Fishing gear
Fishing gear includes the following types of gear and equipment:
(1) Bottom contact gear means fishing gear designed or modified to make contact with the bottom. This includes, but is not limited to, beam trawl, bottom trawl, dredge, fixed gear, set net, demersal seine, dinglebar gear, and other gear (including experimental gear) designed or modified to make contact with the bottom. Gear used to harvest bottom dwelling organisms (e.g. by hand, rakes, and knives) are also considered bottom contact gear for purposes of this subpart.
(2) Demersal seine means a net designed to encircle fish on the seabed. The demersal seine is characterized by having its net bounded by lead-weighted ropes that are not encircled with bobbins or rollers. Demersal seine gear is fished without the use of steel cables or otter boards (trawl doors). Scottish and Danish Seines are demersal seines. Purse seines, as defined at § 600.10 of this chapter, are not demersal seines. Demersal seine gear is included in the definition of bottom trawl gear in paragraph (11)(i) of this definition.
(3) Dredge gear means a gear consisting of a metal frame attached to a holding bag constructed of metal rings or mesh. As the metal frame is dragged upon or above the seabed, fish are pushed up and over the frame, then into the mouth of the holding bag.
(4) Entangling nets include the following types of net gear:
(i) Gillnet. (See § 600.10 of this chapter)
(ii) Set net means a stationary, buoyed, and anchored gillnet or trammel net.
(iii) Trammel net means a gillnet made with two or more walls joined to a common float line.
(5) Fixed gear (anchored nontrawl gear) means the following gear types: longline, trap or pot, set net, and stationary hook-and-line (including commercial vertical hook-and-line) gears.
(6) Hook-and-line means one or more hooks attached to one or more lines. It may be stationary (commercial vertical hook-and-line) or mobile (troll).
(i) Bottom longline means a stationary, buoyed, and anchored groundline with hooks attached, so as to fish along the seabed. It does not include pelagic hook-and-line or troll gear.
(A) Snap gear means a type of bottom longline gear where the hook and gangion are attached to the groundline using a mechanical fastener or snap.
(B) [Reserved]
(ii) Commercial vertical hook-and-line means commercial fishing with hook-and-line gear that involves a single line anchored at the bottom and buoyed at the surface so as to fish vertically.
(iii) Dinglebar gear means one or more lines retrieved and set with a troll gurdy or hand troll gurdy, with a terminally attached weight from which one or more leaders with one or more lures or baited hooks are pulled through the water while a vessel is making way.
(iv) Troll gear means a lure or jig towed behind a vessel via a fishing line. Troll gear is used in commercial and recreational fisheries.
(7) Mesh size means the opening between opposing knots. Minimum mesh size means the smallest distance allowed between the inside of one knot to the inside of the opposing knot, regardless of twine size.
(8) Nontrawl gear means all legal commercial groundfish gear other than trawl gear.
(9) Spear means a sharp, pointed, or barbed instrument on a shaft.
(10) Trap or pot See § 600.10 of this chapter, definition of “trap”. These terms are used as interchangeable synonyms.
(11) Trawl gear means a cone or funnel-shaped net that is towed through the water, and can include a pair trawl that towed simultaneously by two boats. For the purpose of this definition, trawl gear includes groundfish and non-groundfish trawl. See definitions for groundfish trawl and non-groundfish trawls (previously called “exempted trawl”).
(i) Bottom trawl means a trawl in which the otter boards or the footrope of the net are in contact with the seabed. It includes demersal seine gear, and pair trawls fished on the bottom. Any trawl not meeting the requirements for a midwater trawl in § 660.130(b), subpart D is a bottom trawl.
(A) Beam trawl gear means a type of trawl gear in which a beam is used to hold the trawl open during fishing. Otter boards or doors are not used.
(B) Large footrope trawl gear means a bottom trawl gear with a footrope diameter larger than 8 inches (20 cm,) and no larger than 19 inches (48 cm) including any rollers, bobbins, or other material encircling or tied along the length of the footrope.
(C) Small footrope trawl gear means a bottom trawl gear with a footrope diameter of 8 inches (20 cm) or smaller, including any rollers, bobbins, or other material encircling or tied along the length of the footrope. Selective flatfish trawl gear that meets the gear component requirements in § 660.130(b), subpart D is a type of small footrope trawl gear.
(ii) Midwater (pelagic or off-bottom) trawl means a trawl in which the otter boards and footrope of the net remain above the seabed. It includes pair trawls if fished in midwater. A midwater trawl has no rollers or bobbins on any part of the net or its component wires, ropes, and chains. For additional midwater trawl gear requirements and restrictions, see § 660.130(b), subpart D.
(iii) Trawl gear components include:
(A) Breastline means a rope or cable that connects the end of the headrope and the end of the trawl fishing line along the edge of the trawl web closest to the towing point.
(B) Chafing gear means webbing or other material attached to the codend of a trawl net to protect the codend from wear.
(C) Codend. (See § 600.10 of this chapter)
(D) Double-bar mesh means webbing comprised of two lengths of twine tied into a single knot.
(E) Double-walled codend means a codend constructed of two walls (layers) of webbing.
(F) Footrope means a chain, rope, or wire attached to the bottom front end of the trawl webbing forming the leading edge of the bottom panel of the trawl net, and attached to the fishing line.
(G) Headrope means a chain, rope, or wire attached to the trawl webbing forming the leading edge of the top panel of the trawl net.
(H) Rollers or bobbins means devices made of wood, steel, rubber, plastic, or other hard material that encircle the trawl footrope. These devices are commonly used to either bounce or pivot over seabed obstructions, in order to prevent the trawl footrope and net from snagging on the seabed.
(I) Single-walled codend means a codend constructed of a single wall of webbing knitted with single or double-bar mesh.
(J) Trawl fishing line means a length of chain, rope, or wire rope in the bottom front end of a trawl net to which the webbing or lead ropes are attached.
(K) Trawl riblines means a heavy rope or line that runs down the sides, top, or underside of a trawl net from the mouth of the net to the terminal end of the codend to strengthen the net during fishing.
Source
50 CFR § 660.11
Scoping language
These definitions are specific to the fisheries covered in subparts C through G of this part.