Article 11 
1. ‘Drift net’ means: any gillnet held on the sea surface or at a certain distance below it by floating devices, drifting with the current, either independently or with the boat to which it may be attached. It may be equipped with devices aiming to stabilise the net or to limit its drift. 2. No vessel may keep on board, or use for fishing, one or more drift nets whose individual or total length is more than 2,5 kilometres.
Article 11a 
1. From 1 January 2002, no vessel may keep on board, or use for fishing, one or more drift-nets intended for the capture of species listed in Annex VIII. 2. From 1 January 2002, it is prohibited to land species listed in Annex VIII which have been caught in drift-nets. 3. Until 31 December 2001, a vessel may keep on board, or use for fishing, one or more drift-nets referred to in paragraph 1 after receiving authorisation from the competent authorities of the flag Member State. In 1998, the maximum number of vessels which may be authorised by a Member State to keep on board, or use for fishing, one or more drift-nets shall not exceed 60 % of the fishing vessels which used one or more drift-nets during the period 1995 to 1997. 4. Member States shall communicate to the Commission for each target species by 30 April of each year, the list of vessels authorised to carry out fishing activities using the drift-nets referred to in paragraph 3; for 1998, the information shall be sent not later than 31 July 1998.
Article 11b 
1. All fishing vessels using one or more drift-nets intended for the capture of species listed in Annex VIII shall operate under the following conditions: — during fishing activity, the vessel must keep the net under constant visual observation, — floating buoys, with radar reflectors, must be moored to each end of the netting, so that its position can be determined at any time. The buoys must be permanently marked with the registration letter(s) and number of the vessel to which they belong. 2. The master of a fishing vessel using one or more drift-nets referred to in paragraph 1 shall keep a logbook in which he must record the following information on a day-to-day basis: — the total length of the nets on board, — the total length of the nets used in each fishing operation, — the quantity of each species caught during each fishing operation, including by-catches and discards at sea, in particular cetaceans, reptiles and sea-birds, — the quantity of each species held on board, — the date and position of such catches. 3. All masters referred to in paragraph 2 shall forward to the competent authorities of the Member State of landing a declaration giving at least the quantities of each species landed and the catch dates and zones. 4. Masters of vessels using one or more drift-nets referred to in paragraph 1 who wish to use a landing location in a Member State shall notify the competent authorities in the Member State concerned, at least two hours before arrival in port, of the planned landing location and time of arrival. 5. All fishing vessels using one or more drift-nets referred to in paragraph 1 shall keep on board the prior authorisation to fish issued by the competent authorities of the flag Member State. 6. In the case of failure to comply with the obligations laid down in Articles 11 and 11a and this Article, the competent authorities shall take appropriate measures in respect of the vessels concerned, in accordance with Article 31 of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93.
Article 11c 
With the exception of waters covered by Council Regulation (EC) No 88/98 of 18 December 1997 laying down certain technical measures for the conservation of fishery resources in the waters of the Baltic Sea, the Belts and the Sound ( 6 ) and notwithstanding Article 1(1), Articles 11, 11a and 11b shall apply in all waters falling within the sovereignty of jurisdiction of the Member States and, outside those waters shall apply to all Community fishing vessels.
Article 18 
Detailed rules for the implementation of this Regulation shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 18 of Regulation (EEC) No 3760/92.
Article 19 
Regulation (EEC) No 3094/86 is hereby repealed. References to the said Regulation shall be construed as references to this Regulation and should be read in accordance with the correlation table set out in Part A of Annex VII.
Article 20 
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities . However, the provisions of Article 2 (10) and of Annexes V and VI shall enter into force on 31 December 1997. This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.