Council Regulation (EC) No 2187/2005 (repealed)Show full title

CHAPTER I SCOPE AND DEFINITIONS

Article 1 Subject matter and scope

This Regulation lays down technical conservation measures in relation to the taking and landing of fishery resources in the maritime waters under the sovereignty or jurisdiction of the Member States and situated in the geographical area specified in Annex I.

Article 2 Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation:

(a)

‘active gear’ means any fishing gear for which the catch operation requires an active movement of the gear, including in particular towed gears and encircling gears;

(i)

‘trawl’ means gear which is actively towed by one or more fishing vessels and consisting of a net having a cone- or pyramid-shaped body (as trawl body) closed at the back by a codend;

(ii)

‘beam trawl’ means gear with a trawl net open horizontally by a steel or wooden tube, the beam, and netting with ground chains, chain mats or tickler chains, actively towed on the bottom by the vessel engine;

(iii)

‘Danish seine’ means encircling and towed gear, operated from a boat by means of two long ropes (seine ropes) designed to herd the fish towards the opening of the seine. The gear made up of net, which is similar to a bottom trawl in design and size, comprises two long wings, a body and a bag (codend);

(iv)

‘dredges’ means a net or metal basket mounted on a frame of variable shape and size, the lower part of which carries a scraper blade, sometimes toothed;

(v)

‘purse seine’ means encircling gear made up of net where the bottom is drawn together by means of a purse line at the bottom of the net, which passes through a series of rings along the groundrope, enabling the net to be pursed and closed;

(b)

‘passive gear’ means any fishing gear for which the catch operation does not require an active movement of the gear, and includes gillnets, entangling nets, trammel nets, trap-nets, lines, pots and traps. The nets may consist of one or more separate nets which are rigged with top, bottom and connecting ropes, and may be equipped with anchoring, floating and navigational gear;

(i)

‘gillnet’ and ‘entangling net’ means gear made up of a single piece of net and held vertically in the water by floats and weights. It catches living aquatic resources by entangling or enmeshing;

(ii)

‘trammel net’ means gear made up of two or more pieces of net hung jointly in parallel on a single headline and held vertically in the water by floats and weights;

(iii)

‘lines’ means a number of connected lines, either set at the bottom or drifting, each bearing a large number of baited hooks;

(c)

‘hooks’ means a bent, sharpened piece of steel wire usually with barb;

(d)

‘immersion time’ means the period from the point of time when the nets are first put in the water until the point of time when the nets are fully recovered on board the fishing vessel;

(e)

‘square-meshed netting’ means a construction of netting mounted so that of the two sets of parallel lines formed by the mesh bars, one set is parallel to, and the other at right angles to the long axis of the net;

(f)

‘codend’ means the last 8 m of the trawl, having either a cylindrical shape, i.e. the same circumference throughout, or a tapering shape;

(g)

‘strengthening bag’ means a cylindrical piece of netting completely surrounding the codend of a trawl and which may be attached to the codend at intervals;

(h)

‘back strap’ means the rearmost round strap attached to the codend, measured when the meshes are stretched lengthwise;

(i)

‘lifting strap’ means a piece of rope encircling the circumference of the codend or the strengthening bag, if any, and attached to it by means of loops or rings;

(j)

‘round strap’ means a piece of rope encircling the circumference of the codend or the strengthening bag and which is attached to it;

(k)

‘flapper’ means a piece of netting fastened inside an active gear net in such a way that it allows catches to pass from the front to the rear of the gear but limits their possibility of return;

(l)

‘codend buoy’ means a buoyant unit attached to the codend;

(m)

‘buoy rope’ means a rope connecting a cod-end buoy to that part of the fishing gear being supported or marked;

(n)

‘extension piece’ means an untapered section of the trawl having a cylindrical shape, i.e. the same circumference as the codend throughout, attached to or a continuation of the codend.

CHAPTER II NETS AND CONDITIONS FOR THEIR USE

SECTION I Target species

Article 3 Target species and minimum mesh sizes

1. For each of the subdivisions listed in Annex I, the ranges of mesh size admissible for each target species shall be as defined in Annex II when fishing with trawls, Danish seines and similar gears and as defined in Annex III when fishing with gillnets, entangling nets and trammel nets. No part of the gears or nets shall have a mesh size less than the smallest mesh size within each mesh size range.

2. The minimum percentage of the target species among the living aquatic resources retained on board for each geographic subdivision and each range of mesh size is set out in Annex II and Annex III.

3. During any fishing voyage when dredges are carried on board, the retention on board and the landing of any quantity of living aquatic resources shall be prohibited unless at least 85 % of the live weight thereof consists of molluscs and/or Furcellaria lumbricalis.

4. The use, within a subdivision, of gillnets or entangling nets having mesh sizes smaller than those referred to in Annex III shall be prohibited.

5. The use, within a subdivision, of trammel nets with mesh size in that part of the net having the largest meshes that does not correspond to one of the categories set out in Annex III unless the mesh size in the part of the net having the smallest meshes is smaller than 16 mm shall be prohibited. If the mesh size in the smallest meshes is less than 16 mm, all meshes with a mesh size above 16 mm shall correspond to the categories set out in Annex III.

6. For each fishing voyage, landings shall be prohibited whenever the catch taken in the subdivisions listed in Annex I, and retained on board, does not comply with the corresponding conditions laid down in Annex II or Annex III.

Article 4 Calculation of percentages of target species

1. The percentages of target species referred to in Annexes II and III shall be calculated as the proportion by live weight of all species listed in Annexes II and III which are either retained on board after sorting or landed.

2. The percentage of target species and of other species shall be obtained by aggregating all quantities of target species and of other species listed in Annexes II and III retained on board.

3. The quantities of species listed in Annexes II and III that have been transhipped from a fishing vessel shall be taken into account when calculating the percentages of target species for that vessel.

4. The percentages of target species may be calculated on the basis of one or more representative samples.

SECTION II Active gear

Article 5 Structure of fishing gear

1. No device shall be used which obstructs or otherwise diminishes the mesh in the codend.

2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, it shall be permitted to attach to the outside of the lower half of the codend of any active gear, any canvas, netting or other material which has the purpose of preventing or reducing wear. Such material shall be attached along the forward and lateral edges of the codend only.

3. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, when fishing with trawls, Danish seines or similar gears with a mesh size less than 90 mm, it shall be permitted to attach to the outside of the codend a strengthening bag. The mesh size of the strengthening bag shall be at least twice as large as that of the codend and in no case less than 80 mm.

A strengthening bag may be attached at the following points:

(a) at its forward edge;

(b) at its rear edge; or

(c) circumferentially between the rear and front part.

A strengthening bag may be laced:

(a) circumferentially to the codend and the extension piece around one row of meshes; or

(b) longitudinally along a single row of meshes.

4. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, it shall be permitted to:

(a) use in active gear a non-return net or flapper. The flapper may be attached either inside the codend or in front of the codend. The provisions on minimum mesh sizes laid down in Annex II shall not apply to the flapper. The distance from the point of forward attachment of the flapper to the rear end of the codend shall be at least three times the length of the flapper;

(b) attach to the outside of any part of the codend a sensor dedicated to the measurement of the volume of the catches;

(c) use round straps and a lifting strap attached to the outside of the codend when fishing with trawls, Danish seines or similar gears with a mesh size smaller than 90 mm;

(d) use one lifting strap attached to the outside of the codend when fishing with trawls, Danish seines or similar gears with a mesh size equal to or larger than 90 mm;

(e) attach floats on the two lateral selvedges of the codend;

(f) use a back strap attached to the outside of the codend. The distance between the back strap and the codline shall be equal to or smaller than 50 cm.

Article 6 Specific prohibited structures

Use of the following shall be prohibited:

(a)

any codend in which the number of equal sized meshes around any circumference of the codend increases from the front end to the rear end;

(b)

any extension piece in which the circumference at any point is smaller than the circumference of the foremost end of the codend to which the extension piece is joined;

(c)

any codend of mesh size equal to or greater than 32 mm in which any mesh is not diamond or square;

(d)

any trawl, Danish seine or similar gear with a mesh size equal to or larger than 90 mm to which a codend is attached by any means other than being sewn into that part of the net anterior to the codend;

(e)

any trawl, Danish seine or similar gear with a mesh size equal to or larger than 90 mm having more than 100 open diamond meshes and less than 40 open diamond meshes in any circumference of the codend, excluding the joining or the selvedges;

(f)

any codend where the stretched length of the top half is not approximately equal to the stretched length of the bottom half.

Article 7 Selectivity in trawl fisheries for cod

The Commission shall, on the basis of advice from the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries, present to the Council not later than September 2007 an assessment of the selectivity on cod of active gears for which cod is recognised as target species.

SECTION III Passive gear

Article 8 Dimensions and immersion time

1. Where fishing is conducted using gillnets, entangling nets or trammel nets, the use of more than 9 km of nets for vessels with an overall length of up to and including 12 m and 21 km of nets for vessels with an overall length of more than 12 m shall be prohibited.

2. The immersion time of the nets referred to in paragraph 1 shall not exceed 48 hours.

3. By way of derogation from paragraph 2, the immersion time of nets referred to in paragraph 1 when fishing under the ice cover shall not be limited.

Article 9 Restrictions on driftnets

1. From 1 January 2008 it shall be prohibited to keep on board, or use for fishing, driftnets.

2. In 2006 and 2007, a vessel may keep on board, or use for fishing, driftnets if authorised to do so by the competent authorities of the flag Member State.

3. In 2006 and 2007, the maximum number of vessels which may be authorised by a Member State to keep on board, or use for fishing, driftnets shall not exceed 40 % and 20 % respectively of the fishing vessels which used driftnets during the period 2001 to 2003.

4. By way of derogation from paragraph 3, in subdivisions 25 to 32 the maximum number of vessels which may be authorised by a Member State to keep driftnets on board or use them for fishing shall not exceed 40 % of the fishing vessels which used driftnets during the period 2001 to 2003.

5. Member States shall communicate to the Commission by 30 April each year the list of vessels authorised to carry out fishing activities using driftnets.

Article 10 Conditions for driftnets

1. The master of a fishing vessel using driftnets shall keep a logbook in which he shall record the following information on a day-to-day basis:

(a) the total length of the nets on board;

(b) the total length of the nets used in each fishing operation;

(c) the quantity, date and position of by-catches of cetaceans.

2. All fishing vessels using driftnets shall keep on board the authorisation referred to in Article 9(2).

SECTION IV Common provisions on gear and its use

Article 11 Determination of mesh size and twine thickness

Commission Regulation (EC) No 129/2003 of 24 January 2003 laying down detailed rules for determining the mesh size and thickness of twine of fishing nets(1) shall apply.

Article 12 Reaching of required catch percentages

1. Quantities of living aquatic resources caught in excess of permitted percentages specified in Annexes II and III may not be landed but shall be returned to the sea before each landing.

2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, whenever during a fishing voyage a vessel leaves any of the groups of subdivisions listed in Annexes II and III, the minimum percentage of target species as set out in Annexes II and III caught and retained on board from that geographical area shall be met within two hours.

Article 13 Conditions for use of gear

1. Gear that may not be used within a certain geographical area or during a certain period shall be stowed away in such a manner that it is not ready for use in the prohibited area or during the prohibited period. Reserve gear shall be stowed away separately and in such a manner that it is not ready for use.

2. Fishing gear shall be considered not ready for use if:

(a) in the case of trawls, Danish seines and similar gears with the exception of pair trawl:

(i)

the trawl boards are made fast to the inner or outer side of the bulwark or the gallows,

(ii)

sweep lines or warps are unshackled from the trawl boards or weights;

(b) in the case of pair trawl, the wing tip weights are unshackled and stowed away;

(c) in the case of lines, gillnets, entangling nets and trammel nets:

(i)

the nets are stowed under a lashed cover,

(ii)

the lines and hooks are kept in closed boxes;

(d) in the case of purse seines, the main or bottom wire is unshackled from the seine.

3. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, where any gear is used for which cod (Gadus morhua) is defined as a target species in accordance with Annexes II or III, no other type of gear shall be kept on board.

CHAPTER III MINIMUM LANDING SIZE OF FISH

Article 14 Measurement of fish

1. A fish shall be regarded as undersized if it is smaller than the minimum size specified in Annex IV for the relevant species and the relevant geographical area.

2. The size of a fish shall be measured from the tip of the snout, with mouth closed, to the extreme end of the tail fin.

Article 15 Retention on board of undersized fish

1. Undersized fish shall not be retained on board or be transhipped, landed, transported, stored, sold, displayed or offered for sale, but shall be returned immediately to the sea.

2. For fish other than those defined in Annex II as target species for the mesh size categories ‘smaller than 16 mm’ or ‘16 to 31 mm’ caught with trawls, Danish seines or similar gears of a mesh size less than 32 mm, or with purse seines, paragraph 1 shall not apply, provided that those fish are not sorted and not sold, displayed or offered for sale for human consumption.

CHAPTER IV RESTRICTIONS RELATING TO CERTAIN AREAS, TYPES OF FISHERIES OR LIVING AQUATIC RESOURCES

Article 16 Prohibited areas

It shall be prohibited throughout the year, to fish with any active gear in the geographical area enclosed by sequentially joining with rhumb lines the following positions, which shall be measured according to the WGS84 coordinate system:

1.

54° 23′ N, 14° 35′ E

2.

54° 21′ N, 14° 40′ E

3.

54° 17′ N, 14° 33′ E

4.

54° 07′ N, 14° 25′ E

5.

54° 10′ N, 14° 21′ E

6.

54° 14′ N, 14° 25′ E

7.

54° 17′ N, 14° 17′ E

8.

54° 24′ N, 14° 11′ E

9.

54° 27′ N, 14° 25′ E

10.

54° 23′ N, 14° 35′ E

Article 17 Restrictions on fishing for salmon and sea trout

1. The retention on board of salmon (Salmo salar) or sea trout (Salmo trutta) shall be prohibited:

(a) from 1 June to 15 September in waters of subdivisions 22 to 31;

(b) from 15 June to 30 September in waters of subdivision 32.

2. The area of prohibition during the closed season shall be beyond four nautical miles measured from the baselines.

3. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, the retention on board of salmon (Salmo salar) or sea trout (Salmo trutta) caught with trap-nets shall be permitted.

Article 18 Restrictions on fishing for eel

The retention on board of eel caught with any active gear shall be prohibited throughout the year.

Article 19 Restrictions on unsorted landings

1. Unsorted catches shall be landed only at ports and landings sites where a sampling programme referred to in paragraph 2 is in operation.

2. Member States shall ensure that an adequate sampling programme allowing effective monitoring of unsorted landings by species is in place.

CHAPTER V SPECIFIC MEASURES FOR THE GULF OF RIGA

Article 20 Special fishing permit

1. In order to fish in subdivision 28-1, vessels shall hold a special fishing permit issued in accordance with Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 1627/94.

2. Member States shall ensure that vessels, to which the special fishing permit referred to in paragraph 1 has been issued, are included in a list, containing their name and internal registration number, made publicly available via an Internet website, the address of which shall be provided to the Commission and Member States by each Member State.

3. Vessels included in the list shall satisfy the following conditions:

(a) the total engine power (kW) of the vessels within the lists must not exceed that observed for each Member State in the years 2000-2001 in subdivision 28-1; and

(b) the engine power of a vessel must not exceed 221 kilowatts (kW) at any time.

Article 21 Replacement of vessels or engines

1. Any individual vessel on the list referred to in Article 20(2) may be replaced by another vessel or vessels, provided that:

(a) such replacement does not lead to an increase in the total engine power as indicated in Article 20(3)(a) in the Member State concerned, and

(b) the engine power of any replacement vessel does not exceed 221 kW at any time.

2. An engine of any individual vessel included in the list referred to in Article 20(2) may be replaced, provided that:

(a) the replacement of an engine does not lead to the vessel's engine power exceeding 221 kW at any time, and

(b) the power of the replacement engine is not such that replacement leads to an increase in the total engine power as indicated in Article 20(3)(a) for the Member State concerned.

Article 22 Trawling prohibition

In subdivision 28-1, fishing with trawl shall be prohibited in waters of less than 20 m in depth.

CHAPTER VI GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 23 Prohibited fishing gear and practices

1. The catching of living aquatic resources using methods incorporating the use of explosives, poisonous or stupefying substances, electric current or any kind of projectile shall be prohibited.

2. The sale, display or offer for sale of living aquatic resources caught using methods referred to in paragraph 1 shall be prohibited.

Article 24 Scientific research

1. This Regulation shall not apply to fishing operations conducted solely for the purpose of scientific investigations subject to the following conditions:

(a) the fishing operations must be carried out with the permission and under the authority of the Member State or Member States concerned;

(b) the Member State or Member States in whose waters the research is carried out must have been informed in advance of the fishing operations; and

(c) the vessel conducting the fishing operations must carry on board an authorisation issued by the Member State whose flag the vessel is flying.

2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, living aquatic resources caught for the purposes specified in paragraph 1 cannot be sold, stored, displayed or offered for sale, unless:

(a) they meet the minimum landing sizes listed in Annex IV and, for resources for which fishing opportunities are fixed, such opportunities are not exhausted; or

(b) they are sold directly for purposes other than human consumption.

Article 25 Artificial restocking and transplantation

This Regulation shall not apply to fishing operations conducted solely for the purpose of artificial restocking or transplantation of living aquatic resources which are carried out with the permission and under the authority of the Member State or Member States concerned. Where the artificial restocking or transplantation is carried out in the waters of another Member State or Member States, all the Member States concerned shall be informed in advance.

Article 26 Measures taken by Member States applying solely to fishing vessels flying their flag

1. Member States may, for the conservation and management of stocks or to reduce the effect of fishing on the marine eco-system, take technical measures designed to limit fishing opportunities which:

(a) supplement measures set out in Community fisheries Regulations; or

(b) go beyond minimum requirements set out in Community fisheries Regulations.

2. Measures referred to in paragraph 1 shall apply solely to the fishermen of the Member State concerned and shall be compatible with Community law.

3. The Member State concerned shall communicate such measures without delay to the other Member States and the Commission.

4. Member States shall supply the Commission, on its request, with all information needed for the assessment of whether the measures comply with the conditions laid down in paragraph 1.

5. If the Commission concludes that the measures do not comply with the conditions laid down in paragraph 1 it shall adopt a decision requiring the Member State to withdraw or modify the measures.

Article 27 Scientific assessment of gear types

By 1 January 2008, the Commission shall ensure that a scientific assessment of the effects of using in particular gillnets, trammel nets and entangling nets on cetaceans is conducted and its findings presented to the European Parliament and Council.

CHAPTER VII FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 28 Implementing rules

Detailed rules for the implementation of this Regulation shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 30(2) of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002.

Article 29 Amendments to the Annexes

Amendments to Annex I and to Appendices 1 and 2 to Annex II shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 30(3) of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002.

Article 30 Amendments to Regulation (EC) No 1434/98

Regulation (EC) No 1434/98 is hereby amended as follows:

1.

in Article 1, paragraph 2 shall be deleted;

2.

in Article 2, paragraphs 2 and 3 shall be deleted;

3.

in Article 3, paragraph 1 shall be replaced by the following:

‘1. Catches of herring taken:

• in Regions 1 and 2 with towed nets of minimum mesh size equal to or greater than 32 mm, or

• in Region 3 with towed nets of minimum mesh size equal to or greater than 40 mm, or

• in Regions 1, 2 or 3 with any fishing gear other than towed nets,

shall not be landed for purposes other than direct human consumption unless they are first offered for sale for direct human consumption and fail to find a buyer.’;

4.

in Article 3, paragraph 2 shall be replaced by the following:

‘2. However, any herring caught with any fishing gear within the conditions specified in Article 2 may be landed for purposes other than direct human consumption.’

Article 31 Repeal

Regulation (EC) No 88/98 shall be repealed.

References to the repealed Regulation shall be construed as references to this Regulation and shall be read in accordance with the correlation table in Annex V.

Article 32 Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply from 1 January 2006.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 21 December 2005.

For the Council

The President

B. Bradshaw