Chapter III, Section 2, Article 20 · Regulation (EU) 2022/2343

Contents

Article 20Cetaceans#

1.Union fishing vessels shall be prohibited from intentionally setting a purse seine net around a cetacean in the Area, if it is sighted prior to the commencement of the set.

2.Where a cetacean is unintentionally encircled in a purse seine net, or caught by other gear types fishing for tuna and tuna-like species associated with cetaceans, Union fishing vessels shall:

(a)take all the reasonable steps to ensure its safe release, in line with the IOTC Scientific Committee’s available best practice guidelines for the safe release and handling of cetaceans, while taking into consideration the safety of the crew;

(b)report the incident to the vessel’s flag Member State, with the following information:

—the species (if known);

—the number of individuals;

—a short description of the interaction, including details of how and why the interaction occurred, if possible;

—the location of the encirclement;

—the steps taken to ensure safe release; and

—an assessment of the life status of the animal on release, including whether the cetacean was released alive but subsequently died.

3.Member States shall report the information referred to in paragraph 2, point (b), of this Article through logbooks in accordance with Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 including the status upon release (dead or alive), or when an observer is on board through observer programmes and send it to the Commission, in accordance with Article 51(1) and (5).

Defined terms · 14

Show every defined term

AFAD
means a FAD tethered to the bottom of the ocean;
carrier vessel
means a support vessel engaged in transhipment and receiving IOTC species from another vessel;
chartering
means an agreement or an arrangement by which a fishing vessel flying the flag of a CPC is contracted for a defined period of time by an operator in another CPC without a change of flag;
chartering CPC
refers to the CPC that holds the quota allocation or fishing possibilities and the ‘flag CPC’ refers to the CPC in which the chartered vessel is registered;
CMM
means an applicable conservation and management measure adopted by the IOTC pursuant to Articles V(2)(c) and IX(1) of the Agreement;
data buoys
means floating devices, either drifting or anchored, that are deployed by governmental or recognised scientific organisations or entities for the purpose of electronically collecting and measuring environmental data, and not for the purpose of fishing activities;
DFAD
means a FAD not tethered to the bottom of the ocean;
e-PSM application
means the web-based application designed and developed to facilitate and assist a CPC to implement the IOTC resolutions related to port State measures;
FAD
means a permanent, semi-permanent or temporary object, structure or device of any material, man-made or natural, which is deployed and/or tracked for the purpose of aggregating target tuna species for consequent capture;
flag CPC
refers to the CPC in which the chartered vessel is registered;
the Agreement
means the Agreement for the establishment of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission;
the Area
means those parts of the Indian Ocean as defined in Article II of and Annex A to the Agreement;
unfit for human consumption
means a fish that is meshed or crushed in the purse seine, or is damaged due to depredation, or has died and spoiled in the net where a gear failure has prevented both the normal retrieval of the net and catch, and efforts to release the fish alive without including a fish that is considered undesirable in terms of size, marketability or species composition, or a fish that is spoiled or contaminated as the result of an act or omission of the crew of the Union fishing vessel;
Union fishing vessel
means any vessel of any size flying the flag of a Member State, equipped for commercial exploitation of marine biological resources, including support vessels, fish processing vessels, vessels engaged in transhipment and carrier vessels equipped for the transportation of fishery products, except container vessels;