Limits on exploratory fisheries for toothfish
Article 28
1. Fishing for toothfish in the 2021–2022 fishing season shall be limited to the Member States, subareas and number of vessels set out in Table A in Annex VII, and the TACs and by-catch limits set out in Table B in that Annex shall apply. 2. Direct fishing of shark species for purposes other than scientific research shall be prohibited. Any by-catch of shark, especially juveniles and gravid females, taken accidentally in the toothfish fishery shall be released alive. 3. Where applicable, fishing in any small-scale research unit (SSRU) shall cease when the reported catch reaches the specified TAC, and the SSRU shall be closed to fishing for the remainder of the fishing season. 4. Fishing shall take place over as large a geographical and bathymetric range as possible, so as to obtain the information necessary to determine fishery potential and avoid an over-concentration of catch and fishing effort. However, fishing in FAO subareas 48.6 and 88.1 as well as in FAO division 58.4.3a, where permitted under Article 27, shall be prohibited in depths of less than 550 m.