Drifting FADs and supply vessels
Article 31
1. Drifting FADs shall be equipped with instrumented buoys. The use of any other buoys, such as radio buoys, shall be prohibited. 2. A purse-seine vessel shall follow no more than 300 operational buoys at any time. 3. No more than 500 instrumented buoys shall be acquired annually for each purse-seine vessel. No purse-seine vessel shall have more than 500 instrumented buoys (in stock and operational) at any time. 4. No more than two supply vessels shall operate in support of no less than five purse-seine vessels, all flying the flag of a Member State. This provision shall not apply to Member States using only one supply vessel. 5. A single purse-seine vessel shall not be supported by more than one supply vessel flying the flag of a Member State at any time. 6. The Union shall not register new or additional supply vessels in the IOTC record of authorised vessels.