SECTION 1 — Tropical Tunas
Discard ban
1. Union purse seine vessels shall retain on board and land all catches of tropical tunas (bigeye tuna ( Thunnus obesus ), yellowfin tuna ( Thunnus albacares ) and skipjack tuna ( Katsuwonus pelamis )), except where the master of the vessel determines that:
(a)
fish are unfit for human consumption, or
(b)
there is insufficient storage capacity to accommodate tropical tuna and the non-targeted species caught during the final set of a trip.
2. Fish referred to in paragraph 1, point (b), may only be discarded if the master and crew attempt to release the tropical tuna and the non-targeted species alive as soon as possible, while taking into consideration the safety of the crew, and no further fishing is undertaken after the discard until the tropical tuna and the non-targeted species on board the vessel have been landed or transhipped.
3. The master of a Union fishing vessel shall record the exceptions referred to in paragraph 1, points (a) and (b), in the relevant logbook, including estimated tonnage and species composition of discarded fish, and estimated tonnage and species composition of retained fish from that set.
4. For the purposes of this Article, non-targeted species includes non-targeted tuna species, as well as rainbow runner ( Elagatis bipinnulata ), dolphinfish ( Coryphaena hippurus ), triggerfish (family Balistidae ), billfish (families Xyphiidae and Istiophoridae ), wahoo ( Acanthocybium solandri ) and barracuda (family Sphyraenidae ).
Prohibition of fishing on data buoys
1. Union fishing vessels shall not intentionally fish within one nautical mile of a data buoy or interact with a data buoy in the Area, in particular by:
(a)
encircling the buoy with fishing gear;
(b)
tying up to or attaching the vessel, or any fishing gear, part or portion of the vessel, to a data buoy or its mooring; or
(c)
cutting a data buoy anchor line.
2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, Union fishing vessels may operate within one nautical mile of data buoys provided that they operate under scientific research programmes of Member States notified to the IOTC and they do not interact with those data buoys.
3. Union fishing vessels shall not take on board a data buoy in the Area, unless the owner responsible for that buoy has explicitly authorised or requested them to do so.
4. Union fishing vessels operating in the Area shall keep watch for moored data buoys at sea and shall take all reasonable measures to avoid fishing gear entanglement or directly interacting in any way with those data buoys. When a Union fishing vessel’s gear becomes entangled with a data buoy, it shall remove the entangled fishing gear with as little damage to the data buoy as possible.
5. Union fishing vessels shall report to their flag Member States any data buoy that they have observed to be damaged or otherwise inoperable, along with the details of observation, the buoy’s location, and any discernible identifying information on it. Member States shall send such reports, and information on the location of data buoys assets that they have deployed throughout the Area to the Commission, in accordance with Article 51(5).
Billfishes
1. Union fishing vessels shall not retain on board, tranship, or land, any specimens of striped marlin ( Tetrapturus audax ), black marlin ( Istiompax indica ), blue marlin ( Makaira nigricans ) or Indo-pacific sailfish ( Istiophorus platypterus ) with a lower jaw fork length of less than 60 cm. If they catch such fish, they shall return them immediately to the sea, in a manner that maximises post-release survival potential without compromising the safety of the crew.
2. Union fishing vessels catching striped marlin, black marlin, blue marlin or Indo-pacific sailfish shall record the relevant catch and effort data in accordance with Annex 1.
3. Member States shall implement a data collection programme to ensure accurate reporting of striped marlin, black marlin, blue marlin or Indo-pacific sailfish catches in accordance with Article 51(1).
4. Member States shall report on actions taken to monitor catches and to manage fisheries for the sustainable exploitation and conservation of striped marlin, black marlin, blue marlin and Indo-pacific sailfish in their national scientific report in accordance with Article 51(6).
Blue sharks
1. Catches of blue shark ( Prionace glauca ) by Union fishing vessels shall be recorded in the logbook in accordance with Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009.
2. Member States shall implement data collection programmes to ensure improved reporting of accurate blue shark catch, effort, size and discard data. Member States shall report data on catches of blue sharks in accordance with Article 51(1).
3. Member States shall include in their implementation report information on the actions taken to monitor catches of blue sharks in accordance with Article 51(5).
4. Member States are encouraged to undertake scientific research on blue shark that would provide information on key biological, ecological, behavioural characteristics, life-history, migrations, post-release survival and guidelines for safe release and identification of nursery grounds, as well as improving fishing practices. Such information shall be included in the reports that are sent to the Commission in accordance with Article 51(6).
SECTION 4 — Fishing using aircraft, FADs and artificial lights
Prohibition of the use of aircraft to catch fish
1. Union fishing vessels, including support and supply vessels, shall not use aircraft or unmanned aerial vehicles as fishing aids. Any occurrence of a fishing operation undertaken in the Area with the aid of aircraft or an unmanned aerial vehicle shall be immediately reported to the flag Member State, the Commission or a body designated by it. The Commission, or a body designated by it, shall inform the IOTC Secretariat thereof without delay.
2. Aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles may be used for scientific, monitoring, control and surveillance purposes.
Fish aggregating devices
1. Union fishing vessels shall record fishing activities in association with drifting FADs and anchored FADs, separately, using the specific data elements set out in Annex 2. Member States shall send that information to the Commission in accordance with Article 51.
2. Daily information on all active FADs shall be transmitted to the Commission containing the following information: date, instrumented buoy identification and assigned vessel and daily position, compiled at monthly intervals and submitted not earlier than 60 days but no later than 90 days after the monthly compilation of the information concerned. The Commission shall send that information to the IOTC Secretariat.
3. Member States shall draw up national management plans for the use of drifting FADs by their purse seine vessels. Those management plans shall:
(a)
as a minimum follow the guidelines set out in Annex II to CMM 19/02;
(b)
include initiatives or surveys to investigate, and to the extent possible, minimise the capture of small bigeye and yellowfin tuna and non-target species associated with FADs; and
(c)
include guidelines to prevent, to the extent possible, the loss or abandonment of FADs.
4. No later than 75 days before the IOTC annual meeting, Member States shall submit to the Commission, in accordance with Article 51(5), a report on the progress of the management plans of FADs, including reviews of the initially submitted management plans and reviews of the application of the principles of Annex V to CMM 19/02. The Commission shall send that information to the IOTC Secretariat no later than 60 days before the IOTC annual meeting.
Non-entangling and biodegradable FADs
1. Union fishing vessels shall use non-entangling designs and materials for the construction of FADs ensuring that the surface structure of the FAD is not covered or is covered only with non-meshed material. If a sub-surface component is used, it shall not be made from netting but from non-meshed materials, such as ropes or canvas sheets.
2. Union fishing vessels shall endeavour to transition to the use of biodegradable FADs in all circumstances except for materials used for the instrumented buoys.
3. Operators shall endeavour to conduct trials using biodegradable materials to facilitate the transition to the use of only biodegradable material for drifting FADs construction by their fleets.
Prohibition of the use of artificial lights to attract fish
1. Union fishing vessels shall not use, install or operate surface or submerged artificial lights for the purpose of aggregating tuna and tuna-like species beyond territorial waters.
2. The use of lights on drifting FADs is prohibited.
3. Where Union fishing vessels encounter drifting FADs equipped with artificial lights in the Area, they shall immediately remove them and bring them back to port.
4. Union fishing vessels shall not conduct fishing activities around or near any vessel or drifting FAD equipped with artificial lights for the purpose of attracting tuna and tuna-like species in the Area.
5. Navigation lights and lights necessary to ensure safe working conditions shall not be subject to the prohibition laid down in paragraph 1.
SECTION 5 — Transhipments in port
Transhipment
All transhipment operations of IOTC species shall take place in ports designated in accordance with Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008, or in ports designated and publicised for that purpose by a CPC and communicated to the IOTC Secretariat.
Transhipment operations
1. Transhipment operations in port may only be undertaken in accordance with the following procedure:
(a)
prior to transhipping, the master of a Union fishing vessel shall notify the following information to the port state authorities, at least 48 hours in advance:
—
the name of the fishing vessel and its number in the IOTC record of fishing vessels;
—
the name of the carrier vessel, and the product to be transhipped;
—
the tonnage by product to be transhipped;
—
the date and location of transhipment;
—
the major fishing grounds of the tuna and tuna-like species and sharks catches;
(b)
the master of a Union fishing vessel shall record and transmit by electronic means a transhipment declaration in accordance with Article 22 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009.
2. No later than 15 days after the transhipment, the master of a Union fishing vessel concerned shall complete the IOTC transhipment declaration and transmit it to its flag Member State in one of the official languages of the IOTC, along with the vessel’s number in the IOTC record of fishing vessels. The master of a Union carrier vessel shall also, within 24 hours after the transhipment, complete and transmit to the competent port state authorities the IOTC transhipment declaration in one of the official languages of the IOTC.
Landing of transhipped catches by Union carrier vessels
1. By way of derogation from Article 17(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009, the period for prior notification shall be at least 48 hours before the estimated time of arrival at the port.
2. Member States where transhipped catches are landed shall take the appropriate measures to verify the accuracy of the information received and shall cooperate with the flag Member State of the carrier vessel, the port State where the transhipment took place and the flag states of the catching fishing vessels involved to ensure that landings are consistent with the catch amount reported for each fishing vessel. That verification shall be carried out in such a way that the carrier vessel suffers the minimum interference and inconvenience and that degradation of the fish is avoided.
3. The master of a Union carrier vessel landing in a third country shall, at least 48 hours before entry into port and in addition to the prior notification referred to in paragraph 1, give prior notification in accordance with the national legislation of the third country in whose port the vessel intends to land transhipped catches. The master shall also send the IOTC transhipment declaration in one of the official languages of the IOTC to the competent authorities of the State in which transhipped catches are to be landed and shall not land before being authorised to do so.
4. Where landings take place in a third country, the master of the carrier vessel shall cooperate with the port state authorities.
5. Flag Member States of the Union fishing vessels shall include details on the transhipments by its vessels in their reports in accordance with Article 51(5).
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
