TITLE IIGENERAL CONDITIONS FOR ACCESS TO WATERS AND RESOURCES

CHAPTER IV Vessel monitoring system

Article 18Requirement of satellite-tracking devices on F1... F2fishing vessels

1.

Without prejudice to Article 25(3) of this Regulation F2a F2F3United Kingdom fishing vessel subject to VMS shall not be allowed to leave a port without a fully operational satellite-tracking device installed on board.

2.

When F2a F2F4United Kingdom fishing vessel is in port, the satellite-tracking device may only be switched off if:

(a)

prior notification has been given to the fisheries monitoring centre (FMC) of F5a fisheries administration; and

(b)

providing that the next report shows that the F2F4United Kingdom fishing vessel has not changed its position in relation to the previous report.

The competent authorities of F6a fisheries administration may allow to replace the prior notification referred to in (a) with an automatic VMS message or alarm generated by the system, indicating that the F7... F2fishing vessel is within a pre-defined geographical area of a port.

3.

This Chapter shall not apply to F8... F2fishing vessels used exclusively for the exploitation of aquaculture.

Article 19Characteristics of satellite-tracking devices

1.

The satellite-tracking device installed on board F2F9United Kingdom fishing vessels shall ensure the automatic transmission to the FMC of F10a fisheries administration, at regular intervals, of data relating to:

(a)

the fishing vessel identification;

(b)

the most recent geographical position of the fishing vessel, with a position error which shall be less than 500 metres, with a confidence interval of 99 %;

(c)

the date and time (expressed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)) of the fixing of the said position of the fishing vessel; and

(d)

the instant speed and course of the fishing vessel.

2.

F11A fisheries administration must ensure that satellite-tracking devices are protected against input or output of false positions and cannot be manually over-ridden.

Article 20Responsibilities of the masters concerning the satellite-tracking devices

1.

The masters of F2a F2F12United Kingdom fishing vessel shall ensure that the satellite-tracking devices are fully operational at all times and that the data referred to in Article 19(1) of this Regulation are transmitted.

2.

Without prejudice to Article 26(1) of this Regulation, the master of F2a F2F13United Kingdom fishing vessel shall ensure in particular that:

(a)

the data are not altered in any way;

(b)

the antenna or the antennas connected to the satellite tracking devices are not obstructed, disconnected or blocked in any way;

(c)

the power supply of the satellite-tracking devices is not interrupted in any way; and

(d)

the satellite-tracking device is not removed from the fishing vessel.

3.

It shall be prohibited to destroy, damage, render inoperative or otherwise interfere with the satellite-tracking device unless the competent authorities of F14a fisheries administration have authorised its repair or replacement.

Article 21Control measures to be adopted by F15a fisheries administration

F16A fisheries administration must ensure the continuous and systematic monitoring and control of the accuracy of the data referred to in Article 19 of this Regulation, and shall act promptly whenever data are found to be inaccurate or incomplete.

Article 22Frequency of data transmission

1.

F17A fisheries administration must ensure that its FMC receives, at least once every 2 hours, through the VMS the information referred to in Article 19 of this Regulation concerning F18fishing vessels in its fleet. The FMC may require the information at shorter time intervals.

2.

The FMC shall have the capacity of polling the actual position of each of its F18fishing vessels in its fleet.

Article 23Monitoring of entry into and exit from specific areas

F19A fisheries administration must ensure that through VMS data its FMC monitors, as regards F20fishing vessels in its fleet, date and time of entry into and exit from:

  1. (a)

    any maritime area where specific rules on access to waters and resources apply;

  2. (b)

    fishing restricted areas referred to in Article 50 of the Control Regulation;

  3. (c)

    regulatory areas of the Regional Fisheries Management Organisations to which the F21United Kingdom is a party;

  4. (d)

    waters under the sovereignty and jurisdiction of a third country.

F22Article 24Transmission of data to the coastal Member State

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Article 25Technical failure or non-functioning of the satellite-tracking device

1.

In the event of a technical failure or non-functioning of the satellite-tracking device fitted on board a F2F23United Kingdom fishing vessel, the master or his representative shall, starting from the time that the event was detected or from the time that he was informed in accordance with paragraph 4 or Article 26(1) of this Regulation, communicate every 4 hours, to the FMC of F24a fisheries administration the up-to-date geographical coordinates of the fishing vessel by appropriate telecommunication means. F25...

2.

The FMC of F26a fisheries administration must enter the geographical positions referred to in paragraph 1 into the VMS database without delay on their receipt. The manual VMS data shall be clearly distinguishable in a database from automatic messages. F27...

3.

Following a technical failure or non-functioning of the satellite-tracking device, F2a F2F28United Kingdom fishing vessel may only leave port once the satellite-tracking device fitted on board is fully functioning to the satisfaction of the competent authorities of F29a fisheries administration. By derogation the FMC of F30a fisheries administration may authorise F31fishing vessels in its fleet to leave the port with a non-functioning satellite-tracking device for its repair or replacement.

4.

The competent authorities of F32a fisheries administration must seek to inform the master of or the person responsible for the vessel or their representative when the satellite-tracking device fitted on board a F2F33United Kingdom fishing vessel appears to be defective or not fully functioning.

5.

The removal of the satellite-tracking device for repair or replacement shall be subject to the approval of the competent authorities of F34a fisheries administration.

Article 26Non-receipt of data

1.

When the FMC of a F35fisheries administration has not received data transmissions in accordance with Article 22 or Article 25(1) of this Regulation for 12 consecutive hours it shall notify the master or the operator of the F2F36United Kingdom fishing vessel or their representative(s) thereof as soon as possible. If, in respect of F37a particular fishing vessel, that situation occurs more than three times within a period of a calendar year, the F38fisheries administration must ensure that the satellite-tracking device of the fishing vessel is thoroughly checked. The F38fisheries administration must investigate the matter in order to establish whether the equipment has been tampered with. By way of derogation from Article 20(2)(d) of this Regulation, that investigation may entail the removal of such equipment for examination.

2.

When the FMC of a F39fisheries administration has not received data transmissions for 12 hours in accordance with Article 22 or Article 25(1) of this Regulation and the last received position was from within the waters of F40a third country it shall notify F41the competent authority of that country thereof as soon as possible.

F423.

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Article 27Monitoring and recording of the fishing activities

F431.

A fisheries administration shall use relevant data received from other authorities for the effective monitoring of the activities of fishing vessels.

2.

F44A fisheries administration must:

(a)

ensure that data received according to this Chapter are recorded in computer-readable form and safely stored in computerised databases for at least 3 years;

(b)

take all necessary measures to ensure that they are only used for official purposes; and

(c)

take all necessary technical measures to protect such data against any accidental or illicit destruction, accidental loss, deterioration, distribution or unauthorised consultation.

F45Article 28Access to data by the Commission

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