1.The exemption from the landing obligation pursuant to Article 15(4)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 for species for which scientific evidence demonstrates high survival rates shall apply in 2017 to turbot (Psetta maxima) caught with bottom-set gillnets (GNS) in the Black Sea.
2.Turbot (Psetta maxima) caught in the circumstances referred to in paragraph 1 shall be released immediately in the area where it has been caught.
3.By 1 May 2017, Member States having a direct management interest in the turbot fisheries in the Black Sea shall submit to the Commission additional discard data to those provided for in the Joint Recommendation of 4 July 2016 and any other relevant scientific information supporting the exemption laid down in paragraph 1. The Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) shall assess those data referred in paragraph 3 by July 2017 at the latest.