Council Regulation (EC) No 51/2006Show full title

USE OF FISHING GEAR

16. Notification of fishing gear

Before the first day of each management period the master of a vessel or his representative shall notify to the authorities of the flag Member State which gear or gears he intends to use during the forthcoming management period. Until such notification is provided the vessel shall not be entitled to fish within the areas defined in point 2 with any of the gears referred to in point 4.

17. Use of more than one grouping of fishing gear

17.1. A vessel may use gears belonging to more than one grouping of fishing gears defined under point 4 during one management period.

17.2 Where the master of a vessel or his representative notifies the use of more than one of the groupings of fishing gears defined under point 4, the total number of days available during the forthcoming management period shall be no more than the arithmetic mean of the days which the vessel is eligible for each gear, rounded down to the nearest whole day. It shall not be permitted to deploy any of the gears concerned for more days than the number of days laid down for that gear in Table I for the area concerned.

17.3. The option to use more than one gear shall only be available if the following additional monitoring arrangements are met:

(a)

during a given trip the fishing vessel may carry on board or use only one of the fishing gears referred to in point 4, except as provided for in point 19.2;

(b)

before any trip the master of a vessel or his representative shall give prior notice to the competent authorities of the type of fishing gear that is to be carried on board or used unless the type of fishing gear has not changed from the one notified for the previous trip.

17.4. Inspection and surveillance at sea and in port by the competent authorities shall be undertaken for verification of compliance with the above two requirements. Any vessel found to be not complying with these requirements shall with immediate effect no longer be permitted to use two groupings of fishing gears.

18. Combined use of regulated and unregulated fishing gear

A vessel wishing to combine the use of one or more of the fishing gears referred to in point 4 (regulated gears) with any other fishing gears not referred to in point 4 (unregulated gears) shall not be restricted in their use of the unregulated gear. Such vessels must pre-notify when the regulated gear is to be used. When no such notification has been given no gear referred to in point 4 may be carried on board. Such vessels must be authorised and equipped to undertake the alternative fishing activity.

19. Prohibition of carrying on board more than one regulated fishing gear

19.1. A vessel which is present within any of the areas defined in point 2 and carrying on board a fishing gear belonging to one of the groupings of fishing gears referred to in point 4 may not simultaneously carry on board any gear belonging to one of the other groupings of fishing gears referred to in point 4.

19.2. By way of derogation from point 19.1 a vessel may carry on board in an area referred to in point 2 fishing gears belonging to different groupings of fishing gears if the number of days allocated to these gear groups in that area is identical.