Annexes to COM(2003)589 - Management measures for the sustainable exploitation of fishery resources in the Mediterranean Sea - Main contents

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dossier	COM(2003)589 - Management measures for the sustainable exploitation of fishery resources in the Mediterranean Sea.
document	COM(2003)589
date	December 21, 2006

ANNEXI

Technical conditions for attachments to and rigging of trawl nets

Definitions

For the purposes of this Annex:

(a)    "multiple twine netting” means netting constructed of two or more twines, where the twines can be separated between the knots without damage to the twine structure;

(b)    "knotless netting" means netting which is composed of meshes of four sides of approximately equal length in which the corners of the meshes are formed by the interweaving of the twines of two adjacent sides of the mesh;

(c)    "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;

(d)    "the trawl body" means the tapered section in the front part of a trawl net;

(e)    "the extension piece" means the untapered section, made of one or more panels, between the trawl body and the cod-end;

(f)    "the cod-end” means the rearmost part of a trawl net, of net of the same mesh size, having either a cylindrical or a tapering shape, whose transversal cross-sections are nearly a circle of the same or decreasing radius respectively;

(g)    "balloon cod-end" means any cod-end composed of one or more adjoining panels, of net of the same mesh size, whose number of meshes increases going to the rearmost part of the gear causing an extension of the transversal length, with respect to the longitudinal axis of the net, and of the circumference of the cod-end;

(h)    "pocket type cod-end" means any cod-end whose vertical height diminishes towards the rearmost part of the cod-end and whose transversal cross-sections are nearly an ellipse of the same or decreasing major axis. The rearmost part of the cod-end is either composed by a single folded panel or by transversally lacing together, with respect to the longitudinal axis of the net, the rearmost upper and lower panels;

(i)    "transversal lacing rope" means any external or internal rope running transversally, with respect to the longitudinal axis of the net, in the rearmost part of the cod-end either along the join between two upper and lower panels or along the bend of the single rearmost panel. It can be either a prolongation of the lateral lacing rope or a separate rope;

(j)    "circumference-perimeter" of any cross section in a diamond mesh netting of a trawl net shall be calculated as the number of meshes in that cross section multiplied by the stretched mesh size;

(k)    "circumference-perimeter" of any cross section in a square mesh netting of a trawl net shall be calculated as the number of meshes in that cross section multiplied by the mesh side length.

(a) Authorised attachments to trawl nets

1. Notwithstanding Article 8 of Regulation (EEC) No 3440/84 either a transversal, with respect to the longitudinal axis of the net, or lengthways zip-fastener mechanical device may be used to close the opening for emptying the pocket-type cod-end.

2. The transversal zip-fastener shall be attached at a distance which is not more than 1 metre from the rear meshes of the cod-end.

(b) Rigging requirements

1. A balloon cod-end shall be prohibited in trawl nets. Within any single cod-end the number of equal sized meshes around any circumference of the cod-end shall not increase from the front end to the rear end.

2. The circumference of the rearmost part of the trawl body (the tapered section) or of the extension piece (the untapered section) shall not be smaller than the circumference of the front end of the cod-end sensu stricto. In the case of a square mesh cod-end, in particular, the circumference of the rearmost part of the trawl body or of the extension piece shall be from 2 to 4 times the circumference of the front end of the cod-end sensu stricto.

3. Square mesh panels may be inserted into any towed net and shall be placed in front of any extension piece or at any point between the front of any extension piece and the posterior of the cod-end. It shall not be obstructed in any way by either internal or external attachments. It shall be constructed of knotless netting or of netting constructed with non-slip knots, and shall be inserted in such a way that the meshes remain fully open at all times while fishing. Detailed rules for further technical specifications of square mesh panels shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 29 of this Regulation.

4. Analogously, technical devices with a view of improving selectivity of trawl nets, other than that referred to in point b.3 above, may be authorised in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 29 of this Regulation.

5. The carrying on board or the use of any towed net the cod-end of which is constructed wholly or in part of any type of netting material made of meshes other than square mesh or diamond mesh shall be prohibited unless authorised in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 29 of this Regulation.

6. Paragraph 4-5 shall not apply to any boat seine the cod-end of which has a mesh size smaller than 10 mm.

7. By way of modification of Article 6(4) of Regulation (EEC) No 3440/84 the mesh size of the strengthening bag shall not be less than 120 mm for bottom trawlers if the cod-end mesh is smaller than 60 mm. This provision shall apply only to the Mediterranean Sea and shall be without prejudice to other Community waters. If the cod-end mesh size is equal to or greater than 60 mm then Article 6(4) of Regulation (EEC) No 3440/84 shall apply.

8. The pocket type cod-end shall not have more than one opening to empty.

9. The length of the transversal lacing rope shall be not less than 20 % of the circumference of the cod-end.

10. The circumference of the strengthening bag, as defined in Article 6 of Regulation No 3440/84, shall not be less than 1,3 times that of the cod-end for bottom trawl nets.

11. The carrying on board or the use of any towed net constructed wholly or in part in the cod-end of single twine netting materials having a twine thickness of more than

3,0 millimetres shall be prohibited.

12. The carrying on board or the use of any towed net constructed wholly or in part in the cod-end of netting materials consisting of multiple twines shall be prohibited.

13. Netting materials having a twine thickness greater than 6 mm shall be prohibited in any part of a bottom trawl net.

ANNEX II

Requirements relating to the characteristics of fishing gear

Definitions

For the purposes of this Annex:

1) the length of nets shall be defined by the length of the float line. The length of bottom-set and drifting nets may be also defined on the basis of the weight or volume of its mass.

2) the drop of nets shall be defined as the sum of the height of the meshes (including knots) when wet and stretched perpendicular to the float line.

1. Dredges

The maximum breadth of dredges shall be 3 m, except in the case of dredges for sponge fishing.

2. Surrounding nets (purse seines and seines without purse lines)

The length of netting shall be restricted to 800 m and the drop to 120 m, except in the case of tuna seines.

3. Bottom-set nets

3.1 Trammel nets and bottom-set gillnets

1. The maximum drop of a trammel net - shall not exceed 4 m.

2. The maximum drop of a bottom-set gillnet shall not exceed 10 m.

3. It shall be prohibited to have on board or set more than 6 000 m of trammel net, bottom-set gillnet per vessel, taking into account that, as from January 2008, in the case of a single fisherman, such nets may not exceed 4 000 metres, to which a further 1 000 metres may be added for a second fisherman and another

1 000 metres for a third one. Until 31 December 2007 such nets shall not exceed 5 000 metres in the case of single or a second fisherman and 6 000 metres for a third one.

4. Monofilament or twine diameter of the bottom-set gillnet shall not exceed 0,5mm.

5. By way of derogation from paragraph 2, bottom-set gillnet of maximum length shorter than 500 m may have a maximum drop up to 30 m. It shall be prohibited to have on board or set more than 500 m of bottom-set gillnet when it exceeds the drop limit of 10 m as established in paragraph 2.

3.2. Combined bottom-set nets (trammel nets+gillnets)

1. The maximum drop of a combined bottom-set net shall not exceed 10 m.

2. It shall be prohibited to have on board or set more than 2 500 m of combined nets per vessel.

3. Monofilament or twine diameter of the gillnet shall not exceed 0,5 mm.

4. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, combined bottom-set net of maximum length of 500 m may have a maximum drop of 30 m. It shall be prohibited to have on board or set more than 500 m of combined bottom-set when it exceeds the drop limit of 10 m as established in paragraph 1.

4.

Bottom-set longline

1. It shall be prohibited to have on board or set more than 1 000 hooks per person on board within the overall limit of 5 000 hooks per vessel.

2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1 each vessel undertaking fishing trips longer than 3 days may have on board a maximum number of 7 000 hooks.

Traps for deep-water crustacean fishery

It shall be prohibited to have on board or set more than 250 traps per vessel.

6. Surface-set longline (floating)

It shall be prohibited to have on board or set more than:

1. 2 000 hooks per vessel for vessels targeting bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) where this species account for at least 70 % of the catch in live weight after sorting;

2. 3 500 hooks for vessels targeting swordfish (Xyphias gladius) where this species account for at least 70 % of the catch in live weight after sorting;

3. 5 000 hooks per vessel for vessels targeting albacore (Thunnus alalunga) where this species account for at least 70 % of the catch in live weight after sorting;

4. By way of derogation from subparagraphs 1, 2 and 3 each vessel undertaking fishing trips longer than 2 days may have on board an equivalent number of spare hooks.

7. Trawl nets

Technical specifications limiting the maximum dimension of floatline, groundrope,

circumference or perimeter of trawl nets along with the maximum number of nets in multi-rig

trawl nets shall be adopted, by October 2007, in accordance with the procedure laid down in

Article 30 of this Regulation.

ANNEX III

Minimum Sizes of marine organisms

SCIENTIFIC NAME	COMMON NAME	Minimum size
1. Fishes
Dicentrarchus labrax	Sea-bass	25 cm
Diplodus annularis	Annular sea-bream	12 cm
Diplodus puntazzo	Sharpsnout sea-bream	18 cm
Diplodus sargus	White sea-bream	23 cm
Diplodus vulgaris	Two-banded sea-bream	18 cm
Engraulis encrasicolus *	European anchovy	9 cm
Epinephelus spp.	Groupers	45 cm
Lithognathus mormyrus	Stripped sea-bream	20 cm
Merluccius merluccius ***	Hake	20 cm
Mullus spp.	Red mullets	11 cm
Pagellus acarne	Spanish sea-bream	17 cm
Pagellus bogaraveo	Red sea-bream	33 cm
Pagellus erythrinus	Common pandora	15 cm
Pagrus pagrus	Common sea-bream	18 cm
Polyprion americanus	Wreckfish	45 cm
Sardina pilchardus**	European sardine	11 cm
Scomber spp.	Mackerel	18 cm
Solea vulgaris	Common sole	20 cm
Sparus aurata	Gilt-head sea-bream	20 cm
Trachurus spp.	Horse mackerel. Scad	15 cm

length; CL carapace length;

SCIENTIFIC NAME	COMMON NAME	Minimum size
2. Crustaceans
Homarus gammarus	Lobster	300 mm TL 105 mm CL
Nephrops norvegicus	Norway lobster	20 mm CL 70 mm TL
Palinuridae	Crawfish	90 mm CL
Parapenaeus longirostris	Deep water rose shrimp	20 mm CL
3. Mollusc bivalves
Pecten jacobeus	Scallop	10 cm
Venerupis spp.	Carpet-clams	25 mm
Venus spp.	Venus-shells	25 mm

TL total

(*)

(**)

(***)

Anchovy: Member States may convert the minimum size into 110 specimens per kg;

Sardine: Member States may convert the minimum size into 55 specimens per kg;

Hake: Nevertheless, until 31 December 2008 a margin of tolerance of 15 % of weight will be permitted for hake between 15 and 20 cm. This tolerance limit shall be complied with by both individual vessels, at sea or at the place of landing, and at the markets of first sale after landing. This limit shall also be complied with in any subsequent commercial transaction at national and international level.

ANNEXIV

Measurement of the size of a marine organism

1. The size of any fish shall be measured, as shown in Figure 1, from the tip of the snout to the end of the tail fin.

2. The size of a Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) shall be measured as shown in Figure 2:

- either as the length of the carapace, parallel to the midline, from the back of either eye socket to the midpoint of the distal dorsal edge of the carapace, or,

- as the total length, from the tip of the rostrum to the rear end of the telson, not including the setae.

3. The size of a lobster (Homarus gammarus) shall be measured as shown in Figure 3, - either as the length of the carapace, parallel to the midline, from the back of either eye socket to the midpoint of the distal dorsal edge of the carapace, or,

- as the total length, from the tip of the rostrum to the rear end of the telson, not including the setae.

4. The size of a crawfish (Palinuridae) shall be measured as shown in Figure 4 as the length of the carapace, parallel to the midline, from the tip of the rostrum to the midpoint of the distal dorsal edge of the carapace.

5. The size of any bivalve mollusc shall be measured as shown in Figure 5, across the longest part of the shell.
Figure 1
Figure 3

Figure 5

ANNEX V

25 mile management zone around Maltese Islands

(a) Authorised trawlable areas to the approaches of the Maltese islands: geographic coordinates

Zone A	Zone H
A1 — 36.0172°N, 14.1442°E	HI -35.6739°N, 14.6742°E
A2-36.0289°1M, 14.1792°E	H2 - 35.4656°N, 14.8459°E
A3 — 35.9822°N, 14.2742°E	H3 — 35.4272°N, 14.7609°E
A4 — 35.8489°N, 14.3242°E	H4-35.5106°K 14.6325°E
A5 - 35.8106°N, 14.2542°E	H5-35.6406°N, 14.6025°E
A6-35.9706°1M, 14.2459°E
Zone B	Zone I
B1 -35.7906°1M, 14.4409°E	11 -36.1489°N, 14.3909°E
B2 -35.8039°1M, 14.4909°E	12 -36.2523°N, 14.5092°E
B3 -35.7939°1M, 14.4959°E	13 -36.2373°N, 14.5259°E
B4 — 35.7522°N, 14.4242°E	14-36.1372°N, 14.4225°E
B5 -35.7606°1M, 14.4159°E
B6-35.7706°1M, 14.4325°E
Zone C	Zone J
Cl -35.8406°1M, 14.6192°E	J1 -36.2189°1M, 13.9108°E
C2-35.8556°1M, 14.6692°E	J2-36.2689°N. 14.0708°E
C3 -35.8322°1M, 14.6542°E	J3 -36.2472°N. 14.0708°E
C4-35.8022°K 14.5775°E	J4-36.1972°N. 13.9225°E

Zone D	Zone K
D1 -36.0422°1M, 14.3459°E	K1 — 35.9739°N, 14.0242°E
D2-36.0289°1M, 14.4625°E	K2-36.0022°N, 14.0408°E
D3 — 35.9989°N, 14.4559°E	K3-36.0656°K 13.9692°E
D4-36.0289°1M, 14.3409°E	K4-36.1356°K 13.8575°E K5-36.0456°K 13.9242°E
Zone E	Zone L
El -35.9789°K 14.7159°E	LI - 35.9856°N, 14.1075°E
E2-36.0072°1M, 14.8159°E	L2 — 35.9956°N, 14.1158°E
E3 -35.9389°1M, 14.7575°E	L3 -35.9572°1M, 14.0325°E
E4 — 35.8939°N, 14.6075°E	L4 — 35.9622°N, 13.9408°E
E5-35.9056°N, 14.5992°E
Zone F	Zone M
FI -36.1423°N, 14.6725°E	Ml — 36.4856°N,14.3292°E
F2-36.1439°1M, 14.7892°E	M2 — 36.4639°N,14.4342°E
F3 -36.0139°1M, 14.7892°E	M3 - 36.3606°N,14.4875°E
F4-36.0039°1M, 14.6142°E	M4 - 36.3423°N,14.4242°E M5 — 36.4156°N,14.4208°E
ZoneG	Zone N
G1 -36.0706°N, 14.9375°E	N1 -36.1155°N, 14.1217°E
G2-35.9372°K 15.0000°E	N2-36.1079°lsl, 14.0779°E
G3 -35.7956°N, 14.9825°E	N3- 36.0717°N, 14.0264°E
G4-35.7156°N, 14.8792°E	N4 - 36.0458°N, 14.0376°E
G5 -35.8489°K 14.6825°E	N5 - 36.0516°N, 14.0896°E N6-36.0989°lsl, 14.1355°E

(b) Geographic coordinates of some way-points along the 200m isobath within the 25-mile management zone

ID	Latitude	Longitude
1	36.3673°N	14.5540°E
2	36.3159°1M	14.5567°E
J	36.2735°N	14.5379°E
4	36.2357°N	14.4785°E
5	36.1699°1M	14.4316°E
6	36.1307°N	14.3534°E
7	36.1117°N	14.2127°E
8	36.1003°N	14.1658°E
9	36.0859°N	14.152°E
10	36.0547°N	14.143°E
11	35.9921°N	14.1584°E
12	35.9744°N	14.1815°E
13	35.9608°N	14.2235°E
14	35.9296°N	14.2164°E
15	35.8983°N	14.2328°E
16	35.867°N	14.4929°E
17	35.8358°N	14.2845°E
18	35.8191°1M	14.2753°E
19	35.7863°N	14.3534°E
20	35.7542°N	14.4316°E
21	35.7355°N	14.4473°E
22	35.7225°N	14.5098°E
23	35.6951°N	14.5365°E
24	35.6325°N	14.536°E

25	35.57°N	14.5221°E
26	35.5348°N	14.588°E
27	35.5037°N	14.6192°E
28	35.5128°N	14.6349°E
29	35.57°N	14.6717°E
30	35.5975°N	14.647°E
31	35.5903°N	14.6036°E
32	35.6034°N	14.574°E
JJ	35.6532°N	14.5535°E
34	35.6726°N	14.5723°E
35	35.6668°N	14.5937°E
36	35.6618°N	14.6424°E
37	35.653°N	14.666PE
38	35.57°N	14.6853°E
39	35.5294°N	14.713°E
40	35.5071°N	14.7443°E
41	35.4878°N	14.7834°E
42	35.4929°N	14.8247°E
43	35.4762°N	14.8246°E
44	36.2077°N	13.947°E
45	36.1954°N	13.96°E
46	36.1773°N	13.947°E
47	36.1848°N	13.9313°E
48	36.1954°N	13.925°E
49	35.4592°N	14.1815°E
50	35.4762°N	14.1895°E
51	35.4755°N	14.2127°E
52	35.4605°N	14.2199°E
53	3 5.4453 °N	14.1971°E

ANNEX VI

Correlation table

Regulation (EC) No 1626/94

Present Regulation

Article 1(1)

Article 1 (2) first subparagraph Article 1(2) second subparagraph Article 2(1) and (2)

Article 2(3)

Article 3(1) first subparagraph Article 3(1) second subparagraph Article 3(1) third (1 a) subparagraph Article 3(2)

Article 3(3)

Article 3(4)

Article 4 Article 5

Article 6( 1) first subparagraph and Article 6(2) Article 6(1) second subparagraph Article 6(3)

Article 7

Article 8(1) and (3)

Article 8a Article 8b Article 9 Article 10a Article 11 Annex 1 Annex 11 Annex 111 Annex IV Annex V(b)

Article 1(1)

Article 7, Article 17 and Article 19 Article 3 Article 8

Article 13(5), Article 17 and Article 19

Article 13(1) first subparagraph and (5)

Article 13(5), Article 14(2) and (3), Article 19

Article 4, Article 13(9), Article 13(10), Article 19

Article 13(1) second subparagraph and (8) and Article 19

Article 4, Article 13(10) and Article 19 Article 13(3) and (7) and Article 19 Article 7

Article 12 and Annex 11 Article 9(1) and (2)

Article 9(7), Article 14(1) and (3)

Annex 11 Definitions Article 22

Article 15, Annex 111 and Annex IV Article 26 Article 27 Article 1(2)

Article 29 Article 32

Article 3 and Article 4 Article 11, Annex 1 and Annex 11 Article 9(3), (4) and (5)

Annex 111 Annex V