{"data":{"id":"us/50-cfr-648.351","jurisdiction":"us","citation":"50 CFR 648.351","heading":"Mid-Atlantic forage species possession limits.","body":"(a) Mid-Atlantic forage species. Unless otherwise prohibited in § 648.80, a vessel issued a valid commercial permit in accordance with § 648.4 may fish for, possess, and land up to 1,700 lb (771.11 kg) of all Mid-Atlantic forage species combined per trip in or from the EEZ portion of the Mid-Atlantic Forage Species Management Unit, as defined in paragraph (b) of this section. A vessel not issued a permit in accordance with § 648.4 that is fishing exclusively in state waters is exempt from the possession limits specified in this section.\n(b) Mid-Atlantic Forage Species Management Unit. The Mid-Atlantic Forage Species Management Unit is the area of the Atlantic Ocean that is bounded on the southeast by the outer limit of the U.S. EEZ; bounded on the south by 35°15.3′ N lat. (the approximate latitude of Cape Hatteras, NC); bounded on the west and north by the coastline of the United States; and bounded on the northeast by the following points, connected in the order listed by straight lines:\nPoint Latitude Longitude\n1 40°59.32′ N 73°39.62′ W\n2 40°59.02′ N 73°39.41′ W\n3 40°57.05′ N 73°36.78′ W\n4 40°57.87′ N 73°32.85′ W\n5 40°59.78′ N 73°23.70′ W\n6 41°1.57′ N 73°15.00′ W\n7 41°3.40′ N 73°6.10′ W\n8 41°4.65′ N 73°0.00′ W\n9 41°6.67′ N 72°50.00′ W\n10 41°8.69′ N 72°40.00′ W\n11 41°10.79′ N 72°29.45′ W\n12 41°12.22′ N 72°22.25′ W\n13 41°13.57′ N 72°15.38′ W\n14 41°14.94′ N 72°8.35′ W\n15 41°15.52′ N 72°5.41′ W\n16 41°17.43′ N 72°1.18′ W\n17 41°18.62′ N 71°55.80′ W\n18 41°18.27′ N 71°54.47′ W\n19 41°10.31′ N 71°46.44′ W\n20 41°2.35′ N 71°38.43′ W\n21 40°54.37′ N 71°30.45′ W\n22 40°46.39′ N 71°22.51′ W\n23 40°38.39′ N 71°14.60′ W\n24 40°30.39′ N 71°6.72′ W\n25 40°22.38′ N 70°58.87′ W\n26 40°14.36′ N 70°51.05′ W\n27 40°6.33′ N 70°43.27′ W\n28 39°58.29′ N 70°35.51′ W\n29 39°50.24′ N 70°27.78′ W\n30 39°42.18′ N 70°20.09′ W\n31 39°34.11′ N 70°12.42′ W\n32 39°26.04′ N 70°4.78′ W\n33 39°17.96′ N 69°57.18′ W\n34 39°9.86′ N 69°49.6′ W\n35 39°1.77′ N 69°42.05′ W\n36 38°53.66′ N 69°34.53′ W\n37 38°45.54′ N 69°27.03′ W\n38 38°37.42′ N 69°19.57′ W\n39 38°29.29′ N 69°12.13′ W\n40 38°21.15′ N 69°4.73′ W\n41 38°13.00′ N 68°57.35′ W\n42 38°4.84′ N 68°49.99′ W\n43 * 38°2.21′ N 68°47.62′ W\n* Point 43 falls on the U.S. EEZ.\n(c) Transiting. Any vessel issued a valid permit in accordance with § 648.4 may transit the Mid-Atlantic Forage Species Management Unit, as defined in paragraph (b) of this section, with an amount of Mid-Atlantic forage species on board that exceeds the possession limits specified in paragraph (a) of this section to land in a port in a state that is outside of the Mid-Atlantic Forage Species Management Unit, provided that those species were harvested outside of the Mid-Atlantic Forage Species Management Unit and that all gear is stowed and not available for immediate use as defined in § 648.2.\n(d) Transiting. Any vessel issued a valid permit in accordance with § 648.4 may transit the Mid-Atlantic Forage Species Management Unit, as defined in paragraph (c) of this section, with an amount of Mid-Atlantic forage species or Atlantic chub mackerel on board that exceeds the possession limits specified in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section, respectively, to land in a port in a state that is outside of the Mid-Atlantic Forage Species Management Unit, provided that those species were harvested outside of the Mid-Atlantic Forage Species Management Unit and that all gear is stowed and not available for immediate use as defined in § 648.2. The transitting provisions specified in this paragraph (d) for a vessel possessing Atlantic chub mackerel are effective through December 31, 2020.","path":["Title 50—Wildlife and Fisheries","CHAPTER VI—FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE","PART 648—FISHERIES OF THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES","Subpart P—Mid-Atlantic Forage Species"],"source_url":"https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2026-08-25/title-50.xml","current_through":"2026-08-25","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-08-27T02:26:39Z","sha256":"f5b321a194478a3ecca5d7c2ded1783c9e9a8b5efdec0ba3ba571433b7b45473","source_id":"us-cfr","stale":true,"prev":"us/50-cfr-648.350","next":"us/50-cfr-648.352"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}