50 C.F.R. § 648.322 Skate possession and landing restrictions.
Title 50 - Wildlife and Fisheries
(a) Skate wing possession and landing limit. A vessel or operator of a vessel that has been issued a valid Federal skate permit under this part, provided the vessel fishes under an Atlantic sea scallop, NE multispecies, or monkfish DAS as specified at §§648.53, 648.82, and 648.92, respectively, unless otherwise exempted under paragraph (b) of this section, may fish for, possess, and/or land up to the allowable daily and per trip limits specified as follows: (1) Possess up to 20,000 lb (9,072 kg) of skate wings (45,400 lb (20,593 kg) whole weight) per trip of greater than 24 hours in duration; or (2) Land up to 10,000 lb (4,536 kg) of skate wings (22,700 lb (10,296 kg) whole weight) per trip of 24 hours or less in duration. (b) Bait Letter of Authorization (LOA). A skate vessel owner or operator under this part may request and receive from the Regional Administrator an exemption from the skate wing possession limit restrictions, provided that the following requirements and conditions are met: (1) The vessel owner or operator obtains an LOA. LOAs are available upon request from the Regional Administrator. (2) The vessel owner/operator possesses and/or lands only whole skates less than 23 inches (58.42 cm) total length. (3) The vessel owner or operator fishes for, possesses, or lands skates only for use as bait. (4) Vessels that fish for, possess, and/or land any combination of skate wings and whole skates less than 23 inches (58.42 cm) total length must comply with the possession limit restrictions under paragraph (a) of this section for all skates or skate parts on board. (5) Any vessel owner/operator meets the requirements at §648.13(h). (6) Skate bait-only possession limit LOA—The vessel owner or operator possesses and lands skates in compliance with this subpart for a minimum of 7 days. (c) Prohibitions on possession of skates. All vessels fishing in the EEZ portion of the Skate Management Unit are subject to the following prohibitions: (1) A vessel may not retain, possess, or land barndoor or thorny skates taken in or from the EEZ portion of the Skate Management Unit. (2) A vessel may not retain, possess, or land smooth skates taken in or from the GOM RMA described at §648.80(a)(1)(i). [68 FR 49701, Aug. 19, 2003, as amended at 69 FR 22988, Apr. 27, 2004]
Title 50: Wildlife and Fisheries
PART 648—FISHERIES OF THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES
Subpart O—Management Measures for the NE Skate Complex Fisheries
§ 648.322 Skate possession and landing restrictions.
