Florida Administrative Code › 68 - FISH AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION COMMISSION › 68B - Marine Fisheries › Chapter 68B-14 - REEF FISH › Section 68B-14.005 - Regulation and Prohibition of Certain Harvesting Gear: Allowable Gear, Incidental Bycatch, Violation

Current through Reg. 50, No. 138; July 16, 2024
(1) Allowable gear.
				Except as provided in subsection (2), the following shall be the only gear
				types and methods allowed for the harvest in or from state waters of any of the
				species specified in subsection
				68B-14.001(2),
				F.A.C.:
(a) Hook and line gear.
(b) A black sea bass trap must have a valid
				identification tag issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service attached
				when fished in the Atlantic Ocean. Traps shall only be used north of Latitude
				27° North in the Gulf of Mexico and north of Latitude 28°35.1' North in
				the Atlantic Ocean (due east of the NASA Vehicle Assembly Building, Cape
				Canaveral, FL). Each such trap shall comply with the following:
1. Each trap in the Atlantic Ocean shall
				comply with the definition of sea bass pots in 50 C.F.R. §622.2 (as of
				January 22, 2013).
2. Each trap in
				the Gulf of Mexico shall comply with the following specifications:
(1) The outer dimensions must not exceed 2
				feet in height, 2 feet in width, and 2 feet in depth or a volume of 8 cubic
				feet. The throat or entrance must not exceed 5 inches in height and 2 inches in
				width at its narrowest point.
3. A biodegradable panel shall be part of
				each trap used to take black sea bass. Each trap in the Atlantic Ocean shall
				comply with the degradable panel and mesh size requirements for black sea bass
				pots defined in 50 C.F.R. §622.40 (as of January 22, 2013). A black sea
				bass trap in the Gulf of Mexico shall be considered to have a "biodegradable
				panel" or a "degradable panel" if one of the following methods is used in
				construction of the trap:
a. The trap lid
				tie-down strap is secured to the trap at one end by a single loop of untreated
				jute twine. The trap lid must be secured so that when the jute degrades, the
				lid will no longer be securely closed.
b. The trap lid tie-down strap is secured to
				the trap at one end with a corrodible loop composed of non-coated steel wire
				measuring 24 gauge or thinner. The trap lid must be secured so that when the
				loop degrades, the lid will no longer be securely closed.
c. The trap lid tie-down strap is secured to
				the trap at one end by an untreated pine dowel no larger than 2 inches in
				length by 3/8 inch in diameter. The trap lid must be secured so that when the
				dowel degrades, the lid will no longer be securely closed.
d. The trap contains at least one sidewall
				with a vertical rectangular opening no smaller in either dimension than 6
				inches in height by 3 inches in width. This opening must be laced, sewn, or
				otherwise obstructed by a single length of untreated jute twine knotted only at
				each end and not tied or looped more than once around a single mesh bar. When
				the jute degrades, the opening in the sidewall of the trap will no longer be
				obstructed.
e. The trap contains at
				least one sidewall with a vertical rectangular opening no smaller in either
				dimension than 6 inches in height by 3 inches in width. This opening must be
				obstructed with an untreated pine slat or slats no thicker than 3/8 inch. When
				the slat degrades, the opening in the sidewall of the trap will no longer be
				obstructed. "Untreated pine" means raw pine wood that has not been treated with
				any preservative or pine wood that has been pressure treated with no more than
				0.40 pounds of chromated copper arsenate (CCA) compounds per cubic foot of
				wood.
f. The trap contains at least
				one sidewall with a vertical rectangular opening no smaller in either dimension
				than 6 inches in height by 3 inches in width. The opening may either be laced,
				sewn, or otherwise obstructed by non-coated steel wire measuring 24 gauge or
				thinner or be obstructed with a panel of ferrous single-dipped galvanized wire
				mesh made of 24 gauge or thinner wire. When the wire or wire mesh degrades, the
				opening in the sidewall of the trap will no longer be obstructed.
g. The trap contains at least one sidewall
				with a vertical rectangular opening no smaller in either dimension than 6
				inches in height by 3 inches in width. The opening may be obstructed with a
				rectangular panel made of any material, fastened to the trap at each of the
				four corners of the rectangle by rings made of non-coated 24 gauge or thinner
				wire or single strands of untreated jute twine. When the corner fasteners
				degrade, the panel will fall away and the opening in the sidewall of the trap
				will no longer be obstructed.
4. Escape vents. All black sea bass traps
				shall have an unobstructed escape vent opening on at least two opposite
				vertical sides, excluding top and bottom, that complies with one of the
				following minimum sizes:
a. A rectangular
				vent, 1.125 inches (2.9 cm) by 5.75 inches (14.6 cm).
b. A circular vent, 2 inches (5.1 cm) in
				diameter.
c. A square vent with
				sides of 1.75 inches (4.4 cm) measured inside the square.
5. Trap marking requirements.
a. Each black sea bass trap used for
				harvesting black sea bass shall have the trap owner's saltwater products
				license number permanently attached. Each buoy attached to such trap shall have
				the letter "B" and the owner's saltwater products license number affixed to it
				in legible figures at least 1.5 inches high.
b. Each black sea bass trap in the water or
				onboard a vessel in the Atlantic Ocean must have a valid identification tag
				issued by National Marine Fisheries Service attached pursuant to 50 C.F.R.
				§622.40(d)(1)(i)(D) (as of January 22, 2013).
c. A buoy or time-release buoy shall be
				attached to each black sea bass trap or at each end of a weighted trap
				trotline. The buoy shall be constructed of styrofoam, cork, molded polyvinyl
				chloride, or molded polystyrene, be of sufficient strength and buoyancy to
				float, and be either white in color or the same color as the owner's blue crab
				or stone crab buoy colors. Buoys shall be either spherical in shape with a
				diameter no smaller than 6 inches or some other shape so long as it is no
				shorter than 10 inches in the longest dimension and the width at some point
				exceeds 5 inches. No more than 5 feet of any buoy line attached to a buoy used
				to mark a black sea bass trap or attached to a trotline shall float on the
				surface of the water.
d. From
				November 15 through April 15, buoy lines attached to black sea bass traps
				fished or possessed in or on state waters north of Latitude 29°00' North in
				the Atlantic Ocean shall comply with the marking, weak link, and breaking
				strength requirements in adjacent federal waters pursuant to 50 C.F.R.
				§622.189(g) (as of January 30, 2017). From December 1 to March 31, buoy
				lines attached to black sea bass traps fished or possessed in or on state
				waters south of Latitude 29°00' North to Latitude 28°35.1' North in the
				Atlantic Ocean shall comply with the marking, weak link, and breaking strength
				requirements in adjacent federal waters pursuant to 50 C.F.R. §622.189(g)
				(as of March 21, 2017).
6. Each black sea bass trap used in state
				waters shall have a back panel (the side of the trap opposite the entrance)
				with mesh that is at least 2 inches between sides of the meshes, based on
				centerline measurements between opposite, parallel wires or netting
				strands.
7. In the Atlantic Ocean,
				black sea bass traps shall be removed from the water at the conclusion of each
				trip.
8. Black sea bass traps used
				in state waters shall be removed from the water once the commercial quota is
				met and the season is closed.
(c) Spearing. This provision shall not be
				construed to allow the use of any powerhead, bangstick, or handheld device
				employing an explosive charge for the harvest in state waters of any snapper or
				grouper listed in Rule
				68B-14.001,
				F.A.C.