§ 622.512 — Prohibited And Required Gear And Methods

Trawl, trammel net, and purse seine gear are prohibited for use to fish in the EEZ around St. Thomas and St. John. Also see § 622.9 for additional prohibited gear and methods that apply more broadly to multiple fisheries or in some cases all fisheries.

(a) Reef fish means the species as defined in § 622.506.

(1) Poisons. A poison, drug, or other chemical may not be used to fish for reef fish in the EEZ around St. Thomas and St. John.

(2) Powerheads. A powerhead may not be used in the EEZ around St. Thomas and St. John to fish for reef fish.

(3) Gillnets. A gillnet may not be used in the EEZ around St. Thomas and St. John to fish for reef fish.

(4) Descending device. At least one descending device is required to be on a vessel and be ready for use while fishing for or possessing reef fish. Descending device means an instrument capable of releasing the fish at the depth from which the fish was caught, and to which is attached a minimum of 16 ounces (454 grams) of weight and a minimum of a 60-ft (18.3-m) length of line. The descending device may either attach to the fish's mouth or be a container that will retain the fish while it is lowered to depth. The device must be capable of releasing the fish automatically, by actions of the operator of the device, or by allowing the fish to escape on its own when at depth.

(b) Pelagic fish means the species as defined in § 622.506. A gillnet may not be used in the EEZ around St. Thomas and St. John to fish for pelagic fish.

(c) Spiny lobster—(1) Spears and hooks. A spear, hook, or similar device may not be used in the EEZ around St. Thomas and St. John to harvest a spiny lobster. The possession of a speared, pierced, or punctured spiny lobster in or from the EEZ around St. Thomas and St. John constitutes a rebuttable presumption of a violation of this paragraph (c)(1).

(2) Gillnets. A gillnet may not be used in the EEZ around St. Thomas and St. John to fish for spiny lobster.

(d) Gillnet restrictions. A gillnet may be used by commercial fishermen in the EEZ around St. Thomas and St. John to fish for species not listed in § 622.506 if the gillnet meets the following requirements:

(1) Tending. At all times when the gear is in the water, a gillnet must be tended or supervised by the fisherman that deployed the gear.

(2) Mesh size. The mesh size must be exactly 0.75 inches (1.9 cm) square or 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) stretched.

(3) Number of allowable gillnets. No more than one gillnet is allowed on board a vessel, counting any gear on the vessel and in the water.

(4) Gillnet length. The maximum length of a gillnet measured at the head rope, foot rope, or float line cannot exceed 600 ft (182.9 m).

(5) Gillnet floats or buoys. When a gillnet is deployed in the water, the floats or buoys attached to the gillnet (head rope or float line) must maintain contact with the surface at all times, and the gillnet must not be used within 20 ft (6.1 m) of the bottom and must not be anchored to the bottom.