Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/3094

Contents

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2019/1241 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on the conservation of fisheries resources and the protection of marine ecosystems through technical measures, amending Council Regulations (EC) No 1967/2006, (EC) No 1224/2009 and Regulations (EU) No 1380/2013, (EU) No 2016/1139, (EU) 2018/973, (EU) 2019/472 and (EU) 2019/1022 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 894/97, (EC) No 850/98, (EC) No 2549/2000, (EC) No 254/2002, (EC) No 812/2004 and (EC) No 2187/2005^note, and in particular Article 24(1)(a) thereof,Whereas:

(1)Annex VIII to Regulation (EU) 2019/1241, Part B, point 1.3.1.1 provides for certain selectivity devices attached to the fishing gear, to reduce incidental catches of Baltic cod when fishing for flatfish in ICES subdivisions 22-26.

(2)Technical specifications of those devices should be established.

(3)Those technical specifications should in particular concern the use of a roofless selection device, a modified T90 codend (with a mesh size of at least 125 mm and a reinforcement of the selvedges with lastridge ropes) and a square mesh codend (consisting of two panels and a minimum mesh size of at least 125 mm).

(4)The Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) concluded^note that those technical specifications are detailed and sufficient for implementation purposes.

(5)The STECF also evaluated a number of additional specifications suggested by the Member States during the meeting of the Committee for Fisheries and Aquaculture in September 2022. They concern a new version of the technical description of the gears. The STECF concluded^note that the proposed specifications are clearer and simpler and do not reduce the functionality and selectivity of the devices.

(6)Sufficient time should be given to vessels owners to equip their vessels with the new selectivity devices.

(7)The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee for Fisheries and Aquaculture,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1 #

The technical specifications of the selectivity devices referred to in Part B, point 1.3.1.1, of Annex VIII to Regulation (EU) 2019/1241 shall be as provided for in the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 2 #

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.It shall apply from 9 April 2025.

I. Definitions

(1)‘knotless netting’ means netting which is composed of meshes of four sides in which the corners of the meshes are formed by the interweaving of the twines of two adjacent sides of the mesh;

(2)‘net enabling modular selectivity (NEMOS)’ means a four panel net section mounted between the last tapered section of the trawl and the codend, designed to enable the mounting of selective devices into it.

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:

II. Technical specifications of the square mesh codend (Gear ID: SMC_125)

1.The codend shall be constructed of two square-mesh panels of the same dimensions, joined together by selvedges one on each side of equal length.

2.The number of free bars, excluding those in the selvedges, in any circumference shall be constant from the front part of the extension to the rear most part of the codend.

3.The minimum mesh size of the square meshes shall be 125 mm. The netting shall be mounted such that the bars run parallel and perpendicular to the length of the codend.

4.The square mesh netting shall be knotless braided single yarn with a twine thickness of at least 5 mm, or netting with similar proven selective properties.

5.The maximum number of free bars in the circumference of the codend shall be 50.

6.The length of the square-mesh section shall be at least 5,5 m.

7.The front end of the square mesh codend shall be connected to the diamond netting of the trawl with a joining ratio of 1 bar (square mesh) to 2 knots (diamond mesh).

8.To facilitate installation and operation of the codline, a section of diamond meshes shall be inserted at the rear end of the square mesh codend with a joining ratio of 2 knots (diamond mesh) to 1 bar (square mesh). The square meshes shall terminate not more than four meshes from the codline, inclusive of the hand-braided row of meshes through which the codline is passed. The minimum mesh size of the diamond meshes shall be 105 mm made of polyethylene threads with a single twine thickness of no more than 6 mm or with double twine of no more than 4 mm thickness.

9.An example of the square mesh codend complying with legal requirements is illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 1

III. Technical specifications of the modified T90 codend (Gear ID: T90_125_2P_LR)

1.The mesh size of the codend shall be at least 125 mm.

2.The material of the yarn shall be of polyethylene threads with a single twine thickness of no more than 6 mm or with double twine thickness of no more than 4 mm.

3.The length of the codend shall be defined by the stretched length of a lastridge rope attached to each selvedge of the codend. The length of the lastridge rope shall be at least 6 m.

4.The lastridge ropes shall be made of PP Danline of at least 18 mm diameter.

5.The attachment of the lastridge ropes to the selvedges shall be uniform and with a ratio of 10 codend meshes per 90 cm of rope.

6.The T90 codend shall be connected to a T90 extension piece made of the same netting, as described for the codend, or a selective net section of the trawl.

7.The number of meshes in any circumference in the codend sensu strictu and the extension piece, excluding joinings and selvedges, shall be max 50 meshes round.

8.An example of the Modified T90 codend is illustrated in Figure 2.

Figure 2

IV. Technical specifications of NEMOS and ROOFLESS (Gear ID: NEMOS+RL175)

(a) NEMOS

1.NEMOS shall be made of four panels of equal width and a minimum length of 4,5 meters.

2.The four panels of NEMOS shall be made of traditional diamond netting, and same nominal mesh size (stretched) of the codend to which it shall be attached (independent of codend type).

3.The number of free meshes (excluding the meshes in the selvedges) in the width dimension of each panel of the NEMOS device shall be 25 % of the number of free meshes in circumference of the diamond mesh codend to which it is attached, or 50 % of the number of free meshes in circumference in case of a square mesh codend or T90 codend.

4.When attached to a 2-panel trawl, it shall be possible to connect the front edge of the NEMOS device to the trawl body by a 2-to-4 panels adaptor made of the same netting material, and at least half the length of NEMOS.

5.When attached to a 2-panel codend, the rear edge of the NEMOS device shall be connected to the codend by an adaptor described in point 4, but in reverse disposition.

6.To ensure a stable cross section of NEMOS, NEMOS may be optionally rigged with additional elements, for example floats and weights.

(b) ROOFLESS

1.The escape window shall be a rectangular section with straight edges.

2.The escape window shall be at least 175 cm long. The width of the window shall be equal to the width of the NEMOS top panel, excluding the meshes in the selvedges.

3.The front edge of the escape window shall be positioned at 25 % (+/- two meshes) of the total length of the top panel, and terminate not less than 2 meshes from the rear edge of the panel.

(c) OTHER SPECIFICATIONS OF NEMOS AND ROOFLESS

1.The top panel directly in front of the escape window shall be raised by two floats mounted in line one after another. The diameter of the floats shall be at least 200 mm.

2.If applied, floats and weights shall be attached in lines to the lower and upper selvedges, respectively. The segment of NEMOS where ROOFLESS shall be established shall be kept free from floats and weights. Floats and weights shall be used pairwise for port and starboard sides. Each line of floats attached to the upper selvedge shall be paired with a line of weights in the lower selvedge. In order to avoid too much vertical stretch of NEMOS (and hence reduced cod escapement), the lines of weights shall not exceed a negative buoyancy equal to 4kg/m, while the lines of floats shall consist of a maximum of six units, each with a maximum diameter of 120 mm.

3.The edge of the net panel after the escape window shall be stabilized with a rigid rod connected to the netting at a hanging ratio between 0,3 and 0,4. An additional rigid rod of the same characteristics and length shall be attached to the lower panel directly below the rigid rod in the top panel.

4.NEMOS and ROOFLESS are illustrated in Figures 3 and 4.

Figure 3

Construction detail and isometric view of NEMOS + ROOFLESS developed as cod-bycatch reduction device for flatfish fisheries.

Figure 4

Schematic technical drawing (Top and side view) of NEMOS+ROOFLESS.