Observer coverage
Article 16
1. Member States shall establish a programme for observer coverage to ensure the collection of relevant, timely and accurate data on the catch and by-catch of deep-sea species and encounters with VMEs and other relevant information for the effective implementation of this Regulation. Vessels using bottom trawls or bottom set gillnets with a fishing authorisation to target deep-sea species shall be subject to at least 20 % observer coverage, excluding vessels that, for security reasons, are not suitable to receive an observer. All other vessels with an authorisation to catch deep-sea species shall be subject to at least 10 % observer coverage, excluding vessels that, for security reasons, are not suitable to receive an observer. 2. Where an operator has been requested by its Member State to receive an observer on board its vessel, the absence of an observer for reasons beyond the control of the operator shall not prevent that vessel from leaving the port. 3. By 1 January 2018, the Commission shall seek scientific advice, based on the data collected under this Regulation, on whether the observer coverage set out in paragraph 1 of this Article is sufficient to achieve the objectives of Article 1, in particular to prevent significant adverse impact on VMEs within the framework of deep-sea fishing, and on whether it should be adapted on the basis of an updated sampling methodology. The Commission shall, without delay, inform the European Parliament and the Council of the results of the scientific advice sought. 4. Where, on the basis of the scientific advice referred to in paragraph 3, the Commission considers that the percentages of the observer coverage set out in paragraph 1 should be adjusted, the Commission may, as a matter of urgency, submit a proposal for the revision of those percentages. 5. By way of derogation from Article 2, this Article shall apply mutatis mutandis to fishing for deep-sea species by vessels using bottom trawls or bottom set gillnets in the Regulatory Area of the NEAFC.