Council Regulation (EC) No 43/2009Show full title

CHAPTER XIV SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR COMMUNITY VESSELS FISHING IN THE ICCAT AREA

Article 88 Reduction of sea-birds by-catch

1. Member States shall collect all available information on interactions with seabirds, including incidental catches by their fishing vessels and shall transmit that information to the ICCAT Secretariat and the Commission.

2. Member States shall seek to achieve reductions in levels of seabird by catch across all fishing areas, seasons, and fisheries through the use of effective mitigation measures.

3. Community vessels fishing south of 20^oS shall carry and use bird-scaring lines (tori poles) according to following technical provisions:

(a) tori poles shall meet the conditions on the tori pole design and be in accordance with the deployment guidelines adopted by ICCAT;

(b) tori lines are to be deployed prior to longlines entering the water at all times south of 20^oS;

(c) where practical vessels shall use a second tori pole and bird-scaring line at times of high bird abundance or activity;

(d) back-up tori lines shall be carried by all vessels and be ready for immediate use.

4. By way of derogation from paragraph 3, Community longline vessels targeting swordfish may use monofilament longline gear, provided that these vessels:

(a) set their longlines during the period between nautical dusk/dawn as laid down in the nautical dusk/dawn almanac for the geographical position fished;

(b) use a minimum swivel weight of 60 g placed not more than 3 m from the hook to achieve optimum sink rates.

Article 89 Establishment of a closed area/fishing season of the swordfish fisheries in Mediterranean Sea

In order to protect the swordfish, in particular small fish, fishing for swordfish in Mediterranean Sea shall be prohibited from 1 October to 30 November 2009.

Article 90 Minimum size for Atlantic swordfish

Incidental captures of Atlantic swordfish, which is regarded as undersized in accordance with Article 8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 520/2007, are tolerated if these incidental captures do not exceed 15 %, expressed in numbers of individuals per landing, of the total swordfish catch of the concerned vessel.

Article 91 Sharks

1. Member States shall take appropriate measures to reduce fishing mortality in fisheries targeting North Atlantic shortfin mako.

2. Community vessels fishing shall promptly release alive and unharmed bigeye thresher sharks (Alopias superciliosus) caught in association with fisheries managed by ICCAT, when brought along side for taking on board the vessel.

Incidental catches and live releases shall be recorded in the logbook.

Article 92 Closed fishing season for bluefin tuna

1. Bluefin tuna fishing in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean shall be prohibited for large-scale pelagic longline vessels with overall length over 24 meters during the period from 1 June to 31 December.

By way of derogation from the first subparagraph, in the area delimited by west of 10^o W and north of 42^o N, such fishing shall be prohibited for such vessels from 1 February to 31 July.

2. Purse seine fishing for bluefin tuna in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean shall be prohibited during the period from 15 June to 15 April.

3. Bluefin tuna fishing by bait boats and trolling boats in the Eastern Atlantic shall be prohibited during the period from 15 October to 15 June.

4. Bluefin tuna fishing by pelagic trawlers in the Eastern Atlantic shall be prohibited during the period from 15 October to 15 June.

5. Bluefin tuna recreational and sport fishing in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean shall be prohibited from 15 October to 15 June.

Article 93 Recreational and sport fisheries for bluefin tuna

Member States shall allocate, from their quotas allocated in Annex ID, a specific quota of bluefin tuna for recreational and sport fisheries.