Without prejudice to special rules established by a Regional Fisheries Management Organisation or agreed with a third country, F1F2United Kingdom fishing vessels identified for the application of a control observer scheme shall carry at least one control observer on board during the time fixed by the scheme.

F3A fisheries administration must designate control observers and ensure they are able to carry out their tasks. F3A fisheries administration must ensure in particular the deployment of control observers to and from the F1F4United Kingdom fishing vessel concerned.

Control observers shall not perform other tasks than those established Article 73 of the Control Regulation and in Article 95 of this Regulation unless other tasks are to be performed pursuant to the F5... control observer scheme or as a part of an observer programme under the scope of a Regional Fisheries Management Organisation or established in the framework of a bilateral agreement with a third country.

The competent authorities shall ensure that for the purposes of their mission control observers have means of communication independent from the communication system of the fishing vessel.

These rules do not affect the powers of the master of the fishing vessel as being in sole charge of the operations of the vessel.