(a) Gillnets for king mackerel. The minimum allowable mesh size for a gillnet used to fish in the Gulf, Mid-Atlantic, or South Atlantic EEZ for king mackerel is 4.75 inches (12.1 cm), stretched mesh. A vessel in such EEZ, or having fished on a trip in such EEZ, with a gillnet on board that has a mesh size less than 4.75 (12.1 cm) inches, stretched mesh, may not possess on that trip an incidental catch of king mackerel that exceeds 10 percent, by number, of the total lawfully possessed Spanish mackerel on board.

(b) Gillnets for Spanish mackerel.

(1) The minimum allowable mesh size for a gillnet used to fish for Spanish mackerel in the Gulf, Mid-Atlantic, or South Atlantic EEZ is 3.5 inches (8.9 cm), stretched mesh.

(i) A vessel in the Gulf EEZ, or having fished on a trip in the Gulf EEZ, with a gillnet on board that has a mesh size less than 3.5 inches (8.9 cm), stretched mesh, may not possess on that trip any Spanish mackerel.

(ii) A vessel in the South Atlantic or Mid-Atlantic EEZ, or having fished on a trip in such EEZ, with a gillnet on board that has a mesh size less than 3.5 inches (8.9 cm), stretched mesh, may possess or land on the day of that trip no more than 500 lb (227 kg) of incidentally caught Spanish mackerel.

(2) On board a vessel with a valid Spanish mackerel permit that is fishing for Spanish mackerel in, or that possesses Spanish mackerel in or from, the South Atlantic EEZ off Florida north of 25°20.4′ N. lat., which is a line directly east from the Miami-Dade/Monroe County, FL, boundary—

(i) No person may fish with, set, place in the water, or have on board a gillnet with a float line longer than 800 yd (732 m).

(ii) No person may fish with, set, or place in the water more than one gillnet at any one time.

(iii) No more than two gillnets, including any net in use, may be possessed at any one time, except for a vessel with a valid commercial vessel permit for Spanish mackerel engaged in a transfer as specified in paragraph (b)(2)(vi) of this section. If two gillnets, including any net in use, are possessed at any one time, they must have stretched mesh sizes (as allowed under the regulations) that differ by at least .25 inch (.64 cm), except for a vessel with a valid commercial vessel permit for Spanish mackerel engaged in a transfer as specified in paragraph (b)(2)(vi) of this section, in which case the vessel may possess two gillnets of the same mesh size provided that one of the nets is transferred to that vessel.

(iv) No person may soak a gillnet for more than 1 hour. The soak period begins when the first mesh is placed in the water and ends either when the first mesh is retrieved back on board the vessel or the gathering of the gillnet is begun to facilitate retrieval on board the vessel, whichever occurs first; providing that, once the first mesh is retrieved or the gathering is begun, the retrieval is continuous until the gillnet is completely removed from the water.

(v) The float line of each gillnet possessed, including any net in use, must have the distinctive floats specified in §622.376(a).

(vi) A portion of a gillnet may be transferred at sea only in the EEZ and only from a vessel with a valid commercial vessel permit for Spanish mackerel that has exceeded a trip limit specified in §622.385 (b) to another vessel with a valid commercial vessel permit for Spanish mackerel that has not yet reached the trip limit (the receiving vessel). Only one such transfer is allowed per vessel per day. In addition, to complete a legal transfer at sea, all of the following must apply:

(A) All fish exceeding the applicable commercial trip limit may not be removed from the gillnet until the transfer is complete (i.e., the gillnet is onboard the receiving vessel). The fish transferred to the receiving vessel may not exceed the applicable commercial trip limit.

(B) The receiving vessel may possess no more than three gillnets on board after the transfer is complete.

(C) Prior to cutting the gillnet and prior to any transfer of Spanish mackerel from one vessel to another, the owner or operator of both vessels must contact NMFS Office for Law Enforcement, St Petersburg, Florida, phone: 1-727-824-5344.

[78 FR 22952, Apr. 17, 2013, as amended at 79 FR 68805, Nov. 19, 2014; 84 FR 47904, Sept. 11, 2019]