1. Any craft or FAD carried on board Union catching vessels shall be marked with:
(a)
the external registration letters and number(s) of the Union catching vessel(s) using them, or with another identifier required under the applicable regional fisheries management organisation (RFMO) rules; and
(b)
a unique identification number, where available.
2. It shall be prohibited to carry out fishing activities with craft or FADs which are not identifiable and marked in accordance with paragraph 1.
General rules on the marking of trawls, passive gear, marker buoys and cords
1. The provisions contained in Articles 10 to 13 on the marking of gear shall apply to gear used by Union catching vessels in all Union waters.
2. The provisions contained in Articles 14 to 18 on marker buoys and cords shall apply to Union catching vessels carrying out fishing operations in waters outside 12 nautical miles measured from the coastal Member State’s territorial sea baseline. Unless otherwise provided under the rules of the common fisheries policy, coastal Member States may extend the relevant requirements to waters within 12 nautical miles from their territorial sea baseline.
3. Unless otherwise provided under Union legislation, it shall be prohibited to:
(a)
carry out fishing activities with passive gear, marker buoys, or trawls which are not marked and identifiable in accordance with the provisions of Articles 11 to 18; and
(b)
carry on board:
(i)
trawls which do not comply with the conditions in Article 11;
(ii)
passive gear which do not comply with the conditions in Article 12(2); and
(iii)
buoys and cords linking the buoys to the passive gear which are not marked in accordance with Article 14 and Article 15(3).
The master of a Union catching vessel, or their representative shall ensure that each trawl, including trawl’s equipment, carried on board or used to conduct fishing operations clearly displays the external registration letters and number(s) of that catching vessel on all the following parts:
(a)
the beam of each beam trawl assembly, where present;
(b)
the trawl door, where present;
(c)
each selvedge of the upper section of the codend.
1. The master of a Union catching vessel, or their representative shall ensure that each passive gear carried on board or used for fishing is clearly marked and identifiable in accordance with the provisions of this Article.
2. Each passive gear used for fishing shall permanently display the external registration letters and number(s) shown on the hull of the catching vessel to which it belongs:
(a)
for nets, on a label attached to the upper first row, and on the footrope;
(b)
for lines, on a label on the mainline and on every float;
(c)
for traps, on a label attached to the trap itself and to the rope(s), and specifically for pots, on a label attached to the ground rope and on every pot; and
(d)
for passive gear extending more than 1 nautical mile, on labels attached in accordance with (a), (b) and (c) at regular intervals not exceeding 1 nautical mile, so that no part of the passive gear extending more than 1 nautical mile shall be left unmarked.
3. By way of derogation from paragraph 2, for catching vessels up to 15 metres in length overall fishing exclusively in the waters of their flag Member State and operating within four nautical miles from the baseline from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured, that flag Member State may establish an alternative marking system for the identification of the catching vessel concerned.
Rules relating to labels for the marking of fishing gears
1. Labels for the marking of fishing gears shall meet the following conditions:
(a)
they are made of durable material;
(b)
they are securely fitted to the gear;
(c)
they are clearly readable and identifiable; and
(d)
they are not removable, effaced, altered, illegible, covered, or concealed.
2. Within waters under their sovereignty or jurisdiction, coastal Member States may authorise the marking of fishing gear with labels that can be read using electronic devices or other equivalent means, provided that their competent authorities are equipped with the necessary tools and technology to identify and read those labels, and that the conditions laid down in paragraph 1 are fulfilled.
1. The master of a Union catching vessel, or their representative shall ensure that two end marker buoys and intermediary marker buoys, rigged in accordance with Annex V, are fixed to each passive gear used for fishing and are deployed in accordance with the provisions of this Section, where applicable.
2. Each end marker buoy and intermediary buoy shall display the external registration letters and number(s) displayed on the hull of the Union catching vessel to which they belong, or by which they were deployed, in accordance with the following conditions:
(a)
letters and number(s) shall be displayed as high above the water as possible to be clearly visible; and
(b)
in a colour contrasting with the surface on which they are displayed.
3. The letters and number(s) displayed on the marker buoy shall not be effaced, altered, or allowed to become illegible.
Rules relating to the setting and marking of cords
1. The cords linking the buoys to the passive gear shall be of submersible material or shall be weighted down in such a way that no part of the cord reaches the water surface.
2. The cords linking the end marker buoys to each gear shall be fixed at the ends of that gear.
3. The cords linking the buoys to the passive gear shall be marked with a label in accordance with Article 13, which shall contain the information referred to in Article 14(2).
Rules relating to the deployment of end marker buoys
1. End marker buoys shall be deployed so that each end of the passive gear may be determined at any time.
2. The mast of each end marker buoy shall have a height of at least 1 meter above the sea level measured from the top of the float to the lower edge of the bottom most flag.
3. End marker buoys shall be coloured but shall not be red or green.
4. Each end marker buoy shall feature:
(a)
one or two rectangular flag(s); where two flags are required on the same buoy, the distance between them shall be at least 20 centimetres; flags indicating the extremities of the same gear shall be of the same colour and may not be white and shall be of the same size;
(b)
one or two light(s), which shall be yellow and give one flash each 5 seconds (F1 Y 5s) and be visible from a minimum distance of 2 nautical miles.
5. Each end marker buoy may include a top sign on the top of the buoy with one or two striped luminous bands which shall be neither red nor green and shall be at least 6 centimetres broad.
End marker buoys shall be fixed to passive gear as follows:
(a)
the buoy in the western sector (meaning the half compass circle from south through west to and including north) shall be rigged with two flags, two striped luminous bands, two lights and a label referred to in Article 13;
(b)
the buoy in the eastern sector (meaning the half compass circle from north through east to and including the south) shall be rigged with one flag one striped luminous band, one light and a label referred to in Article 13.
1. Intermediary marker buoys shall be fixed to passive gear extending more than 5 nautical miles as follows:
(a)
intermediary marker buoys shall be deployed at distances of not more than 5 nautical miles so that no part of the gear extending 5 nautical miles or more shall be left unmarked;
(b)
intermediary marker buoys shall be fitted with a flashing light which shall be yellow and give one flash every 5 seconds (F1 Y 5s) and is visible from a minimum distance of 2 nautical miles.
2. Intermediary marker buoys shall have the same characteristics as those of the end marker buoy in the eastern sector, except that the flag shall be white.
3. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, in the Baltic Sea, intermediary marker buoys shall be fixed to passive gear extending more than 1 nautical mile. Intermediary marker buoys shall be deployed at distances of not more than 1 nautical mile so that no part of the gear extending 1 nautical mile or more shall be left unmarked. Every fifth intermediary marker buoys shall be fitted with a radar reflector giving an echo of at least 2 nautical miles.
