Commission Regulation (EC) No 517/2008
of 10 June 2008
laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 850/98 as regards the determination of the mesh size and assessing the thickness of twine of fishing nets
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 850/98 of 30 March 1998 for the conservation of fishery resources through technical measures for the protection of juveniles of marine organisms1, and in particular Article 48 thereof,
Whereas:
Regulation (EC) No 850/98 lays down technical conservation measures applying to the taking and landing of fishery resources in maritime waters under the sovereignty or jurisdiction of the Member States. It provides, inter alia, that detailed rules are to be adopted for the assessment of twine thickness and the determination of mesh size of fishing nets.
Commission Regulation (EC) No 129/2003 of 24 January 2003 laying down detailed rules for determining the mesh size and thickness of twine of fishing nets2 contains certain technical rules concerning the use of gauges for determining the mesh size and twine thickness of fishing nets. However, the current use of those gauges by fishery inspectors has resulted in certain cases in disputes between fishery inspectors and fishermen as regards the methods and the results of measuring the meshes depending on how those instruments were used.
In addition, recent technical progresses relating to the development of instruments for determining the mesh seize of fishing nets have increased their accuracy. It is appropriate to provide for the use of those improved instruments by Community and national fishery inspectors. Accordingly, the use of the new gauge should be mandatory for Community inspectors and the national fishery inspectors of the Member States and marked as ‘EC gauge’.
For the purposes of the control procedure it is necessary to specify the types of gauge to be used, how they are to be used, how the meshes to be measured are to be chosen, the method by which each of them is to be measured, how the mesh size of the net is to be calculated, the procedure for the selection of twines of meshes for the assessment of thickness of twine, and to describe the sequence of the inspection procedure.
Where the master of the fishing vessel disputes the result of a measurement in the course of an inspection, provision should be made for a further and final measurement.
In the interests of clarity of Community legislation, Regulation (EC) No 129/2003 should be repealed and replaced by this Regulation.
The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Fisheries Resources and Aquaculture,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: