1.Member States shall establish multi-annual national sampling programmes.
2.Multi-annual national sampling programmes shall include, in particular:
(a)a sampling design for biological data following fleet-fishery based sampling including, where appropriate, recreational fisheries;
(b)a sampling design for ecosystem data that allows the impact of the fisheries sector on the marine ecosystem to be estimated and that contributes to monitoring of the state of the marine ecosystem;
(c)a sampling design for socio-economic data that permits the economic situation of the fisheries sector to be assessed and enables its performance over time to be analysed, and impact assessments of measures undertaken, or proposed to be carried out.
3.The protocols and the methods used for the establishment of national sampling programmes shall be given by Member States and shall be, as far as possible:
(a)stable over time;
(b)standardised within regions;
(c)in accordance with the quality standards established by the appropriate regional fisheries management organisations to which the Community is contracting party or observer and relevant international scientific bodies.
4.Accuracy and precision for the data collected shall be systematically estimated where required.