(12)

the following articles are inserted: ‘Article 29c Rockall Haddock box in ICES sub-area VI 1. All fishing of Rockall haddock, except with longlines, shall be prohibited in the areas enclosed by sequentially joining with rhumb lines the following coordinates, which shall be measured according to the WGS84 system: — 57°00′ N, 15°00′ W — 57°00′ N, 14°00′ W — 56°30′ N, 14°00′ W — 56°30′ N, 15°00′ W — 57°00′ N, 15°00′ W. Article 29d Restrictions on fishing for cod, haddock and whiting in ICES sub-area VI 1. It shall be prohibited to conduct any fishing activity for cod, haddock and whiting within that part of ICES division VIa that lies to the east or to the south of those rhumb lines which sequentially join the following coordinates, which shall be measured according to the WGS84 system: — 54°30′ N, 10°35′ W — 55°20′ N, 09°50′ W — 55°30′ N, 09°20′ W — 56°40′ N, 08°55′ W — 57°00′ N, 09°00′ W — 57°20′ N, 09°20′ W — 57°50′ N, 09°20′ W — 58°10′ N, 09°00′ W — 58°40′ N, 07°40′ W — 59°00′ N, 07°30′ W — 59°20′ N, 06°30′ W — 59°40′ N, 06°05′ W — 59°40′ N, 05°30′ W — 60°00′ N, 04°50′ W — 60°15′ N, 04°00′ W. 2. Any fishing vessel present within the area referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall ensure that any fishing gears carried on board are lashed and stowed in accordance with Article 47 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 of 20 November 2009 establishing a Community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the common fisheries policy (10). 3. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, it shall be permitted to conduct fishing activities within the area referred to in that paragraph using inshore static nets fixed with stakes, scallop dredges, mussel dredges, handlines, mechanised jigging, draft nets and beach seines, pots and creels, provided that: (a) no fishing gears other than inshore static nets fixed with stakes, scallop dredges, mussel dredges, handlines, mechanised jigging, draft nets and beach seines, pots and creels are carried on board or deployed; and (b) no fish other than mackerel, pollack, saithe and salmon, or shellfish other than molluscs and crustaceans are retained on board, landed or brought ashore. 4. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, it shall be permitted to conduct fishing activities within the area referred to in that paragraph using nets with a mesh size of less than 55 millimetres, provided that: (a) no net of mesh size greater than or equal to 55 millimetres is carried on board; and (b) no fish other than herring, mackerel, pilchard/sardines, sardinelles, horse mackerel, sprat, blue whiting, boarfish and argentines are retained on board. 5. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, it shall be permitted to conduct fishing activities within the area referred to in that paragraph using gillnets of mesh size greater than 120 millimetres, provided that: (a) they are only deployed in the area south of 59° N; (b) the maximum length of gillnet deployed is 20 km per vessel; (c) the maximum soak time is 24 hours; and (d) no more than 5 % of the catch is made up of whiting and cod. 6. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, it shall be permitted to conduct fishing activities within the area referred to in that paragraph using gillnets with a mesh size that is greater than 90 millimetres, provided that: (a) they are only deployed within 3 nautical miles of the coastline and for a maximum of 10 days per calendar month; (b) the maximum length of gillnet deployed is 1 000 metres; (c) the maximum soak time is 24 hours; and (d) at least 70 % of the catch is made up of lesser spotted dogfish. 7. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, it shall be permitted to fish for Norway lobster within the area set out in that paragraph, provided that: (a) the fishing gear used incorporates a sorting grid in accordance with points 2 to 5 of Annex XIVa, or a square-mesh panel as described in Annex XIVc, or is another gear with equivalent high selectivity; (b) the fishing gear is constructed with a minimum mesh size of 80 millimetres; (c) at least 30 % of the retained catch by weight is Norway lobster. The Commission shall, on the basis of a favourable opinion by STECF, adopt implementing acts, determining which gears are to be considered to have equivalent high selectivity for the purpose of point (a). 8. Paragraph 7 shall not apply within the area enclosed by sequentially joining with rhumb lines the following coordinates, which shall be measured according to the WGS84 system: — 59°05′ N, 06°45′ W — 59°30′ N, 06°00′ W — 59°40′ N, 05°00′ W — 60°00′ N, 04°00′ W — 59°30′ N, 04°00′ W — 59°05′ N, 06°45′ W. 9. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, it shall be permitted to fish with trawls, demersal seines or similar gears within the area set out in that paragraph, provided that: (a) all nets on board the vessel are constructed with a minimum mesh size of 120 millimetres for vessels with an overall length of more than 15 metres and of 110 millimetres for all other vessels; (b) where the catch retained on board includes less than 90 % saithe the fishing gear used incorporates a square mesh panel as described in Annex XIVc; and (c) where the overall length of the vessel is less than or equal to 15 metres, regardless of the quantity of saithe retained on board, the fishing gear used incorporates a square-mesh panel as described in Annex XIVd. 10. No later than 1 January 2015 and no later than every two years thereafter, the Commission shall, in the light of scientific advice by STECF, assess the characteristics of gears specified in paragraph 9 and, where appropriate, submit to the European Parliament and to the Council a proposal for amendment of paragraph 9. 11. Paragraph 9 shall not apply within the area enclosed by sequentially joining with rhumb lines the following coordinates, which shall be measured according to the WGS84 system: — 59°05′ N, 06°45′ W — 59°30′ N, 06°00′ W — 59°40′ N, 05°00′ W — 60°00′ N, 04°00′ W — 59°30′ N, 04°00′ W — 59°05′ N, 06°45′ W. 12. From 1 January to 31 March, and from 1 October to 31 December each year, it shall be prohibited to conduct any fishing activity using any of the gears specified in Annex I to Council Regulation (EC) No 1342/2008 of 18 December 2008 establishing a long-term plan for cod stocks and the fisheries exploiting those stocks (11) in the area specified in ICES area VIa enclosed by sequentially joining with rhumb lines the following coordinates, which shall be measured according to the WGS84 system: — 55°25′ N, 07°07′ W — 55°25′ N, 07°00′ W — 55°18′ N, 06°50′ W — 55°17′ N, 06°50′ W — 55°17′ N, 06°52′ W — 55°25′ N, 07°07′ W. Neither the master of a fishing vessel nor any other person on board shall cause or permit a person on board to attempt to fish for, land, tranship or have on board fish caught in the specified area. 13. Each Member State concerned shall implement an onboard observer programme from 1 January to 31 December each year in order to sample the catches and discards of vessels benefiting from the derogations provided for in paragraphs 5, 6, 7 and 9. The observer programmes shall be carried out without prejudice to the obligations under the respective rules and shall aim to estimate cod, haddock and whiting catches and discards with a precision of at least 20 %. 14. Member States concerned shall produce a report on the total amount of catches and discards made by vessels subject to the observer programme during each calendar year and shall submit it to the Commission no later than 1 February of the following calendar year. 15. No later than 1 January 2015 and no later than every two years thereafter, the Commission shall assess the state of cod, haddock and whiting stocks in the area specified in paragraph 1 in the light of scientific advice by STECF and, where appropriate, submit to the European Parliament and the Council a proposal for the amendment of this Article. Article 29e Restrictions on fishing for cod in ICES sub-area VII 1. From 1 February until 31 March each year, it shall be prohibited to conduct any fishing activity in ICES sub-area VII in the area which consists of ICES statistical rectangles: 30E4, 31E4, 32E3. This prohibition shall not apply within 6 nautical miles from the baseline. 2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, it shall be permitted to conduct fishing activities using inshore static nets fixed with stakes, scallop dredges, mussel dredges, draft nets and beach seines, handlines, mechanised jigging, pots and creels within the area and time periods referred to in that paragraph, provided that: (a) no fishing gears other than inshore static nets fixed with stakes, scallop dredges, mussel dredges, draft nets and beach seines, handlines, mechanised jigging, pots and creels are carried on board or deployed; and (b) no fish other than mackerel, pollack, salmon, or shellfish other than molluscs and crustaceans are landed, retained on board or brought ashore. 3. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, it shall be permitted to conduct fishing activities within the area referred to in that paragraph using nets of mesh size less than 55 millimetres, provided that: (a) no net of mesh size greater than or equal to 55 millimetres is carried on board; and (b) no fish other than herring, mackerel, pilchard/sardines, sardinelles, horse mackerel, sprat, blue whiting, boarfish and argentines are retained on board. Article 29f Special rules for the protection of blue ling 1. From 1 March to 31 May each year it shall be prohibited to retain on board any quantity of blue ling in excess of 6 tonnes per fishing trip in the areas of ICES division VIa enclosed by sequentially joining with rhumb lines the following coordinates, which shall be measured according to the WGS84 system: (a) Edge of Scottish continental shelf — 59°58′ N, 07°00′ W — 59°55′ N, 06°47′ W — 59°51′ N, 06°28′ W — 59°45′ N, 06°38′ W — 59°27′ N, 06°42′ W — 59°22′ N, 06°47′ W — 59°15′ N, 07°15′ W — 59°07′ N, 07°31′ W — 58°52′ N, 07°44′ W — 58°44′ N, 08°11′ W — 58°43′ N, 08°27′ W — 58°28′ N, 09°16′ W — 58°15′ N, 09°32′ W — 58°15′ N, 09°45′ W — 58°30′ N, 09°45′ W — 59°30′ N, 07°00′ W — 59°58′ N, 07°00′ W; (b) Edge of Rosemary bank — 60°00′ N, 11°00′ W — 59°00′ N, 11°00′ W — 59°00′ N, 09°00′ W — 59°30′ N, 09°00′ W — 59°30′ N, 10°00′ W — 60°00′ N, 10°00′ W — 60°00′ N, 11°00′ W Not including the area enclosed by sequentially joining with rhumb lines the following coordinates, which shall be measured according to the WGS84 system: — 59°15′ N, 10°24′ W — 59°10′ N, 10°22′ W — 59°08′ N, 10°07′ W — 59°11′ N, 09°59′ W — 59°15′ N, 09°58′ W — 59°22′ N, 10°02′ W — 59°23′ N, 10°11′ W — 59°20′ N, 10°19′ W — 59°15′ N, 10°24′ W. 2. When entering and exiting the areas referred to in paragraph 1, the master of a fishing vessel shall record the date, time and place of entry and exit in the logbook. 3. In either of the two areas referred to in paragraph 1, if a vessel reaches the 6 tonnes of blue ling: (a) it shall immediately cease fishing and exit the area in which it is present; (b) it may not re-enter either of the areas until its catch has been landed; (c) it may not return to the sea any quantity of blue ling. 4. The observers referred to in Article 8 of Council Regulation (EC) No 2347/2002 of 16 December 2002 establishing specific access requirements and associated conditions applicable to fishing for deep-sea stocks (12) who are assigned to fishing vessels present in one of the areas referred to in paragraph 1 shall, in addition to the tasks referred to in paragraph 4 of that Article, for appropriate samples of the catches of blue ling, measure the fish in the samples and determine the stage of sexual maturity of subsampled fish. On the basis of advice from STECF, Member States shall establish detailed protocols for sampling and for the collation of results. 5. From 15 February to 15 April each year, it shall be prohibited to use bottom trawls, longlines and gillnets within an area enclosed by sequentially joining with rhumb lines the following coordinates, which shall be measured according to the WGS84 system: — 60°58.76′ N, 27°27.32′ W — 60°56.02′ N, 27°31.16′ W — 60°59.76′ N, 27°43.48′ W — 61°03.00′ N, 27°39.41′ W — 60°58.76′ N, 27°27.32′ W. Article 29g Measures for the redfish fishery in international waters of ICES sub-areas I and II 1. Directed fishing for redfish in the international waters of ICES sub-areas I and II shall only be permitted within the period from 1 July to 31 December each year by vessels which have previously been engaged in the redfish fishery in the NEAFC Regulatory Area, as defined in Article 3(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1236/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2010 laying down a scheme of control and enforcement applicable in the area covered by the Convention on future multilateral cooperation in the North-East Atlantic fisheries (13). 2. Vessels shall limit their by-catches of redfish in other fisheries to a maximum of 1 % of the total catch retained on board. 3. The conversion factor to be applied to the gutted and headed presentation, including the Japanese cut presentation, of redfish caught in this fishery shall be 1,70. 4. By way of derogation from Article 9(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 1236/2010, masters of fishing vessels engaged in this fishery shall report their catches on a daily basis. 5. In addition to the provisions of Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 1236/2010, an authorisation to fish for redfish shall only be valid if the reports transmitted by vessels are in accordance with Article 9(1) of that Regulation and are recorded in accordance with Article 9(3) thereof. 6. Member States shall ensure that scientific information is collected by scientific observers on board vessels flying their flag. As a minimum, the information collected shall include representative data on sex, age and length composition by depths. This information shall be reported to ICES by the competent authorities in the Member States. 7. The Commission shall inform Member States of the date on which the NEAFC Secretariat notifies the NEAFC Contracting Parties that the total allowable catch (TAC) has been fully utilised. Member States shall prohibit directed fishery for redfish by vessels flying their flag from that date. Article 29h Measures for the redfish fishery in the Irminger Sea and adjacent waters 1. It shall be prohibited to catch redfish in international waters of ICES sub-area V and Union waters of ICES sub-areas XII and XIV. By way of derogation from the first subparagraph, it shall be permitted to catch redfish from 11 May to 31 December in the area enclosed by sequentially joining with rhumb lines the following coordinates, which shall be measured according to the WGS84 system (the “Redfish Conservation Area”): — 64°45′ N, 28°30′ W — 62°50′ N, 25°45′ W — 61°55′ N, 26°45′ W — 61°00′ N, 26°30′ W — 59°00′ N, 30°00′ W — 59°00′ N, 34°00′ W — 61°30′ N, 34°00′ W — 62°50′ N, 36°00′ W — 64°45′ N, 28°30′ W. 2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, a fishery for redfish may be permitted, by a Union legal act, outside the Redfish Conservation Area in the Irminger Sea and adjacent waters from 11 May to 31 December each year on the basis of scientific advice and provided that NEAFC has established a recovery plan in respect of redfish in that geographical area. Only Union vessels that have been duly authorised by their respective Member State and notified to the Commission as required under Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 1236/2010 shall participate in this fishery. 3. It shall be prohibited to use trawls with a mesh size of less than 100 millimetres. 4. The conversion factor to be applied to the gutted and headed presentation, including the Japanese cut presentation, of redfish caught in this fishery shall be 1,70. 5. Masters of fishing vessels engaged in the fishery outside the Redfish Conservation Area shall transmit the catch report provided for in Article 9(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 1236/2010 on a daily basis after the fishing operations of that calendar day have been completed. It shall indicate the catches on board taken since the last communication of catches. 6. In addition to the provisions of Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 1236/2010, an authorisation to fish for redfish shall only be valid if the reports transmitted by vessels are in accordance with Article 9(1) of that Regulation and are recorded in accordance with Article 9(3) thereof. 7. The reports referred to in paragraph 6 shall be made in accordance with the relevant rules.