---
kind: "section"
citation: "50 C.F.R. § 622.375"
title: "50"
number: "622.375"
heading: "Authorized and unauthorized gear."
url: "https://uscodex.org/cfr/50/622.375"
---

# §622.375. Authorized and unauthorized gear.

- (a) **Authorized gear—**
  - (1) **King and Spanish mackerel.** Subject to the prohibitions on gear/methods specified in [§ 622.9](/cfr/50/622.9.md), the following are the only fishing gears that may be used in the Gulf, Mid-Atlantic, and South Atlantic EEZ in directed fisheries for king and Spanish mackerel:
    - (i) **King mackerel, Atlantic migratory group—**
      - (A) North of 34°37.3′ N. lat., the latitude of Cape Lookout Light, NC—all gear except drift gillnet and long gillnet.
      - (B) South of 34°37.3′ N. lat.—automatic reel, bandit gear, handline, and rod and reel.
    - (ii) **King mackerel, Gulf migratory group—** hook-and-line gear and, in the southern zone only, run-around gillnet. (See [§ 622.369(a)(1)(iii)](/cfr/50/622.369.md?p=a-1-iii) for a description of the southern zone.)
    - (iii) **Spanish mackerel, Atlantic migratory group—** automatic reel, bandit gear, handline, rod and reel, cast net, run-around gillnet, and stab net.
    - (iv) **Spanish mackerel, Gulf migratory group—** all gear except drift gillnet, long gillnet, and purse seine.
  - (2) **Cobia, Gulf migratory group.** Subject to the prohibitions on gear/methods specified in [§ 622.9](/cfr/50/622.9.md), the following are the only fishing gears that may be used in the Gulf EEZ, and in the South Atlantic EEZ south of a line extending due east from the Florida/Georgia border for cobia—all gear except drift gillnet and long gillnet.
- (b) **Unauthorized gear.** Gear types other than those specified in [paragraph (a)](#a) of this section are unauthorized gear and the following possession limitations apply:
  - (1) **Long gillnets.** A vessel with a long gillnet on board in, or that has fished on a trip in, the Gulf, Mid-Atlantic, or South Atlantic EEZ may not have on board on that trip a coastal migratory pelagic fish.
  - (2) **Drift gillnets.** A vessel with a drift gillnet on board in, or that has fished on a trip in, the Gulf EEZ may not have on board on that trip a coastal migratory pelagic fish.
  - (3) **Other unauthorized gear.** Except as specified in [paragraph (b)(4)](#b-4) of this section, a person aboard a vessel with unauthorized gear other than a drift gillnet in the Gulf EEZ or a long gillnet on board in, or that has fished in, the EEZ where such gear is not authorized in [paragraph (a)](#a) of this section, is subject to the bag limits for king and Spanish mackerel specified in § [622.382(a)(1)(ii)](/cfr/50/622.382.md?p=a-1-ii) and [(iv)](/cfr/50/622.382.md?p=a-1-iv), respectively, and to the limit on cobia specified in [§ 622.383(b)](/cfr/50/622.383.md?p=b).
  - (4) **Exception for king mackerel in the Gulf EEZ.** The provisions of this [paragraph (b)(4)](#b-4) apply to king mackerel taken in the Gulf EEZ and to such king mackerel possessed in the Gulf. [Paragraph (b)(3)](#b-3) of this section notwithstanding, a person aboard a vessel that has a valid commercial permit for king mackerel is not subject to the bag limit for king mackerel when the vessel has on board on a trip unauthorized gear other than a drift gillnet in the Gulf EEZ, a long gillnet, or a run-around gillnet in an area other than the southern zone. Thus, the following applies to a vessel that has a commercial permit for king mackerel:
    - (i) Such vessel may not use unauthorized gear in a directed fishery for king mackerel in the Gulf EEZ.
    - (ii) If such a vessel has a drift gillnet or a long gillnet on board or a run-around gillnet in an area other than the southern zone, no king mackerel may be possessed.
    - (iii) If such a vessel has unauthorized gear on board other than a drift gillnet in the Gulf EEZ, a long gillnet, or a run-around gillnet in an area other than the southern zone, the possession of king mackerel taken incidentally is restricted only by the closure provisions of [§ 622.384(e)](/cfr/50/622.384.md?p=e) and the trip limits specified in [§ 622.385(a)](/cfr/50/622.385.md?p=a). See also [§ 622.379](/cfr/50/622.379.md) regarding the purse seine catch allowances of king mackerel.

## Notes

### Amendments

[78 FR 22952, Apr. 17, 2013, as amended at 80 FR 4221, Jan. 27, 2015; 82 FR 17396, Apr. 11, 2017; 84 FR 4736, Feb. 19, 2019]

### Authority

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

### Source

Source: 78 FR 22952, Apr. 17, 2013, unless otherwise noted.

### Amendments

[78 FR 22952, Apr. 17, 2013, as amended at 80 FR 4221, Jan. 27, 2015; 82 FR 17396, Apr. 11, 2017; 84 FR 4736, Feb. 19, 2019]