not 

a concurrent NE multispecies DAS. 

(4) The vessel’s confirmation numbers 

for the current and immediately prior 

NE multispecies, monkfish, or red crab 

fishing trip must be maintained on 

board the vessel and provided to an 

authorized officer immediately upon 

request. 

(5) At the end of a vessel’s trip, upon 

its return to port, the vessel owner or 

owner’s representative must call the 

Regional Administrator and notify him/ 

her that the trip has ended by providing 

the following information: 

(i) Owner and caller name and phone 

number; 

(ii) Vessel name and permit number; 

(iii) Port of landing; and 

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(iv) That the vessel has ended its trip. 

(6) A DAS ends when the call has 

been received and confirmation has 

been given by the Regional 

Administrator, or when a vessel enters 

port at the end of a fishing trip, 

whichever occurs later, unless 

otherwise specified in paragraph 

(e)(2)(iii) of this section. 

(7) The Regional Administrator will 

furnish a phone number for DAS 

notification call–ins upon request. 

(8) Any vessel that possesses or lands 

per trip more than 400 lb (181 kg) of 

scallops; any vessel issued a limited 

access NE multispecies permit subject to 

the NE multispecies DAS program 

requirements that possesses or lands 

regulated NE multispecies, except as 

provided in §§ 648.10(h)(9)(ii), 648.17, 

and 648.89; any vessel issued a limited 

access monkfish permit subject to the 

monkfish DAS program and call–in 

requirement that possess or lands 

monkfish above the incidental catch trip 

limits specified in § 648.94(c); and any 

vessel issued a limited access red crab 

permit subject to the red crab DAS 

program and call–in requirement that 

possesses or lands red crab above the 

incidental catch trip limits specified in 

§ 648.263(b)(1) shall be deemed to be in 

its respective DAS program for purposes 

of counting DAS and will be charged 

DAS from its time of sailing to landing, 

regardless of whether the vessel’s owner 

or authorized representative provides 

adequate notification as required by 

paragraphs (e) through (h) of this 

section. 

(9) Vessels electing to use VMS. (i) A 

vessel issued a limited access monkfish, 

Occasional scallop, or Combination 

permit must use the call–in system 

specified in paragraph (h) of this 

section, unless the owner of such vessel 

has elected to provide the notifications 

required by this paragraph (e), through 

VMS as specified under paragraph 

(h)(9)(ii) of this section. Any vessel 

issued a limited access monkfish or an 

Occasional scallop permit that has 

elected to provide notifications through 

VMS must continue to provide 

notifications through VMS for the entire 

fishing year. 

(ii) A vessel issued a limited access 

monkfish or Occasional scallop permit 

may be authorized by the Regional 

Administrator to provide the 

notifications required by paragraph (e) 

of this section using the VMS specified 

in paragraph (b) of this section. For the 

vessel to become authorized, the vessel 

owner must provide documentation to 

the Regional Administrator at the time 

of application for a limited access 

permit that the vessel has installed on 

board an operational VMS as provided 

under § 648.9(a). A vessel that is 

authorized to use the VMS in lieu of the 

call–in requirement for DAS notification 

shall be subject to the requirements and 

presumptions described under 

paragraphs (e)(2)(i) through (v) of this 

section. This paragraph (h) does not 

apply to vessels electing to use the 

VMS. 

(i) Temporary authorization for use of 

the call–in system. The Regional 

Administrator may authorize or require, 

on a temporary basis, the use of the 

call–in system of notification specified 

in paragraph (h) of this section, instead 

of using the VMS. If use of the call–in 

system 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. 

(j) Additional NE multispecies call–in 

requirements—(1) Spawning season 

call–in. With the exception of a vessel 

issued a valid Small Vessel category 

permit or the Handgear A permit 

category, vessels subject to the 

spawning season restriction described 

in § 648.82 must notify the Regional 

Administrator of the commencement 

date of their 20-day period out of the NE 

multispecies fishery through the IVR 

system (or through VMS, if required by 

the Regional Administrator) and provide 

the following information: 

(i) Vessel name and permit number; 

(ii) Owner and caller name and phone 

number; and 

(iii) Commencement date of the 20- 

day period. 

(2) Gillnet call–in. A vessel subject to 

the gillnet restriction described in 

§ 648.82 must notify the Regional 

Administrator of the commencement of 

its time out of the NE multispecies 

gillnet fishery using the procedure 

described in paragraph (k)(1) of this 

section. 

7. In § 648.11, paragraph (i)(3)(v) is 

added to read as follows: 

§ 648.11 At–sea sampler/observer 

coverage. 

* * * * * 

(i) * * * 

(3) * * * 

(v) Observers must accurately record 

their sampling data, write complete 

reports, and report accurately any 

observations relevant to conservation of 

marine resources or their environment. 

* * * * * 

8. In § 648.13, paragraph (d) is revised 

to read as follows: 

§ 648.13 Transfers at sea. 

* * * * * 

(d) All persons are prohibited from 

transferring or attempting to transfer at 

sea summer flounder from one vessel to 

another vessel, except for vessels that 

have not been issued a Federal permit 

and fish exclusively in state waters. 

* * * * * 

9. Section 648.14 is revised to read as 

follows: 

§ 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 not 

issued a permit under this part or whose 

permit has been surrendered in 

accordance with applicable regulations. 

(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) Food safety program. (i) 

Purchase, receive for a commercial 

purpose other than transport to a testing 

facility, or process; or attempt to 

purchase, receive for commercial 

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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) Fish for, harvest, catch, possess; 

or attempt to fish for, harvest, catch, or 

possess any bivalve shellfish, including 

Atlantic surfclams, ocean quahogs, and 

mussels with the exception of sea 

scallops harvested only for adductor 

muscles and shucked at sea, or a vessel 

issued and possessing on board a LOA 

from the Regional Administrator 

authorizing the collection of shellfish 

for biological sampling and operating 

under the terms and conditions of said 

LOA, in the area of the EEZ bound by 

the following coordinates in the order 

stated: 

(A) 43° 00′ N. lat., 71° 00′ W. long.; 

(B) 43° 00′ N. lat., 69° 00′ W. long.; 

(C) 41° 39′ N. lat., 69° 00′ W. long; 

(D) 41° 39′ N. lat., 71° 00′ W. long., 

and then ending at the first point. 

(iv) Fish for, harvest, catch, or 

possess; or attempt to fish for, harvest, 

catch, or possess; any scallops except 

for scallops harvested only for adductor 

muscles and shucked at sea, or a vessel 

issued and possessing on board a Letter 

of Authorization (LOA) from the 

Regional Administrator authorizing 

collection of shellfish for biological 

sampling and operating under the terms 

and conditions of said LOA, in the area 

of the EEZ bound by the following 

coordinates in the order stated: 

(A) 41° 39′ N. lat., 71° 00′ W. long.; 

(B) 41° 39′ N. lat., 69° 00′ W. long.; 

(C) 40° 00′ N. lat., 69° 00′ W. long.; 

(D) 40° 00′ N. lat., 71° 00′ W. long., 

and then ending at the first point. 

(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, 

length, GRT, or NT 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. 

(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. 

(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 NMFS–approved observer 

or sea sampler conducting his or her 

duties; or any authorized officer 

conducting any search, inspection, 

investigation, or seizure in connection 

with enforcement of this part; or any 

official designee of the Regional 

Administrator conducting his or her 

duties, including those duties 

authorized in § 648.7(g). 

(2) Refuse to carry onboard a vessel an 

observer or sea sampler if requested to 

do so by the Regional Administrator or 

the Regional Administrator’s designee. 

(3) Fail to provide information, 

notification, accommodations, access, or 

reasonable assistance to either a NMFS– 

approved observer or sea sampler 

conducting his or her duties aboard a 

vessel 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 

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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 

§ 648.21(g), it is unlawful for any person 

to do any of the following: 

(i) Possession and landing. Take, 

retain, possess, or land more mackerel, 

squid or butterfish than specified under, 

or after the effective date of, a 

notification issued under § 648.22. 

(ii) Transfer and purchase. (A) 

Purchase or otherwise receive for a 

commercial purpose; other than solely 

for transport on land; mackerel, squid, 

or butterfish caught by a vessel that has 

not been issued a Federal mackerel, 

squid, and butterfish vessel permit, 

unless the vessel fishes exclusively in 

state waters. 

(B) Transfer Loligo, Illex, or butterfish 

within the EEZ, unless the vessels 

participating in the transfer have been 

issued a valid Loligo and butterfish or 

Illex moratorium permit and are 

transferring species for which the 

vessels are permitted, or have a valid 

squid/butterfish incidental catch permit 

and the appropriate LOA from the 

Regional Administrator. 

(2) Vessel and operator permit 

holders. Unless participating in a 

research activity as described in 

§ 648.21(g), it is unlawful for any person 

owning or operating a vessel issued a 

valid mackerel, squid, and 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 § 648.21. 

(ii) Possession and landing. (A) 

Possess more than the incidental catch 

allowance of Loligo or butterfish, unless 

issued a Loligo squid and butterfish 

fishery moratorium permit. 

(B) Possess more than the incidental 

catch allowance of Illex squid, unless 

issued an Illex squid moratorium 

permit. 

(C) Take, retain, possess, or land 

mackerel, squid or butterfish in excess 

of a possession allowance specified in 

§ 648.22. 

(D) Possess 5,000 lb (2.27 mt) or more 

of butterfish, unless the vessel meets the 

minimum mesh size requirement 

specified in § 648.23(a)(2). 

(E) Take, retain, possess, or land 

mackerel, squid, or butterfish after a 

total closure specified under § 648.22. 

(iii) Gear and vessel requirements. (A) 

Fish with or possess nets or netting that 

do not meet the gear requirements for 

Atlantic mackerel, Loligo, Illex, 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 in accordance with 

§ 648.23(b) or the vessel is fishing under 

an exemption specified in 

§ 648.23(a)(3)(ii). 

(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)(4). 

(3) Charter/party restrictions. Unless 

participating in a research activity as 

described in § 648.21(g), it is unlawful 

for the owner and operator of a party or 

charter boat issued a mackerel, squid, 

and 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 

§ 648.21(d). 

(ii) Sell or transfer mackerel, squid, or 

butterfish to another person for a 

commercial purpose. 

(iii) Carry passengers for hire while 

fishing commercially under a mackerel, 

squid, and butterfish fishery permit. 

(4) Presumption. For purposes of this 

part, the following presumption applies: 

All mackerel and butterfish possessed 

on board a party or charter boat issued 

a mackerel, squid, and butterfish fishery 

permit are deemed to have been 

harvested from the EEZ. 

(h) Atlantic salmon. Unless 

participating in a research activity as 

described in § 648.21(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 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 400 lb (181.4 kg) of shucked 

scallops, unless that vessel has not been 

issued a scallop permit and fishes 

exclusively in state waters. 

(iii) Possession and landing. (A) Fish 

for or land 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: 

(1) In excess of 40 lb (18.1 kg) of 

shucked scallops at any time, 5 bu (1.76 

hL) of in–shell scallops shoreward of 

the VMS Demarcation Line, or 10 bu 

(3.52 hL) of in–shell scallops seaward of 

the VMS Demarcation Line, unless: 

(i) The scallops were harvested by a 

vessel that has not been issued a scallop 

permit and fishes for scallops 

exclusively in state waters. 

(ii) The scallops were harvested by a 

vessel that has been issued and carries 

on board a limited access scallop permit 

and is properly declared into the scallop 

DAS or Area Access program. 

(iii) The scallops were harvested by a 

vessel that has been issued and carries 

on board an IFQ scallop permit and is 

properly declared into the IFQ scallop 

fishery. 

(iv) The scallops were harvested by a 

vessel that has been issued and carries 

on board an NGOM scallop permit, and 

is properly declared into the NGOM 

scallop management area, and the 

NGOM TAC specified in § 648.62 has 

not been harvested. 

(v) The scallops were harvested by a 

vessel that has been issued and carries 

on board an Incidental scallop permit 

allowing up to 40 lb (18.1 kg) of 

shucked or 5 bu (1.76 hL) of in–shell 

scallops; is carrying an at–sea observer; 

and is authorized by the Regional 

Administrator to have, and the vessel 

does not exceed, an increased 

possession limit to compensate for the 

cost of carrying the observer. 

(2) In excess of 200 lb (90.7 kg) of 

shucked scallops at any time, 25 bu (8.8 

hL) of in–shell scallops inside the VMS 

Demarcation Line, or 50 bu (17.6 hL) of 

in–shell scallops seaward of the VMS 

Demarcation Line, unless: 

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(i) The scallops were harvested by a 

vessel that has not been issued a scallop 

permit and fishes for scallops 

exclusively in state waters. 

(ii) The scallops were harvested by a 

vessel that has been issued and carries 

on board a limited access scallop permit 

and is properly declared into the scallop 

DAS or Area Access program. 

(iii) The scallops were harvested by a 

vessel that has been issued and carries 

on board an IFQ scallop permit issued 

pursuant to § 648.4(a)(2)(ii)(A), is 

fishing outside of the NGOM scallop 

management area, and is properly 

declared into the general category 

scallop fishery. 

(iv) The scallops were harvested by a 

vessel that has been issued and carries 

on board a scallop permit and the vessel 

is fishing in accordance with the 

provisions of the state waters exemption 

program specified in § 648.54. 

(v) The scallops were harvested by a 

vessel that has been issued and carries 

on board an NGOM scallop permit 

allowing up to 200 lb (90.7 kg) of 

shucked or 25 bu (8.8 hL) of in–shell 

scallops; is carrying an at–sea observer; 

and is authorized by the Regional 

Administrator to have, and the vessel 

does not exceed, an increased 

possession limit to compensate for the 

cost of carrying the observer. 

(3) In excess of 400 lb (181.4 kg) of 

shucked scallops at any time, 50 bu 

(17.6 hL) of in–shell scallops shoreward 

of the VMS Demarcation Line, or 100 bu 

(35.2 hL) in–shell scallops seaward of 

the VMS Demarcation Line, unless: 

(i) The scallops were harvested by a 

vessel that has not been issued a scallop 

permit and fishes for scallops 

exclusively in state waters. 

(ii) The scallops were harvested by a 

vessel that has been issued and carries 

on board a limited access scallop permit 

issued pursuant to § 648.4(a)(2)(i) and is 

properly declared into the scallop DAS 

or Area Access program. 

(iii) The scallops were harvested by a 

vessel that has been issued and carries 

on board a scallop permit and the vessel 

is fishing in accordance with the 

provisions of the state waters exemption 

program specified in § 648.54. 

(iv) The scallops were harvested by a 

vessel that has been issued and carries 

on board an IFQ scallop permit, is 

carrying an at–sea observer, and is 

authorized by the Regional 

Administrator to have, and the vessel 

does not exceed, an increased 

possession limit to compensate for the 

cost of carrying the observer. 

(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 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 

scallop permit pursuant to § 648.4(a)(2), 

or the scallops were harvested by a 

vessel that has not been issued a 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 general scallop permit, unless the 

scallops were harvested by a vessel that 

has not been issued a 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) 

Fish for scallops in, or possess or land 

scallops from, the areas specified in 

§§ 648.58 and 648.61. 

(B) Transit or be in the areas 

described in §§ 648.58 or 648.61 in 

possession of scallops, except when all 

fishing gear is unavailable for 

immediate use as defined in § 648.23(b), 

or unless there is a compelling safety 

reason to be in such areas. 

(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. Fail to comply 

with any of the provisions specified in 

§ 648.56. 

(ix) 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 

without a scallop permit and 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 5 bu (1.76 hL) 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 5 bu (1.76 hL) 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 dredge 

vessel gear restrictions specified in 

§ 648.51(b). 

(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 than five persons on board the 

vessel, including the operator, unless 

otherwise authorized by the Regional 

Administrator or unless participating in 

the Area Access Program pursuant to 

the requirements specified in § 648.60. 

(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, or unless participating in 

the Area Access Program pursuant to 

the requirements specified in § 648.60. 

(7) 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. 

(8) Fish with, possess on board, or 

land scallops while in possession of 

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trawl nets, when fishing for scallops 

under the DAS allocation program, 

unless exempted as provided for in 

§ 648.51(f). 

(9) Fail to comply with the restriction 

on twine top described in 

§ 648.51(b)(4)(iv). 

(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 50 bu (17.62 hL) of in–shell 

scallops once inside the VMS 

Demarcation Line on or by a vessel that, 

at any time during the trip, fished in or 

transited any area south of 42°20′ N. lat; 

or fished in any Sea Scallop Area 

Access Program specified in § 648.60, 

except as provided in the state waters 

exemption, as specified in § 648.54. 

(C) Fish for or land per trip, or possess 

at any time, scallops in the NGOM 

scallop management area after 

notification in the Federal Register that 

the NGOM scallop management area 

TAC has been harvested, as specified in 

§ 648.62, unless the vessel possesses or 

lands scallops that were harvested south 

of 42°20′ N. lat. and the vessel only 

transits the NGOM scallop management 

area with the vessel’s fishing gear 

properly stowed and unavailable for 

immediate use in accordance with 

§ 648.23. 

(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 

has properly declared into a general 

category 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 § 648.60(a)(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. 

(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). 

(vi) Scallop access area program. (A) 

Fail to comply with any of the 

provisions and specifications of 

§ 648.60. 

(B) Declare, initiate a trip into, or fish 

in the areas specified in § 648.59(b) 

through (d) after the effective date of the 

notice in the Federal Register stating 

that the yellowtail flounder TAC has 

been harvested as specified in 

§ 648.85(c). 

(C) Possess or retain yellowtail 

flounder in or from the areas specified 

in § 648.59(b) through (d) after the 

effective date of the notice in the 

Federal Register stating that the 

yellowtail flounder TAC has been 

harvested as specified in § 648.85(c). 

(D) Possess more than 50 bu (17.6 hL) 

of in–shell scallops outside the 

boundaries of a Sea Scallop Access Area 

by a vessel that is declared into the Area 

Access Program as specified in § 648.60. 

(E) Fish for, possess, or land scallops 

in or from any Sea 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. 

(vii) State waters exemption program. 

Fail to comply with any requirement for 

participating in the State Waters 

Exemption Program specified in 

§ 648.54. 

(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) Fish for, possess, or land scallops 

on a vessel that is declared out of 

scallop fishing unless the vessel has 

been issued an Incidental scallop 

permit. 

(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. 

(C) Declare into, or leave port for, the 

NGOM scallop management area after 

the effective date of a notification 

published in the Federal Register 

stating that the general category scallop 

TAC has been harvested as specified in 

§ 648.52 or § 648.62. 

(D) Fish for, possess, or land scallops 

in or from the NGOM scallop 

management area after the effective date 

of a notification published in the 

Federal Register that the NGOM scallop 

management area TAC has been 

harvested, as specified in § 648.62, 

unless the vessel possesses or lands 

scallops that were harvested south of 

42°20′ N. lat., the vessel is transiting the 

NGOM scallop management area, and 

the vessel’s fishing gear is properly 

stowed and unavailable for immediate 

use in accordance with § 648.23. 

(E) Fish for, land, or possess more 

than 40 lb (18.1 kg) of shucked, or 5 bu 

(1.76 hL) of in–shell scallops at any time 

after 10 days from being notified that his 

or her appeal for an LAGC scallop 

permit has been denied and that the 

denial is the final decision of the 

Department of Commerce, unless the 

vessel holds a valid Incidental scallop 

permit. 

(iv) VMS requirements. (A) Fail to 

comply with any of the VMS 

requirements specified in §§ 648.10, 

648.60, or 648.62. 

(B) Fail to comply with any 

requirement for declaring in or out of 

the general category scallop fishery or 

other notification requirements 

specified in § 648.10(b). 

(v) Observer program. (A) Refuse, or 

fail, to carry an observer after being 

requested to carry onboard a vessel an 

observer by the Regional Administrator 

or the Regional Administrator’s 

designee. 

(B) Fail to provide information, 

notification, accommodations, access, or 

reasonable assistance to a NMFS– 

approved observer conducting his or her 

duties aboard a vessel, as specified in 

§ 648.11. 

(vi) Scallop access area program. (A) 

Fail to comply with any of the 

requirements specified in § 648.60. 

(B) Declare into or leave port for an 

area specified in § 648.59(b) through (d) 

after the effective date of a notification 

published in the Federal Register 

stating that the general category scallop 

TAC has been harvested or that the 

number of General Category trips have 

been taken, as specified in § 648.60. 

(C) Declare into, or leave port for, an 

area specified in § 648.59(b) through (d) 

after the effective date of a notification 

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published in the Federal Register 

stating that the yellowtail flounder TAC 

has been harvested as specified in 

§ 648.85(c). 

(D) Fish for, possess, or land scallops 

in or from any Sea 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. 

(vii) 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 400 lb (181.4 kg) of 

shucked, or 50 bu (17.6 hL) of in–shell 

scallops shoreward of the VMS 

Demarcation Line, unless the vessel is 

participating in the Area Access 

Program specified in § 648.60; is 

carrying an observer as specified in 

§ 648.11; and, an increase in the 

possession limit is authorized by the 

Regional Administrator and not 

exceeded by the vessel, as specified in 

§ 648.60(d)(2). 

(B) Fish for or land per trip, or possess 

at any time, in excess of 200 lb (90.7 kg) 

of shucked or 25 bu (8.8 hL) of in–shell 

scallops in the NGOM scallop 

management area, unless the vessel is 

seaward of the VMS Demarcation Line 

and in possession of no more than 50 bu 

(17.6 hL) in–shell scallops, or when the 

vessel is not declared into the NGOM 

scallop management area and is 

transiting the NGOM scallop 

management area with gear properly 

stowed and unavailable for immediate 

use in accordance with § 648.23. 

(C) Possess more than 100 bu (35.2 

hL) of in–shell scallops seaward of the 

VMS Demarcation Line and not 

participating in the Access Area 

Program, or possess or land per trip 

more than 50 bu (17.6 hL) of in–shell 

scallops shoreward of the VMS 

Demarcation Line, unless exempted 

from DAS allocations as provided in 

§ 648.54. 

(D) Possess more than 50 bu (17.6 hL) 

of in–shell scallops, as specified in 

§ 648.52(d), outside the boundaries of a 

Sea Scallop Access Area by a vessel that 

is declared into the Area Access 

Program as specified in § 648.60. 

(E) Fish for, possess, or land scallops 

after the effective date of a notification 

in the Federal Register that the 

quarterly TAC specified in § 648.53(a)(8) 

has been harvested. 

(F) Fish for, possess, or land scallops 

in excess of a vessel’s IFQ. 

(G) Fish for, possess, or land more 

than 40 lb (18.1 kg) of shucked scallops, 

or 5 bu (1.76 hL) of in–shell scallops 

shoreward of the VMS Demarcation 

Line, or 10 bu (3.52 hL) of in–shell 

scallops seaward of the VMS 

Demarcation Line, when the vessel is 

not declared into the IFQ scallop 

fishery, unless the vessel is fishing in 

compliance with all of the requirements 

of the state waters exemption program, 

specified at § 648.54. 

(H) Land scallops more than once per 

calendar day. 

(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 TAC 

as specified at § 648.53(a)(5)(ii) and (iii). 

(B) Have an IFQ allocation on an IFQ 

scallop vessel of more than 2 percent of 

the total IFQ scallop TAC as specified 

in § 648.53(a)(5). 

(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 TAC. 

(B) Apply for an IFQ transfer that will 

result in the receiving vessel having an 

IFQ allocation in excess of 2 percent of 

the total IFQ scallop TAC. 

(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) Request to transfer IFQ that has 

already been temporarily transferred 

from an IFQ scallop vessel in the same 

fishing year. 

(E) Transfer scallop IFQ to a vessel 

after the transferring vessel has landed 

scallops in the same fishing year. 

(F) Transfer a portion of a vessel’s 

scallop IFQ. 

(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). 

(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 leave port for a 

scallop trip, or fish for or possess 

scallops outside of the NGOM Scallop 

Management Area as defined in 

§ 648.62. 

(ii) Fish for or land per trip, or possess 

at any time, in excess of 200 lb (90.7 kg) 

of shucked or 25 bu (8.81 hL) of in–shell 

scallops in or from the NGOM scallop 

management area, or seaward of the 

VMS Demarcation Line more than 50 bu 

(17.6 hL) of in–shell scallops. 

(iii) Fish for, possess, or land scallops 

after the effective date of notification in 

the Federal Register that the NGOM 

scallop management area TAC has been 

harvested. 

(6) Incidental scallop permit. It is 

unlawful for any person owning or 

operating a vessel issued an Incidental 

scallop permit to fish for, possess, or 

retain, more than 40 lb (18.1 kg) of 

shucked scallops, or 5 bu (1.76 hL) of 

in–shell scallops shoreward of the VMS 

Demarcation Line, or 10 bu (3.52 hL) of 

in–shell scallops while seaward of the 

VMS Demarcation Line. 

(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 

§ 648.74. 

(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 § 648.70, 

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. 

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(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 § 648.75 is affixed, 

or possess any cage that does not 

contain surfclams or ocean quahogs and 

to which a cage tag required by § 648.75 

is affixed. 

(vi) Land or possess, after offloading, 

any cage holding surfclams or ocean 

quahogs without a cage tag or tags 

required by § 648.75, unless the person 

can demonstrate the inapplicability of 

the presumptions set forth in 

§ 648.75(h). 

(vii) Sell null and void tags. 

(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 

§ 648.70. 

(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 § 648.70. 

(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 § 648.70. 

(7) 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 

§ 648.70(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 § 648.70. 

(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 § 648.70; 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 § 648.70 or § 648.75(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 of 

other regulated NE multispecies were 

harvested by a vessel that has an All 

Areas limited access herring permit 

and/or an Areas 2 and 3 limited access 

herring permit on a trip that did not use 

a NE multispecies DAS, is subject to the 

requirements specified in § 648.80(d) 

and (e), and may not sell the fish 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. 

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(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, GRT, or NT 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). 

(3) Dealer requirements. (i) Purchase, 

possess, or receive as a dealer, or in the 

capacity of a dealer, regulated species in 

excess of the possession limits specified 

in § 648.85 or § 648.86 applicable to a 

vessel issued a NE multispecies permit, 

unless otherwise specified in § 648.17, 

or unless the regulated species are 

purchased or received from a member of 

an approved Sector, as specified at 

§ 648.87, that is exempt from such 

possession limits in accordance with an 

approved Sector Operations Plan. 

(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. 

(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; (a)(11), 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; (a)(18), the Great South 

Channel Scallop Dredge Exemption 

Area; (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; and (b)(11), the SNE Scallop 

Dredge 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 in accordance with 

§ 648.23(b). 

(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 that 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) Fish for the species specified in 

§ 648.80(d) or (e) with a net mesh 

smaller than the applicable mesh size 

specified in § 648.80(a)(3) or (4), (b)(2), 

or (c)(2), or possess or land such 

species, unless the vessel is in 

compliance with the requirements 

specified in § 648.80(d) or (e), 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. 

(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 stowage requirements 

of § 648.23(b), 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), 

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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 

in accordance with § 648.23(b), 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(f)(2)(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(f)(2)(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 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), 

unless allowed under 

§ 648.85(b)(7)(iv)(F). 

(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) Enter, be on a fishing vessel in, or 

fail to remove gear from the EEZ portion 

of the areas described in § 648.81(d)(1) 

through (g)(1), except as provided in 

§ 648.81(d)(2), (e)(2), (f)(2), (g)(2), and 

(i). 

(B) Fish for, harvest, possess, or land 

regulated species in or from the closed 

areas specified in § 648.81(a) through (f), 

unless otherwise specified in 

§ 648.81(c)(2)(iii), (f)(2)(i), (f)(2)(iii), or 

as authorized under § 648.85. 

(C) Restricted gear areas. (1) Fish, or 

be in the areas described in 

§ 648.81(j)(1), (k)(1), (l)(1), and (m)(1) on 

a fishing vessel with mobile gear during 

the time periods specified in 

§ 648.81(j)(2), (k)(2), (l)(2), and (m)(2), 

except as provided in § 648.81(j)(2), 

(k)(2), (l)(2), and (m)(2). 

(2) Fish, or be in the areas described 

in § 648.81(j)(1), (k)(1), and (l)(1) on a 

fishing vessel with lobster pot gear 

during the time periods specified in 

§ 648.81(j)(2), (k)(2), and (l)(2). 

(3) Deploy in or fail to remove lobster 

pot gear from the areas described in 

§ 648.81(j)(1), (k)(1), and (l)(1), during 

the time periods specified in 

§ 648.81(j)(2), (k)(2), and (l)(2). 

(D) GB Seasonal Closure Area. Enter, 

fail to remove gear from, or be in the 

areas described in § 648.81(g)(1) through 

(i)(1) during the time period specified, 

except as provided in § 648.81(d), (g)(2), 

(h)(2), and (i)(2). 

(E) Closed Area I. Enter or be in the 

area described in § 648.81(a)(1) on a 

fishing vessel, except as provided in 

§ 648.81(a)(2) and (i). 

(F) Closed Area II. Enter or be in the 

area described in § 648.81(b)(1) on a 

fishing vessel, except as provided in 

§ 648.81(b)(2) and (i). 

(G) Nantucket Lightship Closure Area. 

Enter or be in the area described in 

§ 648.81(c)(1) on a fishing vessel, except 

as allowed under § 648.81(c)(2) and (i). 

(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, 

to do any of the following: 

(A) EFH closure area restrictions. If 

fishing with bottom tending mobile 

gear, fish in, enter, be on a fishing vessel 

in, the EFH closure areas described in 

§ 648.81(h)(1)(i) through (vi). 

(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) Differential DAS Areas. If fishing 

under a NE multispecies Category A 

DAS in either the GOM Differential DAS 

Area, or the SNE Differential DAS Area 

defined under § 648.82(e)(2)(i), fail to 

declare into the area through VMS as 

required under § 648.82(e)(2)(ii). 

(ii) DAS Leasing Program. (A) Provide 

false information on an application, 

required by § 648.82(k)(4)(xi), to 

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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) Lease more than the maximum 

number of DAS allowable under 

§ 648.82(k)(4)(iv). 

(H) Lease NE multispecies DAS to a 

vessel that does not have a valid limited 

access multispecies permit. 

(I) Lease NE multispecies DAS 

associated with a Confirmation of 

Permit History. 

(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. 

(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). 

(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) If a vessel has been issued a 

limited access NE multispecies permit 

and fishes under a NE multispecies 

DAS, fail to comply with the gillnet 

requirements and restrictions specified 

in § 648.82(j). 

(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). 

(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 (8), 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)(8)(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 in the Eastern U.S./ 

Canada Area defined in 

§ 648.85(a)(1)(ii), fail to fish with a 

haddock separator trawl or a flounder 

trawl net, as specified in 

§ 648.85(a)(3)(iii); 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 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 in the Western U.S./ 

Canada Area or Eastern U.S./Canada 

Area specified in § 648.85(a)(1), fail to 

report landings 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 

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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)(8)(v)(I) or the 

minimum Category A DAS requirement 

specified in § 648.85(b)(8)(v)(J). 

(B) Vessel and operator permit 

holders. (1) If fishing under a NE 

multispecies Category A DAS in one of 

the Differential DAS Areas defined in 

§ 648.82(e)(2)(i), and under the 

restrictions of one or more of the SAPs 

under § 648.85, fail to comply with the 

most restrictive regulations. 

(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, 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 SAP specified in § 648.85(b)(3) 

or the Eastern U.S./Canada Haddock 

SAP Pilot Program specified in 

§ 648.85(b)(8). 

(12) SAP restrictions—(i) General 

restrictions for all persons. (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)(8), 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), 648.85(b)(7)(iv)(H), 

or 648.85(b)(8)(v)(I). 

(iii) Closed Area II Yellowtail 

Flounder SAP restrictions for all 

persons. (A) If fishing under the Closed 

Area II Yellowtail Flounder SAP, fish 

for, harvest, possess, or land any 

regulated NE multispecies from the area 

specified in § 648.85(b)(3)(ii), unless in 

compliance with § 648.85(b)(3)(i) 

through (xi). 

(B) Enter or fish in Closed Area II as 

specified in § 648.81(b), unless declared 

into the area in accordance with 

§ 648.85(b)(3)(v). 

(C) Enter or fish in Closed Area II 

under the Closed Area II Yellowtail 

Flounder SAP outside of the season 

specified in § 648.85(b)(3)(iii). 

(D) If fishing in the Closed Area II 

Yellowtail Flounder SAP specified in 

§ 648.85(b)(3), exceed the number of 

trips specified under § 648.85(b)(3)(vi) 

or (vii). 

(E) If fishing in the Closed Area II 

Yellowtail Flounder SAP specified in 

§ 648.85(b)(3), exceed the trip limits 

specified in § 648.85(b)(3)(viii). 

(iv) Southern New England/Mid– 

Atlantic Winter Flounder SAP 

restrictions for all persons. If fishing 

under the SNE/MA Winter Flounder 

SAP described in § 648.85(b)(4), fail to 

comply with § 648.85(b)(4)(i) through 

(iv). 

(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 (F), (I), 

and (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)(]). 

(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) Closed Area I Hook Gear Haddock 

SAP restrictions for vessel and operator 

permit holders. (A) If fishing in the 

Closed Area I Hook Gear Haddock SAP 

specified in § 648.85(b)(7), fail to 

comply with the applicable 

requirements and conditions specified 

in § 648.85(b)(7)(iv), and (b)(7)(v) or 

(b)(7)(vi). 

(B) Fish in the Closed Area I Hook 

Gear Haddock SAP specified in 

§ 648.85(b)(7) outside of the season 

specified in § 648.85(b)(7)(iii). 

(C) Fish in the Closed Area I Hook 

Gear Haddock Access Area specified in 

§ 648.85(b)(7)(ii), if that area is closed as 

specified in § 648.85(b)(7)(iv)(I) or 

(b)(7)(vi)(F). 

(D) If fishing in the Closed Area I 

Hook Gear Haddock SAP specified in 

§ 648.85(b)(7), fail to comply with the 

applicable DAS use restrictions 

specified in § 648.85(b)(7)(iv)(A), and 

(b)(7)(v)(A) or (b)(7)(vi)(A). 

(E) VMS requirements. (1) If fishing in 

the Closed Area I Hook Gear Haddock 

SAP specified in § 648.85(b)(7), fail to 

comply with the VMS requirements 

specified in § 648.85(b)(7)(iv)(B). 

(2) If fishing in the Closed Area I 

Hook Gear Haddock SAP specified in 

§ 648.85(b)(7), fail to comply with the 

VMS declaration requirement specified 

in § 648.85(b)(7)(iv)(D). 

(F) If fishing in the Closed Area I 

Hook Gear Haddock SAP specified in 

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§ 648.85(b)(7), fail to comply with the 

observer notification requirements 

specified in § 648.85(b)(7)(iv)(C). 

(G) If fishing in the Closed Area I 

Hook Gear Haddock SAP specified in 

§ 648.85(b)(7), fail to comply with the 

applicable gear restrictions specified in 

§ 648.85(b)(7)(iv)(E), and (b)(7)(v)(B) or 

(b)(7)(vi)(B). 

(H) If fishing in the Closed Area I 

Hook Gear Haddock SAP specified in 

§ 648.85(b)(7), fail to comply with the 

applicable landing limits specified in 

§ 648.85(b)(7)(iv)(H), and (b)(7)(v)(C) or 

(b)(7)(vi)(C). 

(I) If fishing in the Closed Area I Hook 

Gear Haddock SAP specified in 

§ 648.85(b)(7), fail to comply with the 

applicable reporting requirement 

specified in § 648.85(b)(7)(v)(D) or 

(b)(7)(vi)(D). 

(vii) Eastern U.S./Canada Haddock 

SAP Restrictions—(A) All Persons. (1) If 

fishing under a NE multispecies DAS 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 the vessel has been 

issued a limited access NE multispecies 

DAS permit and is 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, fish in the Eastern U.S./Canada 

Haddock SAP Program 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) All persons. (A) Under 

§ 648.85 or § 648.86, fail to offload 

regulated species subject to a landing 

limit based on a DAS fished 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), (g), and (h); 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 under § 648.86(a), (e), (g), (h), 

and (j), and under § 648.82(b)(5) or (6), 

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 per trip more than 

the possession limit of NE multispecies 

specified in § 648.86(d) 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) 

or 648.89. 

(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) Cod running clock. (i) For vessels 

fishing in the NE multispecies DAS 

program under the provisions of the 

call–in system, described in § 648.10(c), 

fail to remain in port for the appropriate 

time specified in § 648.86(b)(1)(ii)(A) 

and (b)(2)(ii)(A), except for transiting 

purposes, provided the vessel complies 

with § 648.86(b)(3). 

(ii) For vessels fishing in the NE 

multispecies DAS program under the 

provisions of VMS, described in 

§ 648.10(b), fail to declare through VMS 

that insufficient DAS have elapsed in 

order to account for the amount of cod 

on board the vessel as required under 

§ 648.86(b)(2)(ii)(B). 

(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 in accordance with 

§ 648.23(b). 

(H) GB winter flounder. Possess or 

land more GB winter flounder than 

allowed under § 648.86(j). 

(14) Sector requirements for all 

persons—(i) General requirements. (A) If 

fishing under an approved sector, as 

authorized under § 648.87, fail to abide 

by the restrictions specified in 

§ 648.87(b)(1). 

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(B) If fishing under an approved 

sector, as authorized under § 648.87, fail 

to remain in the sector for the remainder 

of the fishing year as required by 

§ 648.87(b)(1). 

(C) If fishing under an approved 

sector, as authorized under § 648.87, 

fish in the NE multispecies DAS 

program in a given fishing year or, if 

fishing under a NE multispecies DAS, 

fish in an approved sector in a given 

fishing year, unless otherwise provided 

under § 648.87(b)(1)(xii). 

(D) If a vessel has agreed to participate 

in a sector, fail to remain in the sector 

for the entire fishing year, as required 

under § 648.87(b)(1)(xi). 

(E) If a vessel is removed from a sector 

for violating the sector rules, fish under 

the NE multispecies regulations for nonsector vessels. 

(ii) GB Cod Hook Sector. If fishing 

under the GB Cod Hook Sector specified 

under § 648.87(d)(1), fish with gear 

other than jigs, demersal longline, or 

handgear. 

(iii) GB Fixed Gear Sector. If fishing 

under the GB Fixed Gear Sector 

specified under § 648.87(d)(2), fish with 

gear other than jigs, non–automated 

demersal longline, handgear, or sink 

gillnets. 

(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). 

(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 § 648.17. 

(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: 

(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) If fishing under the recreational or 

charter/party regulations, fish for or 

possess cod caught in the GOM 

Regulated Mesh Area during the 

seasonal GOM cod possession 

prohibition under § 648.89(c)(1)(v) or 

(c)(2)(v), or fail to abide by the 

appropriate restrictions if transiting 

with cod on board. 

(B) If the vessel has been issued a 

charter/party permit or is fishing under 

charter/party regulations, fail to comply 

with the requirements specified in 

§ 648.81(f)(2)(iii) when fishing in the 

areas described in § 648.81(d)(1) 

through (f)(1) during the time periods 

specified. 

(C) If the vessel is a private 

recreational fishing vessel, fail to 

comply with the seasonal GOM cod 

possession prohibition described in 

§ 648.89(c)(1)(v), or, if the vessel has 

been issued a charter/party permit or is 

fishing under charter/party regulations, 

fail to comply with the prohibition on 

fishing under § 648.89(c)(2)(v). 

(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). 

(17) Presumptions. For purposes of 

this part, the following presumptions 

apply: 

(i) Regulated species possessed for 

sale that do not meet the minimum sizes 

specified in § 648.83 are deemed to have 

been taken 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 that fished exclusively in the 

NAFO Regulatory Area. This 

presumption does not apply to fish 

being sorted on deck. 

(ii) Regulated species possessed for 

sale that do not meet the minimum sizes 

specified in § 648.83 are deemed 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 that fished exclusively in the 

NAFO Regulatory Area. This 

presumption does not apply to fish 

being sorted on deck. 

(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. 

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(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. 

(3) 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. 

(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). 

(4) 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 NFMA 

requirements specified at § 648.94(f). 

(5) 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. 

(6) 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. 

(7) 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). 

(8) 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. 

(9) 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 § 648.21(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 § 648.105, 

or before or after the time period 

specified in § 648.102, 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. 

(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 § 648.105. 

(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 

§ 648.104 if the person possesses 

summer flounder harvested in or from 

the EEZ in excess of the threshold limit 

of § 648.105(a). 

(2) Vessel and operator permit 

holders. Unless participating in a 

research activity as described in 

§ 648.100(f), 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 § 648.104. 

(B) Possess summer flounder in other 

than a container specified in 

§ 648.105(d) if fishing with nets having 

mesh that does not meet the minimum 

mesh–size requirement specified in 

§ 648.104(a), unless the vessel is fishing 

pursuant to the exemptions specified in 

§ 648.104(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 

§ 648.104, unless the nets or netting are 

stowed in accordance with § 648.104(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 § 648.104, 

unless the nets or netting are stowed in 

accordance with § 648.104(f). 

(C) Fish west or south, as appropriate, 

of the line specified in § 648.104(b)(1) if 

exempted from the minimum mesh 

requirement specified in § 648.104 by a 

summer flounder exemption permit. 

(3) Charter/party restrictions. Unless 

participating in a research activity as 

described in § 648.100(f), 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 

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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 § 648.105. 

(iii) Fish for summer flounder other 

than during a season specified pursuant 

to § 648.102. 

(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 

participating in a research activity as 

described in § 648.120(e), 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 § 648.122(g). 

(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 § 648.123, unless the vessel 

complies with all of the gear restrictions 

in § 648.123. 

(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 § 648.120(b)(3), (4), and (7). 

(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 

§ 648.124. 

(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 § 648.123. 

(vi) Gear restricted areas. Fish for, 

catch, possess, retain, or land Loligo 

squid, silver hake, or black sea bass in 

or from the areas and during the time 

periods described in § 648.122(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 §§ 648.122 

and 648.123(a), unless the nets or 

netting are stowed in accordance with 

§ 648.123(b). 

(2) Vessel and operator permit 

holders. Unless participating in a 

research activity as described in 

§ 648.120(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 § 648.123, unless 

the vessel meets the minimum mesh– 

size restrictions specified in § 648.123. 

(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 

§ 648.122. 

(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 § 648.120(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 

§ 648.125. 

(iii) Fish for scup other than during a 

season established pursuant to 

§ 648.122. 

(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 

§ 648.124(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 § 648.140(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 

§ 648.142, unless the person is operating 

a vessel issued a moratorium permit 

under § 648.4 and the moratorium 

permit is on board the vessel. 

(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) Minimum fish size. Fish for, 

possess, land, or retain black sea bass in 

or from the EEZ that does not comply 

with the minimum fish size specified in 

§ 648.143. 

(2) Vessel and operator permit 

holders. Unless participating in a 

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research activity as described in 

§ 648.140(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) Possess, retain, or land black sea 

bass harvested in or from the EEZ in 

excess of the commercial possession 

limit established at § 648.140. 

(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 § 648.140(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 

§ 648.142. 

(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 

§ 648.160(h), 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 

§ 648.161(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 

§ 648.161(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) Possess, transfer, receive, or sell; 

or attempt to transfer, receive, or sell; 

more than 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of herring 

per trip; or land, or attempt to land more 

than 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of herring per 

day in or from a management area 

closed pursuant to § 648.201(a), if the 

vessel has been issued and holds a valid 

herring permit. 

(C) Possess or land more herring than 

is allowed by the vessel’s Atlantic 

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 an 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 

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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 Pub. L. 104–297, if the amount of 

herring transshipped exceeds the 

amount of the border transfer specified 

in § 648.200. 

(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 at least 72 hr prior to 

departing on a trip by a limited access 

herring vessel fishing for herring in the 

GOM/GB Exemption Area specified in 

§ 648.80(a)(17). 

(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 GOM/GB 

Herring Exemption Area, defined in 

§ 648.86(a)(3)(ii)(A)(1), after the 

haddock cap has been reached pursuant 

to § 648.86(a)(3), unless all herring 

possessed or landed by the vessel was 

caught outside of GOM/GB Herring 

Exemption Area. 

(C) Transit the GOM/GB Herring 

Exemption Area, when the 2,000–lb 

(907.2–kg) limit specified in 

§ 648.86(a)(3)(ii)(A)(1) is in place, in 

possession of more than 2,000 lb (907.2 

kg) of herring, unless all herring on 

board was caught outside of GOM/GB 

Herring Exemption Area and all fishing 

gear is stowed and not available for 

immediate use, as required by 

§ 648.23(b). 

(D) Fish for herring in Area 1A from 

June 1 through September 30 with 

midwater trawl gear. 

(vii) Transit and transport. (A) Transit 

or be in an area closed to fishing for 

Atlantic herring pursuant to § 648.201(a) 

with more than 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of 

herring, unless all fishing gear is stowed 

as specified by § 648.23(b). 

(B) Receive Atlantic herring at sea in 

or from the EEZ, solely for transport, 

without a letter of authorization from 

the Regional Administrator. 

(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 without 

mid–water trawl gear properly stowed 

as required by § 648.23(b). 

(E) Discard haddock at sea that has 

been brought on deck, or pumped into 

the hold, of a limited access herring 

vessel. 

(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 the NMFS Office of 

Law Enforcement of the time and date 

of landing via VMS, if a limited access 

herring vessel, at least 6 hr prior to 

landing herring at the end of a fishing 

trip. 

(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, and white hake); or 

attempt to sell, purchase, receive, trade, 

barter, or transfer haddock or other 

regulated NE for human consumption; if 

the regulated NE multispecies are 

landed by a vessel holding an All Areas 

Limited Access Herring Permit and/or 

an Areas 2 and 3 Limited Access 

Herring Permit. 

(ii) Fail to comply with requirements 

for herring processors/dealers that 

handle individual fish to separate out, 

and retain, for at least 12 hr, all haddock 

offloaded from vessels holding an All 

Areas Limited Access Herring Permit 

and/or an Areas 2 and 3 Limited Access 

Herring Permit. 

(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, and 

white hake) separated out from a herring 

catch offloaded from a vessel that has an 

All Areas Limited Access Herring 

Permit and/or an Areas 2 and 3 Limited 

Access Herring Permit. 

(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 that 

has an All Areas Limited Access Herring 

Permit and/or an Areas 2 and 3 Limited 

Access Herring Permit. 

(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. 

(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 

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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. 

(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. 

(4) DAS. (i) Possess, transport, land, 

sell, trade, or barter; or attempt to 

possess, transport, land, sell, trade, or 

barter; while fishing under a red crab 

DAS, 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), 

per fishing trip, in or from the Red Crab 

Management Unit, unless in possession 

of a valid Federal limited access red 

crab vessel permit. 

(ii) Fish for, catch, possess, transport, 

land, sell, trade, or barter; or attempt to 

possess, transport, land, sell, trade, or 

barter; red crab in or from the Red Crab 

Management Unit if the vessel has 

declared out of the fishery prior to the 

start of the fishing year. 

(5) 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 under a red crab 

DAS 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 under a red crab DAS. 

(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 

under a red crab DAS. 

(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. 

(6) Gear requirements. Fail to comply 

with any gear requirements or 

restrictions specified at § 648.264. 

(7) 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 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 tilefish 

in or from the Tilefish Management 

Unit, unless the operator has been 

issued, and is in possession of, a valid 

operator permit. 

(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, 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. 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 tilefish, 

unless the vessel has been issued a 

tilefish permit, or unless the tilefish 

were harvested by a vessel without a 

tilefish permit that fished exclusively in 

state waters. 

(2) Possession and landing. (i) Fish 

for, possess, retain, or land 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 engaged in recreational fishing. 

(ii) Possess tilefish harvested in or 

from the Tilefish Management Unit in 

excess of the trip limit, pursuant to 

§ 648.292, unless the vessel holds a 

valid limited access tilefish permit. 

(iii) Land tilefish harvested in or from 

the Tilefish Management Unit for sale 

after the effective date of a notification 

in the Federal Register, pursuant to 

§ 648.291, that notifies permit holders in 

a limited access category that the quota 

for that category is no longer available 

for the respective year. 

(iv) Land tilefish in or from the 

Tilefish Management Unit, in excess of 

the trip limit pursuant to § 648.292, 

unless the vessel holds a valid limited 

access tilefish permit. 

(3) Transfer and purchase. 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; 

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. 

(4) Presumption. For purposes of this 

part, the following presumption applies: 

All 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: 

(A) Onboard a vessel that possesses a 

valid skate vessel permit. 

(B) Onboard a federally permitted 

lobster vessel (i.e., transfer at sea 

recipient) while in possession of whole 

skates as bait only less than the 

maximum size specified at 

§ 648.322(b)(2) and in accordance with 

§ 648.322(c). 

(2) All Federal permit holders. It is 

unlawful for any owner or operator of a 

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vessel holding a valid Federal permit to 

do any of the following: 

(i) Retain, possess, or land barndoor 

or thorny skates taken in or from the 

EEZ portion of the skate management 

unit specified at § 648.2. 

(ii) Retain, possess, or land smooth 

skates taken in or from the GOM RMA 

described at § 648.80(a)(1)(i). 

(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) Winter skates. Fail to comply with 

the conditions of the skate wing 

possession and landing limits for winter 

skates specified at § 648.322, unless 

holding a letter of authorization to fish 

for and land skates as bait only at 

§ 648.322(b). 

(ii) Possession and transfer. (A) 

Transfer at sea, or attempt to transfer at 

sea, to any vessel, any skates taken in 

or from the EEZ portion of the Skate 

Management Unit, unless in compliance 

with the provisions of §§ 648.13(b) and 

648.322(b). 

(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 

of the skate management unit or only in 

state waters. 

10. In § 648.51, paragraph (b)(4)(v) is 

added to read as follows: 

§ 648.51 Gear and crew restrictions. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(4) * * * 

(v) Measurement of twine top mesh 

size. Twine top mesh size is measured 

by using a wedge–shaped gauge having 

a taper of 2 cm (0.79 inches) in 8 cm 

(3.15 inches) and a thickness of 2.3 mm 

(0.09 inches), inserted into the meshes 

under a pressure or pull of 8 kg (17.64 

lb). The mesh size is the average of the 

measurements of any series of 20 

consecutive meshes for twine tops 

having 75 or more meshes, and 10 

consecutive meshes for twine tops 

having fewer than 75 meshes. The mesh 

in the twine top must be measured at 

least five meshes away from where the 

twine top mesh meets the rings, running 

parallel to the long axis of the twine top. 

* * * * * 

11. In § 648.52, paragraph (c) is 

revised to read as follows: 

§ 648.52 Possession and landing limits. 

* * * * * 

(c) A vessel issued an Incidental 

scallop permit, or an IFQ or NGOM 

scallop permit that is not declared into 

the IFQ or NGOM scallop fishery as 

required under § 648.10(f), unless 

exempted under the state waters 

exemption program described under 

§ 648.54, may not possess or land, per 

trip, more than 40 lb (18.1 kg) of 

shucked, or 5 bu (1.76 hL) of in–shell 

scallops. Such a vessel may land 

scallops only once in any calendar day. 

Such a vessel may possess up to 10 bu 

(3.52 hL) of in–shell scallops seaward of 

the VMS Demarcation Line. 

* * * * * 

12. In § 648.53, paragraph (b)(4) is 

revised to read as follows: 

§ 648.53 Total allowable catch, DAS 

allocations, and Individual Fishing Quotas. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(4) Each vessel qualifying for one of 

the three DAS categories specified in the 

table in this paragraph (b)(4) (Full–time, 

Part–time, or Occasional) shall be 

allocated the maximum number of DAS 

for each fishing year it may participate 

in the open area limited access scallop 

fishery, according to its category. A 

vessel whose owner/operator has 

declared out of the scallop fishery, 

pursuant to the provisions of § 648.10, 

or that has used up its maximum 

allocated DAS, may leave port without 

being assessed a DAS, as long as it has 

made an appropriate VMS declaration, 

as specified in § 648.10(f), does not fish 

for or land per trip, or possess at any 

time, more than 400 lb (181.4 kg) of 

shucked or 50 bu (17.6 hL) of in–shell 

scallops, and complies with all other 

requirements of this part. The annual 

open area DAS allocations for each 

category of vessel for the fishing years 

indicated, after deducting DAS for 

observer and research DAS set–asides, 

are as follows: 

DAS Category 2008 20091

Full–time 35 42 

Part–time 14 17 

Occasional 3 3 

1If the IFQ program implementation is delayed beyond March 1, 2009, the 2009 DAS allocations will be: Full–time — 37; part–time — 15, occasional — 3. 

* * * * * 

13. In § 648.54, paragraphs (a)(1), 

(a)(2), and (d) are revised to read as 

follows: 

§ 648.54 State waters exemption. 

(a) * * * 

(1) DAS requirements. Any vessel 

issued a limited access scallop permit is 

exempt from the DAS requirements 

specified in § 648.53(b) while fishing 

exclusively landward of the outer 

boundary of a state’s waters, provided 

the vessel complies with paragraphs (d) 

through (g) of this section, and the 

notification requirements of 

§ 648.10(f)(5). 

(2) Gear and possession limit 

restrictions. Any vessel issued a limited 

access scallop permit that is exempt 

from the DAS requirements of 

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§ 648.53(b) under this paragraph (a), and 

that has complied with the notification 

requirements of § 648.10(f)(5), is also 

exempt from the gear restrictions 

specified in § 648.51(a), (b), (e)(1), and 

(e)(2), and the possession restrictions 

specified in § 648.52(a), while fishing 

exclusively landward of the outer 

boundary of the waters of a state that 

has been issued a state waters 

exemption, provided the vessel 

complies with paragraphs (d) through 

(g) of this section. 

* * * * * 

(d) Notification requirements. Vessels 

fishing under the exemptions provided 

by paragraph(s) (a)(1) and/or (a)(2) of 

this section must notify the Regional 

Administrator in accordance with the 

provisions of § 648.10(f)(5). 

* * * * * 

14. In § 648.60, paragraph (a)(2) is 

revised to read as follows: 

§ 648.60 Sea scallop access area program 

requirements. 

(a) * * * 

(2) Vessels participating in the Sea 

Scallop Access Area Program must 

comply with the trip declaration 

requirements specified in § 648.10(f) 

and vessel notification requirements 

specified in § 648.11(g) for observer 

deployment. 

* * * * * 

15. In § 648.82, paragraphs 

(e)(2)(iii)(B), (e)(3), (j)(1)(ii)(B), and (j)(2) 

are revised to read as follows: 

§ 648.82 Effort–control program for NE 

multispecies limited access vessels. 

* * * * * 

(e) * * * 

(2) * * * 

(iii) * * * 

(B) Differential DAS counting when 

fishing in the SNE Differential DAS 

Area. For NE multispecies DAS vessels 

that intend to fish, or do fish, some or 

all of their trip under a Category A DAS 

in the SNE Differential DAS Area, other 

than for transiting purposes, each 

Category A DAS, or part thereof, shall be 

counted at the ratio of 2 to 1 for the 

duration of the time spent in the SNE 

Differential DAS Area, as determined 

from VMS positional data. A vessel that 

has not declared its intent to fish in the 

SNE Differential DAS Area, and that is 

not transiting, as specified in paragraph 

(e)(2)(v) of this section, may be in the 

SNE Differential DAS Area, provided 

the vessel’s fishing gear is stowed in 

accordance with the provisions of 

§ 648.23(b) for the entire time the vessel 

is in the area and the vessel declares 

immediately upon entering the SNE 

Differential DAS Area, via VMS, that it 

is in the area. A vessel that fishes in 

both the GOM Differential Area and the 

SNE Differential DAS Area on the same 

trip will be charged DAS at the rate of 

2:1 for the entire trip. If the Regional 

Administrator requires the use of the 

DAS call–in, as described under 

§ 648.10(e)(2)(iv), a vessel that fishes 

any portion of its trip in the SNE 

Differential DAS Area will be charged 

DAS at the rate of 2 to 1 for the entire 

trip. 

* * * * * 

(3) Regular B DAS Program 24–hr 

clock. For a vessel electing to fish in the 

Regular B DAS Program, as specified at 

§ 648.85(b)(6), that remains fishing 

under a Regular B DAS for the entire 

fishing trip (without a DAS flip), DAS 

shall accrue at the rate of 1 full DAS for 

each calendar day, or part of a calendar 

day fished. For example, a vessel that 

fished on 1 calendar day from 6 a.m. to 

10 p.m. would be charged 24 hr of 

Regular B DAS, not 16 hr; a vessel that 

left on a trip at 11 p.m. on the first 

calendar day and returned at 10 p.m. on 

the second calendar day would be 

charged 48 hr of Regular B DAS instead 

of 23 hr, because the fishing trip would 

have spanned 2 calendar days. For the 

purpose of calculating trip limits 

specified under § 648.86, the amount of 

DAS deducted from a vessel’s DAS 

allocation shall determine the amount of 

fish the vessel can land legally. For a 

vessel electing to fish in the Regular B 

DAS Program, as specified at 

§ 648.85(b)(6), while also fishing in one 

of the Differential DAS Areas, defined in 

paragraph (e)(2)(i) of this section, 

Category B DAS shall accrue at the rate 

described in this paragraph (e)(3), 

unless the vessel flips to a Category A 

DAS, in which case the vessel is subject 

to the pertinent DAS accrual restrictions 

of paragraph (e)(2)(iii) of this section for 

the entire trip. For vessels electing to 

fish in both the Regular B DAS Program, 

as specified in § 648.85(b)(8), and in the 

Eastern U.S./Canada Area, as specified 

in § 648.85(a), DAS counting will begin 

and end according to the DAS rules 

specified in § 648.10(e)(2)(iii) or 

(e)(2)(iv). 

* * * * * 

(j) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(ii) * * * 

(B) Vessels shall declare their 

required time periods through the 

notification procedures specified in 

§ 648.10(k)(2). 

* * * * * 

(2) Trip gillnet vessels. When fishing 

under a NE multispecies DAS, a Trip 

gillnet vessel is required to remove all 

gillnet gear from the water before calling 

out of a NE multispecies DAS under 

§ 648.10(h)(5). When not fishing under a 

NE multispecies DAS, Trip gillnet 

vessels may fish in an exempted fishery 

with gillnet gear, as authorized by 

§ 648.80. Vessels electing to fish under 

the Trip gillnet designation must have 

on board written confirmation issued by 

the Regional Administrator that the 

vessel is a Trip gillnet vessel. 

* * * * * 

16. In § 648.85, paragraphs 

(a)(3)(ii)(A)(1), (b)(6)(i), (b)(6)(iv)(A) and 

(B), (b)(6)(v), and (b)(7)(iv)(A) are 

revised to read as follows: 

§ 648.85 Special management programs. 

(a) * * * 

(3) * * * 

(ii) * * * 

(A) * * * 

(1) The vessel operator must notify 

NMFS via VMS prior to leaving the 

Eastern U.S./Canada Area (including at 

the time of initial declaration into the 

Eastern U.S./Canada Area) that it is also 

electing to fish outside the Eastern U.S./ 

Canada Area. With the exception of 

vessels participating in the Regular B 

DAS Program and fishing under a 

Regular B DAS, once a vessel electing to 

fish outside of the Eastern U.S./Canada 

Area has left the Eastern U.S./Canada 

Area, Category A DAS shall accrue from 

the time the vessel crosses the VMS 

Demarcation Line at the start of its 

fishing trip until the time the vessel 

crosses the VMS Demarcation Line on 

its return to port, in accordance with 

§ 648.10(e)(2)(iii) and (e)(2)(iv). 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(6) Regular B DAS Program.—(i) 

Eligibility. Vessels issued a valid limited 

access NE multispecies DAS permit and 

allocated Regular B DAS are eligible to 

participate in the Regular B DAS 

Program, and may elect to fish under a 

Regular B DAS, provided they comply 

with the requirements and restrictions 

of this paragraph (b)(6), and provided 

the use of Regular B DAS is not 

restricted according to paragraphs 

(b)(6)(iv)(G) or (H), or paragraph 

(b)(6)(vi) of this section. Vessels are 

required to comply with the no 

discarding and DAS flip requirements 

specified in paragraph (b)(6)(iv)(E) of 

this section, and the DAS balance and 

accrual requirements specified in 

paragraph (b)(6)(iv)(F) of this section. 

Vessels may fish under the B Regular 

DAS Program and in the U.S./Canada 

Management Area on the same trip, but 

may not fish under the Regular B DAS 

Program and in a SAP on the same trip. 

* * * * * 

(iv) Program Requirements—(A) VMS 

requirement. A NE multispecies DAS 

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vessel fishing in the Regular B DAS 

Program described in paragraph (b)(6)(i) 

of this section must have installed on 

board an operational VMS unit that 

meets the minimum performance 

criteria specified in §§ 648.9 and 648.10. 

(B) Observer notification. For the 

purposes of selecting vessels for 

observer deployment, a vessel must 

provide notice to NMFS of the vessel 

name; contact name for coordination of 

observer deployment; telephone number 

for contact; the date, time, and port of 

departure; and the planned fishing area 

or areas (GOM, GB, or SNE/MA) at least 

72 hr prior to the beginning of any trip 

declared into the Regular B DAS 

Program as required by paragraph 

(b)(6)(iv)(C) of this section, and in 

accordance with the Regional 

Administrator’s instructions. Providing 

notice of the area that the vessel intends 

to fish does not restrict the vessel’s 

activity on that trip to that area only 

(i.e., the vessel operator may change his/ 

her plans regarding planned fishing 

areas). 

* * * * * 

(v) Definition of incidental TAC stock 

areas. Under the Regular B DAS 

Program, the species stock areas 

associated with the incidental TACs are 

defined below. Copies of a chart 

depicting these areas are available upon 

request from the Regional 

Administrator. 

* * * * * 

(7) * * * 

(iv) * * * 

(A) DAS use restrictions. Vessels 

fishing in the Closed Area I Hook Gear 

Haddock SAP may not initiate a DAS 

flip. Vessels are prohibited from fishing 

in the Closed Area I Hook Gear Haddock 

SAP while making a trip under the 

Regular B DAS Program described in 

paragraph (b)(6) of this section. DAS 

will be charged as described in § 648.10. 

* * * * * 

17. In § 648.86, paragraphs (b)(1)(ii)(B) 

and (i) are revised to read as follows: 

§ 648.86 NE multispecies possession 

restrictions. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(ii) * * * 

(B) Vessels that have been authorized 

by the Regional Administrator, in lieu of 

VMS, to utilize the DAS call–in system, 

as specified in § 648.10(h), may not call 

out of the DAS program under 

§ 648.10(h)(5) and may not depart from 

a dock or mooring in port, unless 

transiting as allowed in paragraph (b)(3) 

of this section, until the rest of the 

additional 24–hr block of DAS has 

elapsed, regardless of whether all of the 

cod on board is offloaded (e.g., a vessel 

that has been called into the DAS 

program for 25 hr at the time of landing 

may land only up to 1,600 lb (725.6 kg) 

of cod, provided the vessel does not call 

out of the DAS program or leave port 

until 48 hr have elapsed from the 

beginning of the trip.) 

* * * * * 

(i) Offloading requirement for vessels 

possessing species regulated by a daily 

possession limit. A vessel that has 

ended a trip as specified in 

§ 648.10(e)(2)(iii) or (h)(5) that possesses 

on board species regulated by a daily 

possession limit (i.e., pounds per DAS), 

as specified at § 648.85 or § 648.86, must 

offload species in excess of the daily 

landing limit prior to leaving port on a 

subsequent trip. A vessel may retain on 

board up to one day’s worth of such 

species prior to the start of a subsequent 

trip. Other species regulated by an 

overall trip limit may be retained on 

board for a subsequent trip. For 

example, a vessel that possesses cod and 

winter flounder harvested from Georges 

Bank is subject to a daily possession 

limit for cod of 1,000 lb (453 kg)/DAS 

and an overall trip limit of 5,000 lb 

(2,267 kg)/trip for winter flounder. In 

this example, the vessel would be 

required to offload any cod harvested in 

excess of 1,000 lb (453 kg) (i.e., the 

vessel may retain up to 1,000 lb (453 kg) 

of Georges Bank cod, but must offload 

any additional cod), but may retain on 

board winter flounder up to the 

maximum trip limit prior to leaving port 

and crossing the VMS Demarcation Line 

to begin a subsequent trip. 

* * * * * 

18. In § 648.95, paragraph (e)(4) is 

revised to read as follows: 

§ 648.95 Offshore fishery program in the 

SFMA. 

* * * * * 

(e) * * * 

(4) A vessel issued a Category F 

permit must have installed on board an 

operational VMS unit that meets the 

minimum performance criteria specified 

in §§ 648.9 and 648.10 during the entire 

season established under paragraph (d) 

of this section. Unless otherwise 

required to maintain an operational 

VMS unit under the VMS notification 

requirements specified at § 648.10(b), a 

vessel issued a Category F permit may 

turn off its VMS unit outside of that 

season. 

* * * * * 

19. In § 648.263, paragraph (b)(3) is 

revised to read as follows: 

§ 648.263 Red crab possession and 

landing restrictions. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(3) Mutilation restrictions. (i) A vessel 

may not retain, possess, or land red crab 

claws and legs separate from crab 

bodies. 

(ii) A vessel may not retain, possess, 

or land more than two claws and eight 

legs per crab. 

[FR Doc. E9–844 Filed 1–14–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

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