§ 622.512 - Prohibited gear and methods.

§ 622.512 Prohibited gear and methods.

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 -

(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 harvest reef fish. The possession of a mutilated reef fish in or from the EEZ around St. Thomas and St. John and a powerhead constitutes a rebuttable presumption of a violation of this paragraph (a)(2).

(3) Gillnets and trammel nets. A gillnet or trammel net may not be used in the EEZ around St. Thomas and St. John to fish for reef fish. The possession of a reef fish in or from the EEZ around St. Thomas and St. John and a gillnet or trammel net constitutes a rebuttable presumption of a violation of this paragraph (a)(3). A gillnet or trammel net used in the EEZ around St. Thomas and St. John to fish for any other species must be tended at all times.

(b) [Reserved]

(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 and trammel nets. A gillnet or trammel net may not be used in the EEZ around St. Thomas and St. John to fish for spiny lobster. The possession of a spiny lobster in or from the EEZ around St. Thomas and St. John and a gillnet or trammel net constitutes a rebuttable presumption of a violation of this paragraph (c)(2). A gillnet or trammel net used in the EEZ around St. Thomas and St. John to fish for any other species must be tended at all times.