1.By way of derogation from point (a) of Article 7(1) of Regulation (EC) No 850/98, fishing vessels using a cod-end mesh size of between 70 and 119 mm shall use a square-meshed panel of a mesh size of at least 120 millimetres.
2.By way of derogation from point (a) of Article 7(2) of Regulation (EC) No 850/98, the square-meshed panel as referred to in paragraph 1 shall be placed into the top panel of the codend. The rearmost edge of the square-meshed panel, which is the part closest to the codline, shall be no more than 9 metres from the codline.
3.By way of derogation from paragraph 2, the square-meshed panel may be placed farther from the cod-end if a different combination of gear and device is assessed by the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) as having the same or higher selectivity characteristics for cod, haddock and whiting.
4.By way of derogation from paragraph 1, fishing vessels using a cod-end mesh size of between 70 and 119 mm may use, instead of a square-meshed panel of a mesh size of at least 120 millimetres, a gear or device assessed by the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) as having the same or higher selectivity characteristics for cod, haddock and whiting.
5.By way of derogation from paragraph 1, vessels using a cod-end mesh size of between 70 and 119 mm whose catch in any fishing trip in the area east of 8° West of the Celtic Sea comprises at least 55 % whiting may use a square-meshed panel of a mesh size of at least 100 millimetres if they deploy bottom trawls or seines of a single mesh size equal to or larger than 100 millimetres.