to inspect any records of transfers, purchases or receipts of groundfish.

§ 651.6 Vessel identification.

(a) Official Number. Each fishing vessel subject to this part over 25 feet in length shall display its Official Number on the port and starboard sides of the deckhouse or hull, and on an appropriate weather deck so as to be visible from above. The Official Number is the documentation number issued by the Coast Guard or the certificate number issued by a State or by the Coast Guard for undocumented vessels.

(b) Numerals. The Official Number shall be permanently affixed to each vessel subject to this part in contrasting block Arabic numerals at least 18 inches in height for vessels over 65 feet and at least 10 inches in height for all other vessels over 25 feet in length.

(c) Vessel length and number. The length of a vessel, for purposes of this section, shall be that length set forth by Coast Guard or State records.

(d) Duties of operator. The operator of each vessel subject to this part shall:

(1) Keep the identifying markings clearly legible and in good repair; and (2) Ensure that no part of the vessel, its rigging or its fishing gear obstructs the view of the Official Number from an enforcement vessel or aircraft.

(e) Nonpermanent markings. Vessels carrying fishing parties on a per capita basis or by charter shall use markings that meet the above requirements, except for the requirement that they be permanently affixed. The nonpermanent markings shall be displayed in conformity with the above requirements when the vessel is fishing for groundfish.

in effect, make it possible to fish for groundfish;

(c) Fish for, take, catch, harvest or land any groundfish during a closure under § 651.24, except to the extent allowed by that section;

(d) Fish for, take, catch, harvest or land any groundfish in excess of the fishing vessel's applicable catch limitation, if any, established by § 651.23;

(e) Fish for, catch, take, harvest or land any groundfish caught with nets having smaller than the minimum mesh size allowed by § 651.22 except as provided for under § 651.22(e);

(f) Discard, at sea, any groundfish;

(g) Use any vessel for taking, catching, harvesting or landing of any groundfish unless the vessel has a valid permit issued pursuant to this part, and the permit is on board the vessel;

(h) Fail to report to the Regional Director, within 15 days of any such change, any change in the information contained in a permit application for a vessel;

(i) Falsify or fail to make, keep, maintain, or submit any logbook, or other record or report required by this part;

(j) Refuse to permit an Authorized Officer, or any employee of the National Marine fisheries Service designated by the Regional Director to make such inspections, to inspect any logbooks or records relating to the taking, catching, harvesting, landing, purchase or sale of any groundfish;

(k) Make any false statement, oral or written, to an Authorized Officer, concerning the taking, catching, harvesting, landing, purchase, sale or transfer of any groundfish;

(1) Possess, have custody or control of, ship, transport, offer for sale, sell, purchase, import, or export any groundfish taken in violation of the Act, this part, or any other regulation promulgated under the Act;

(m) Fail to affix and maintain permanent or nonpermanent markings as required by § 651.6;

(n) Refuse to permit an Authorized Officer to board a fishing vessel subject to such person's control for purposes of conducting any search or inspection in connection with the enforcement of this Act, this part, or any

other regulation promulgated under the Act;

(0) Forcibly assault, resist, oppose, impede, intimidate or interfere with any Authorized Officer in the conduct of any inspection or search described in paragraph (n) of this section;

(p) Resist a lawful arrest for any act prohibited by this part;

(q) Interfere with, delay, or prevent, by any means, the apprehension or arrest of another person, with the knowledge that such other person has committed any act prohibited by this part;

(r) Interfere with, obstruct, delay, or prevent by any means the lawful investigation or search in the process of enforcing this Act;

(s) Fail to comply with enforcement and boarding procedures specified in § 651.8;

(t) Transfer directly or indirectly, or attempt to so transfer, any United States harvested fish to any foreign fishing vessel within the FCZ unless the foreign vessel has been issued a permit which authorizes the receipt by such vessel of United States harvested fish of the species concerned;

(u) Violate any other provision of this part, the Act, or any other regulation promulgated pursuant thereto. § 651.8

Enforcement.

(a) General. The owner or operator of any fishing vessel subject to this part shall immediately comply with instructions issued by an Authorized Officer to facilitate safe boarding and inspection of the vessel, its gear, equipment, logbook, and catch for purposes of enforcing the Act and this part.

(b) Signals. Upon being approached by a Coast Guard cutter or aircraft, or other vessel or aircraft authorized to enforce the Act, the operator of a fishing vessel shall be alert for signals conveying enforcement instructions. The following signals extracted from the International Code of Signals are among those which may be used:

(1) "L" meaning "You should stop your vessel instantly,"

(2) "SQ3" meaning "You should stop or heave to; I am going to board you," and

(3) "AA AA AA etc.," which is the call to an unknown station, to which the signaled vessel must respond by illuminating the vessel identification required by § 651.6(a).

(c) Boarding. A vessel signaled to stop or heave to for boarding shall:

(1) Stop immediately and lay to or maneuver in such a way so as to permit the Authorized Officer and his/her party to come aboard;

(2) Provide a ladder for the Authorized Officer and his/her party;

in Appendix A in the following circumstances:

(1) If a quarterly quota is not reached, to add the suplus onto quotas in subsequent quarters;

(2) If a quarterly quota is exceeded, to deduct the overage from quotas in subsequent quarters.

To the extent possible, adjustments shall be made within appropriate vessel classes.

§ 651.21 Closed areas.

(a) General. Except as allowed by paragraph (b) of this section during the months of March, April and May, no person may fish for, catch, take or harvest any groundfish within the following areas:

(1) An area known as Closed Area I bounded by straight lines connected by the following coordinates in the order stated:

42°10′ N., 69°55′ W., 41°10′ N., 69°10′ W.; 41°35' N., 68°30′ W., 41°50′ N., 68°45′ W.; 41°50′ N., 69°00′ W., 42°10′ N., 69°55′ W.

(2) An area known as Closed Area II bounded by straight lines connected by the following coordinates in the order stated:

42°20′ N., 67°00′ W., 41°15′ N., 67°00′ W.; 41°15' N., 65°40′ W., 42°00′ N., 65°40′ W.; 42°20′ N., 66°00′ W., 42°20′ N., 67°00′ W.

(b) Exceptions. Paragraph (a) of this section shall not apply to:

(1) Vessels that fish in Closed Area I with hooks having a gape of not less than 1.18 inches;

(2) Vessels that fish in either Closed Area I or II or both using only the following fishing gear:

(i) Pot gear designed and used to take lobster; or

(ii) Dredges designed and used to take scallops.

§ 651.22 Vessel class and gear limitations.
(a) Vessel classes. The following
vessel classes are established:
(1) Mobile Gear:

(i) 0-60 gross registered tons.
(ii) 61-125 gross registered tons.
(iii) Over 125 gross registered tons.
(2) Fixed Gear.

(3) Charter boats and headboats.
(4) Recreational.

(b) Trawl nets. Except as provided in paragraph (e) of this section, the minimum mesh size for any trawl net used by a vessel subject to this part is 5% inches in the cod end, and 41⁄2 inches in the body of the net.

(c) Gill nets. Except as provided in paragraph (e) of this section, the minimum mesh size for any gill net used by a vessel subject to this part is 51⁄2 inches.

(d) Mesh measurements. Mesh sizes are measured when wet after use by a wedge-shaped gauge having a taper of two centimeters in eight centimeters and a thickness of 2.3 millimeters, inserted into the meshes under pressure or pull of five kilograms. The mesh size of the body of the net shall be the average of the measurements of any series of 20 consecutive meshes. The cod end shall be measured in the same manner at least 10 meshes from the lacings, beginning at the after end and running parallel to the long axis.

(e) Exceptions. The mesh size limitations contained in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section do not apply to a vessel which can demonstrate that its catch or groundfish for the entire trip:

(1) Is less than each of the following amounts:

(i) The larger of 1,000 pounds or 10 percent of the total fish landed, by weight, for any groundfish species;

(ii) The amount allowed under any applicable catch limitation established under § 651.23;

(iii) During a closure, the amount allowed under incidental catch provisions contained in § 651.24(d); and

(2) Includes at least 2,000 pounds of fish other than groundfish caught on the same trip (this subparagraph (2) does not apply to vessels in the northern shrimp fishery).

§ 651.23 Catch limitations.

(a) General. (1) Appendix B to this part sets forth the catch limitations which govern fishing for groundfish. For any fishing trip, a vessel is entitled to the catch limitation for only one vessel class.

(2) A vessel which fishes for cod and haddock in both management areas (Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank and South) during a week may land only

the larger of the catch limitations from either area. A vessel may not land catch limitations from both areas.

(3) A vessel which fishes for yellowtail flounder in both management areas (east of 69° W. long., west of 69° W. long.) during a week or trip may land only the larger of the catch limitations from either area. A vessel may not land catch limitations from both areas.

(b) Overruns. A mobile-gear vessel may overrun its applicable catch limitation for cod and haddock, as set forth in Appendix B. The amount of any overrun will be deducted from the vessel's limitation for the following week. No overruns are allowed for fixed-gear vessels or for yellowtail flounder.

(c) Fishing weeks. For purposes of this section, a vessel which is at sea during more than one fishing week may count its fish against any fishing week during which fishing was conducted on that trip. However, a vessel whose logbook fails to indicate when fishing was conducted shall have its fish counted against the fishing week in which they were landed.

(d) Cod and haddock. The catch limitations in Appendix B govern the amount of cod and haddock which may be caught, taken, harvested or landed by domestic commercial fishermen using mobile or fixed gear during a fishing week.

(e) Yellowtail flounder. The catch limitations in Appendix B govern the amount of yellowtail flounder which may be caught, taken, harvested or landed by domestic commercial fishermen during a trip or during a fishing week, whichever time period is longer.

(f) Adjustments. (1) The Assistant Administrator shall, upon a finding that any vessel class in any area is likely to exceed or fall short of its quarterly quota for any species, adjust the limitations and overrun allowances set forth in Appendix B for any or all such species and vessel classes, if he finds such adjustment necessary to achieve any of the following purposes:

(i) To spread fishing effort over the entire quarter;

(ii) To reduce the need for quarterly or annual closures;

(iii) To allow each of the vessel classes to harvest its historic percentage of the catch.

(2) In making the findings and adjustments referred to in paragraph (f)(1) of this section the Assistant Administrator shall consider:

(i) Landings for the current or previous quarters;

(ii) Projected harvests;

(iii) Geographic and seasonal availability of fish;

(iv) Traditional and anticipated fishing patterns;

(v) Number of vessels of each class in the fishery;

(vi) Capability of vessels to fish in other locations or for other species,

(vii) Status of unregulated species in the trawl fishery; and

(viii) Incidental catch of cod, haddock, and yellowtail flounder during fishing for unregulated species.

[44 FR 887, Jan. 3 1979, as amended at 44 FR 42980, July 23, 1979; 44 FR 55886, Sept. 28, 1979]

§ 651.24 Closures.

(a) Projected catch. The Regional Director shall monitor catches and landings of groundfish, and other data, and shall, on or about the 1st and 16th day of each month, project a date when the allocation of any species of groundfish, by vessel class, less an anticipated amount of such species to be taken incidentally pursuant to paragraph (d) of this section shall have been taken for each relevant area and quarterly or annual period. If the Regional Director reasonably expects that adjustments to quarterly quotas under § 651.20(d) will be made in the following quarter, he may anticipate those adjustments in projecting closure dates.

(b) Recommendation of closure. As soon as possible after projecting a closure date pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section, if such closure date is within 30 days of the projection, the Regional Director shall recommend to the Assistant Administrator that the groundfish fishery be closed on that date for the relevant species, vessel class, area, and quarter or fishing year. The Regional Director may, based upon subsequent information,

rescind or revise such recommendation at any time before the Assistant Administrator has taken action pursuant to paragraph (c) of this section.

(c) Notice of closure—(1) The Assistant Administrator may, by publication of a notice in the FEDERAL REGISTER, close the fishery for groundfish for the relevant species, vessel class, and area, on the date recommended under paragraph (b) of this section, or on such other date as the Assistant Administrator determines will prevent the quarterly or annual quota from being exceeded.

(2) The Assistant Administrator shall, by publication of a notice in the FEDERAL REGISTER, close the fishery for groundfish for the relevant species, vessel class, and area, on the date recommended under paragraph (b) of this section, or on such other date as the Assistant Administrator determines will prevent the annual quota from being exceeded.

(d) Incidental catch. During any closure, any vessel in the following vessel classes to which the closure applies may catch, take, harvest or land no more than the following amounts of the species to which the closure applies:

(1) Cod and haddock:

0-60 GRT-500 pounds or 4 percent by weight of all fish on board, whichever is the lesser amount, per trip. 61-125 GRT-1,000 pounds or 4 percent by weight of all fish on board, whichever is the lesser amount, per trip.

Over 125 GRT-2,000 pounds or 4 percent by weight of all fish on board, whichever is the lesser amount, per trip. Fixed gear-500 pounds or 4 percent by weight of all fish on board, whichever is the lesser amount, per trip.

(2) Yellowtail flounder:

All vessels-500 pounds or 4 percent by weight of all fish on board, whichever is the lesser amount, per trip.

[44 FR 887, Jan. 3, 1979, as amended at 44 FR 55886, Sept. 28, 1979]