(a) Authorized gear—(1) King and Spanish mackerel. Subject to the prohibitions on gear/methods specified in §622.9, the following are the only fishing gears that may be used in the Gulf, Mid-Atlantic, and South Atlantic EEZ in directed fisheries for king and Spanish mackerel:

(i) King mackerel, Atlantic migratory group—(A) North of 34°37.3′ N. lat., the latitude of Cape Lookout Light, NC—all gear except drift gillnet and long gillnet.

(B) South of 34°37.3′ N. lat.—automatic reel, bandit gear, handline, and rod and reel.

(ii) King mackerel, Gulf migratory group—hook-and-line gear and, in the southern zone only, run-around gillnet. (See §622.369(a)(1)(iii) for a description of the southern zone.)

(iii) Spanish mackerel, Atlantic migratory group—automatic reel, bandit gear, handline, rod and reel, cast net, run-around gillnet, and stab net.

(iv) Spanish mackerel, Gulf migratory group—all gear except drift gillnet, long gillnet, and purse seine.

(2) Cobia, Gulf migratory group. Subject to the prohibitions on gear/methods specified in §622.9, the following are the only fishing gears that may be used in the Gulf EEZ, and in the South Atlantic EEZ south of a line extending due east from the Florida/Georgia border for cobia—all gear except drift gillnet and long gillnet.

(b) Unauthorized gear. Gear types other than those specified in paragraph (a) of this section are unauthorized gear and the following possession limitations apply:

(1) Long gillnets. A vessel with a long gillnet on board in, or that has fished on a trip in, the Gulf, Mid-Atlantic, or South Atlantic EEZ may not have on board on that trip a coastal migratory pelagic fish.

(2) Drift gillnets. A vessel with a drift gillnet on board in, or that has fished on a trip in, the Gulf EEZ may not have on board on that trip a coastal migratory pelagic fish.

(3) Other unauthorized gear. Except as specified in paragraph (b)(4) of this section, a person aboard a vessel with unauthorized gear other than a drift gillnet in the Gulf EEZ or a long gillnet on board in, or that has fished in, the EEZ where such gear is not authorized in paragraph (a) of this section, is subject to the bag limits for king and Spanish mackerel specified in §622.382(a)(1)(ii) and (iv), respectively, and to the limit on cobia specified in §622.383(b).

(4) Exception for king mackerel in the Gulf EEZ. The provisions of this paragraph (b)(4) apply to king mackerel taken in the Gulf EEZ and to such king mackerel possessed in the Gulf. Paragraph (b)(3) of this section notwithstanding, a person aboard a vessel that has a valid commercial permit for king mackerel is not subject to the bag limit for king mackerel when the vessel has on board on a trip unauthorized gear other than a drift gillnet in the Gulf EEZ, a long gillnet, or a run-around gillnet in an area other than the southern zone. Thus, the following applies to a vessel that has a commercial permit for king mackerel:

(i) Such vessel may not use unauthorized gear in a directed fishery for king mackerel in the Gulf EEZ.

(ii) If such a vessel has a drift gillnet or a long gillnet on board or a run-around gillnet in an area other than the southern zone, no king mackerel may be possessed.

(iii) If such a vessel has unauthorized gear on board other than a drift gillnet in the Gulf EEZ, a long gillnet, or a run-around gillnet in an area other than the southern zone, the possession of king mackerel taken incidentally is restricted only by the closure provisions of §622.384(e) and the trip limits specified in §622.385(a). See also §622.379 regarding the purse seine catch allowances of king mackerel.

[78 FR 22952, Apr. 17, 2013, as amended at 80 FR 4221, Jan. 27, 2015; 82 FR 17396, Apr. 11, 2017; 84 FR 4736, Feb. 19, 2019]