Florida Administrative Code › 68 - FISH AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION COMMISSION › 68B - Marine Fisheries › Chapter 68B-4 - GEAR SPECIFICATIONS AND PROHIBITED GEAR › Section 68B-4.002 - Gear Definitions

Current through Reg. 50, No. 138; July 16, 2024
As used in Division 68B, F.A.C., unless otherwise
				  defined:
(1) "Breakaway gear" means
				any bob, float, weight, lure, or spoon that is affixed to a fishing line or
				hook with wire, line, rubber bands, plastic ties, or other fasteners designed
				to break off when a fish is caught.
(2) "Cast net" means a circular net thrown by
				hand and designed to spread out and capture fish as the weighted circumference
				sinks to the bottom and comes together when pulled by a line.
(3) "Entangling net" means a drift net,
				trammel net, stab net, or any other net which captures saltwater finfish,
				shellfish, or other marine animals by causing all or parts of heads, fins,
				legs, or other body parts to become entangled or ensnared in the meshes or in
				pockets of the net. This term does not include a cast net.
(4) "Frame net" means a net in the form of an
				elongated bag kept open by a rigid frame that is buoyed by floats and deployed
				behind a vessel, but is not dragged along the bottom.
(5) "Gill net" means one or more walls of
				netting which captures fish by ensnaring or entangling them in the meshes of
				the net by the gills. This term does not include a cast net.
(6) "Hook and line gear" means any handline,
				rod, reel, or pole to which line and ten or fewer hooks are attached. Hook and
				line gear includes a bob, float, weight, lure, plug, spoon, or bait that is
				attached to the gear described in the previous sentence.
(7) "Landing or dip net" means a hand-held
				net consisting of a mesh bag suspended from a circular, oval, or rectangular
				rigid frame attached to a handle.
(8) "Longline gear" means any single line or
				series of connected lines to which more than ten hooks are attached and which
				is used to harvest fish.
(9) "Mesh
				area" of a net means the total area of netting with the meshes open to comprise
				the maximum square footage. The square footage shall be calculated using
				standard mathematical formulas for geometric shapes. The square footage of
				seines and other rectangular nets shall be calculated using the maximum length
				and maximum width of the netting.
(10) "Multiple hook" means a treble hook, two
				or more fishhooks bound together to comprise a single unit, or any hook with a
				single shank and eye and two or more pointed ends.
(11) "Paired trawl" means a trawl consisting
				of an elongated bag of netting, with a panel of netting serving as a wing on
				each side of the trawl, that is either deployed behind a vessel or towed
				between two vessels, and does not tend the bottom.
(12) "Otter trawl" means a trawl with its
				mouth kept open by means of boards or doors on each side.
(13) "Powerhead" means any device employing
				an explosive charge or a release of compressed gas, usually attached to a
				speargun, spear, pole, or stick (known as a "bangstick"), which detonates upon
				contact.
(14) "Rebreather" means a
				closed circuit or semi-closed circuit underwater breathing apparatus that
				recycles and recirculates all or part of the gas mixture supplied for
				breathing. A rebreather is distinguished from other underwater breathing
				apparatuses by the inclusion of a scrubber (a component that removes carbon
				dioxide from the breathing gas) and a counterlung (a waterproof bag that allows
				the diver's exhaled breath to be captured for scrubbing and recycling back to
				the diver for inhalation).
(15)
				"Seine" means a small-meshed net suspended vertically in the water, with floats
				along the top margin and weights along the bottom margin, which encloses and
				concentrates fish, and does not entangle them in the meshes.
(a) "Beach or haul seine" means a seine that
				is hauled or dragged over the bottom into shallow water or onto the beach,
				either by hand or with power winches.
(b) "Purse seine" means a seine that is
				pulled into a circle around fish with rings attached to the lower margin below
				the lead line to allow a purse line to be drawn to close the bottom of the
				seine.