Fishing vessels participating in the exploratory fisheries referred to in Article 43 shall implement Research Plans, in each and all SSRUs in which FAO Subareas 88.1 and 88.2 as well as Divisions 58.4.1 and 58.4.2 are divided. The Research Plan shall be implemented in the following manner:

1. (a)

   on first entry into a SSRU, the first 10 hauls, designated ‘first series’, shall be designated ‘research hauls’ and must satisfy the criteria set out in Article 45(2);

2. (b)

   the next 10 hauls, or 10 tonnes of catch, whichever trigger level is achieved first, shall be designated the ‘second series’. Hauls in the second series may, at the discretion of the master, be fished as part of normal exploratory fishing. However, provided they satisfy the requirements of Article 45(2), these hauls may also be designated as research hauls;

3. (c)

   on completion of the first and second series of hauls, if the master wishes to continue to fish within the SSRU, the vessel shall undertake a ‘third series’ which shall result in a total of 20 research hauls being made in all three series. The third series of hauls shall be completed during the same visit as the first and the second series in a SSRU;

4. (d)

   on completion of 20 research hauls of the third series, the vessel may continue to fish within the SSRU;

5. (e)

   in SSRUs A, B, C, E and G in Subareas 88.1 and 88.2 where fishable seabed area is less than 15 000 km², points (b), (c) and (d) shall not apply and on completion of 10 research hauls the vessel may continue to fish within the SSRU.