tion, registration or number and shall be marked by the appropriate stone crab number and color.

(3) All markings shall be permanent. Vessel markings shall be of a size and location so as to be visible from the air. Buoy and trap markings shall be of such size and color so as to permit ready identification of the gear.

(c) Application to the Regional Director. (1) Persons who cannot obtain a Florida stone crab permit may apply to the Regional Director, who shall assign a Federal number and color to the vessel and its gear.

(2) Each application shall contain the following information:

(i) The applicant's name, mailing address, and telephone number;

(ii) The name of the vessel;

(iii) The vessel's United States Coast Guard documentation number State license number; and

or

(a) It is unlawful for any person to do any of the following:

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

(2) Refuse to permit an Authorized Officer to board a fishing vessel subject to the 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;

(3) Forcibly assault, resist, oppose, impede, intimidate, or interfere with any Authorized Officer in the conduct of any search or inspection described in paragraph (a)(2) of this section;

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

(5) Interfere with, delay, or prevent, by any means, the apprehension or arrest of another person knowing that

such other person has committed any act prohibited by this part;

(6) Falsify any report submitted under this part;

(7) Violate any other provisions of this part, the Act, or any regulation issued under the Act;

(8) Fish for stone crabs in the FCZ with other than a U.S. vessel which is properly documented, registered, or numbered as required in § 654.4(a);

or

(9) Falsify or fail to display the vessel's appropriate documentation registration number and the appropriate stone crab number and color code as specified in § 654.4(b) (2) and (3);

(10) Falsify or fail to mark all stone crab traps and trap buoys with their Florida permit number and color code or their Federal number and color code as specified in § 654.4(b) (1) and (3);

(11) Remove from stone crabs; or possess in the FCZ, regardless of where taken, stone crab claws with a propodus (Figure 2) measuring less than 24 inches; or remove, possess, or land stone crab claws from stone crabs taken in the FCZ with a propodus measuring less than 24 inches, as specified in § 654.20(a);

(12) Fail to return declawed stone crabs to the sea prior to the vessel's reaching port, shore, or dock as specified in § 654.20(b);

(13) Fail to store stone crabs at sea in containers protected from direct sunlight and in a manner which does not compress the crabs, as specified in § 654.20(b);

(14) Fail to keep stored stone crabs damp by wetting as necessary, as specified in § 654.20(b);

(15) Tend, open, pull or otherwise molest or have in possession aboard a vessel another person's stone crab traps, except as specified in § 654.20(c);

(16) Tend, open, pull, or otherwise molest stone crab traps, except during the hours specified in § 654.20(d);

(17) Possess at sea, land, or fail immediately to return to the sea eggbearing female stone crabs or to remove eggs or claws from egg-bearing female stone, crabs, as specified in § 654.20(e);

(18) Take or possess stone crabs or any part thereof in the FCZ during the closed season specified in

§ 654.22(a); except as provided by § 654.22(a)(3);

(19) Have stone crab traps in the water before or after the dates specified in § 654.22(a);

(20) Trawl in a closed area of the FCZ during the time periods specified in § 654.23(a);

(21) Place stone crab traps in a closed area in the FCZ, as specified in § 654.23(b)(1);

(22) Place into the FCZ any article, as specified in § 654.23(b)(2); or

(23) Fail to have on board or present for inspection an extension authorization, as required under § 654.22(a)(2);

or

(24) Use stone crab traps without a biodegradable panel, as required under § 654.21.

(b) It is unlawful for any vessel of the United States or for any owner or operator of any vessel of the United States to transfer directly or indirectly or attempt to so transfer any United States harvested fish to any foreign fishing vessel, while such foreign vessel is within the FCZ, unless the foreign fishing vessel has been issued a permit under this Act.

[44 FR 53527, Sept. 14, 1979, as amended at 51 FR 30664, Aug. 28, 1986]

(a) General. The operator of, or any other person aboard, any fishing vessel subject to this part must immediately comply with instructions and signals issued by an authorized officer to stop the vessel and with instructions to facilitate safe boarding and inspection of the vessel, its gear, equipment, fishing record (where applicable), and catch for purposes of enforcing the Magnuson Act and this part.

(b) Communications. (1) Upon being approached by a U.S. Coast Guard vessel or aircraft, or other vessel or aircraft with an authorized officer aboard, the operator of a fishing vessel must be alert for communications conveying enforcement instructions.

(2) If the size of the vessel and the wind, sea, and visibility conditions allow, loudhailer is the preferred method for communicating between vessels. If use of a loudhailer is not practicable, and for communications with an aircraft, VHF-FM or high fre

quency radiotelephone will be employed. Hand signals, placards, or voice may be employed by an authorized officer and message blocks may be dropped from an aircraft.

(3) If other communications are not practicable, visual signals may be transmitted by flashing light directed at the vessel signaled. Coast Guard units will normally use the flashing light signal "L" as the signal to stop.

(4) Failure of a vessel's operator to stop his vessel when directed to do so by an authorized officer using loudhailer, radiotelephone, flashing light signal, or other means constitutes prima facie evidence of the offense of refusal to permit an authorized officer to board.

(5) The operator of a vessel who does not understand a signal from an enforcement unit and who is unable to obtain clarification by loudhailer or radiotelephone must consider the signal to be a command to stop the vessel instantly.

(c) Boarding. The operator of a vessel directed to stop must

(1) Guard Channel 16, VHF-FM if so equipped;

(2) Stop immediately and lay to or maneuver in such a way as to allow the authorized officer and his party to come aboard;

(3) Except for those vessels with a freeboard of four feet or less, provide a safe ladder, if needed, for the authorized officer and his party to come aboard;

(4) When necessary to facilitate the boarding or when requested by an authorized officer, provide a manrope or safety line, and illumination for the ladder; and

(5) Take such other actions as necessary to facilitate boarding and to ensure the safety of the authorized officer and the boarding party.

(d) Signals. The following signals, extracted from the International Code of Signals, may be sent by flashing light by an enforcement unit when conditions do not allow communications by loudhailer or radiotelephone. Knowledge of these signals by vessel operators is not required. However, knowledge of these signals and appropriate action by a vessel operator may preclude the necessity of sending the

(b) Holding crabs aboard fishing vessels. Stone crab bodies from which the claws have been removed must be returned to the sea before the vessel reaches shore or a port or a dock. Live stone crabs may be held aboard a vessel while it is at sea until such time as the claws are removed, provided the crabs are held in containers shaded from direct sunlight and are wet with sea water as necessary to keep the crabs in a damp condition. Containers holding stone crabs must be stacked in a manner which does not compress the crabs.

(c) Traps. No fisherman shall willfully tend, open, pull or otherwise molest another fisherman's traps without the prior written consent of that fisherman. (The buoy and corresponding lines are part of the trap for purposes of section.)

(d) Time of day. No fisherman shall tend, open, pull, or otherwise molest traps during the period beginning one hour after sunset to one hour before sunrise.

(e) Egg-bearing female crabs. It is prohibited to remove claws from egg

bearing female stone crabs or to have any egg-bearing female stone crabs aboard a vessel or to remove the eggs from any stone crab. Egg-bearing female stone crabs must be returned to the sea immediately.

[44 FR 53527, Sept. 14, 1979, as amended at 51 FR 30664, Aug. 28, 1986]

§ 654.21 Gear requirements.

Traps used in the stone crab fishery must have a biodegradable panel. (See definition in § 654.2.)

8654.22 Closed seasons.

(a) No person may possess stone crabs or any parts thereof in the FCZ during the period from 0001 hours (local time) May 16 through 2400 hours (local time) October 14.

(1) Prior to the fishing season, baited traps may be placed in the water one hour before sunrise on October 5 (soak period).

(2) After the fishing season, traps must be removed from the water by one hour after sunset on May 20 (removal period); unless an extension to

the removal period in granted by the State of Florida in accordance with Chapter 46-13, Stone crab, Rules of the Department of Natural Resources, Florida Marine Fisheries Commission, Florida Administrative Code. The extension authorization must be carried aboard the fishing vessel. The operator of a fishing vessel must present the authorization for inspection upon request of an authorized officer.

(3) Holding crabs in traps while in the water during the soak period (October 5-14), or during the removal period (May 15-20), or during an extension thereto, will not be deemed as possession provided that such crabs are returned immediately to the water with claws unharvested whenever the traps are removed from the water during these periods.

(4) No traps may be transported on or set in the waters of the FCZ between one hour after sunset on May 20 (or May 30, if an extension to the removal period is granted) and one hour before sunrise on October 5.

(b) Stone crab traps, floats, or ropes in the management area at times not authorized in paragraph (a) will be considered unclaimed or abandoned property and may be disposed of in any manner considered appropriate by the Secretary or an authorized officer. Owners of these stone crab traps remain subject to appropriate civil penalties.

[51 FR 30664, Aug. 28, 1986]

§ 654.23 Area restrictions.

(a) Between January 1 and one hour after sunset (local time) May 20, it is unlawful to use trawl gear in that part of the FCZ (Figure 1) shoreward of a rhumb line connecting in order points B at 26°16.0' N. latitude and 81°58.5' W. longitude, C at 26°00.0' N. latitude and 82°04.0′ W. longitude, D at 25°09.0' N. latitude and 81°47.6' W. longitude, E at 24°54.5' N. latitude and 81°50.5' W. longitude, and to the intersection of the seaward boundary of the State of Florida and a line extending from E to Point F at 24°41.9' N. latitude and 81°40.5' W. longitude (Snipe Point).