Council Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 of 21 December 2006 concerning management measures for the sustainable exploitation of fishery resources in the Mediterranean Sea, amending Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1626/94
Corrected by
ANNEX ITechnical conditions for attachments to and rigging of trawl netsDefinitionsFor the purposes of this Annex:(a)"multiple twine netting" means netting constructed of two or more twines, where the twines can be separated between the knots without damage to the twine structure;(b)"knotless netting" means netting which is composed of meshes of four sides of approximately equal length in which the corners of the meshes are formed by the interweaving of the twines of two adjacent sides of the mesh;(c)"square-meshed netting" means a construction of netting mounted so that of the two sets of parallel lines formed by the mesh bars, one set is parallel to and the other at right angles to the long axis of the net;(d)"the trawl body" means the tapered section in the front part of a trawl net;(e)"the extension piece" means the untapered section, made of one or more panels, between the trawl body and the cod-end;(f)"the cod-end" means the rearmost part of a trawl net, of net of the same mesh size, having either a cylindrical or a tapering shape, whose transversal cross-sections are nearly a circle of the same or decreasing radius respectively;(g)"balloon cod-end" means any cod-end composed of one or more adjoining panels, of net of the same mesh size, whose number of meshes increases going to the rearmost part of the gear causing an extension of the transversal length, with respect to the longitudinal axis of the net, and of the circumference of the cod-end;(h)"pocket type cod-end" means any cod-end whose vertical height diminishes towards the rearmost part of the cod-end and whose transversal cross-sections are nearly an ellipse of the same or decreasing major axis. The rearmost part of the cod-end is either composed by a single folded panel or by transversally lacing together, with respect to the longitudinal axis of the net, the rearmost upper and lower panels;(i)"transversal lacing rope" means any external or internal rope running transversally, with respect to the longitudinal axis of the net, in the rearmost part of the cod-end either along the join between two upper and lower panels or along the bend of the single rearmost panel. It can be either a prolongation of the lateral lacing rope or a separate rope;(j)"circumference-perimeter" of any cross section in a diamond mesh netting of a trawl net shall be calculated as the number of meshes in that cross section multiplied by the stretched mesh size;(k)"circumference-perimeter" of any cross section in a square mesh netting of a trawl net shall be calculated as the number of meshes in that cross section multiplied by the mesh side length.(A)Authorised attachments to trawl nets1.Notwithstanding Article 8 of Regulation (EEC) No 3440/84 either a transversal, with respect to the longitudinal axis of the net, or lengthways zip-fastener mechanical device may be used to close the opening for emptying the pocket-type cod-end.2.The transversal zip-fastener shall be attached at a distance which is not more than 1 metre from the rear meshes of the cod-end.(B)Rigging requirements1.A balloon cod-end shall be prohibited in trawl nets. Within any single cod-end the number of equal sized meshes around any circumference of the cod-end shall not increase from the front end to the rear end.2.The circumference of the rearmost part of the trawl body (the tapered section) or of the extension piece (the untapered section) shall not be smaller than the circumference of the front end of the cod-end sensu stricto. In the case of a square mesh cod-end, in particular, the circumference of the rearmost part of the trawl body or of the extension piece shall be from two to four times the circumference of the front end of the cod-end sensu stricto.3.Square mesh panels may be inserted into any towed net and shall be placed in front of any extension piece or at any point between the front of any extension piece and the posterior of the cod-end. It shall not be obstructed in any way by either internal or external attachments. It shall be constructed of knotless netting or of netting constructed with non-slip knots, and shall be inserted in such a way that the meshes remain fully open at all times while fishing. Detailed rules for further technical specifications of square mesh panels shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 29 of this Regulation.4.Analogously, technical devices with a view of improving selectivity of trawl nets, other than that referred to in point (b) 3, may be authorised in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 29 of this Regulation.5.The carrying on board or the use of any towed net the cod-end of which is constructed wholly or in part of any type of netting material made of meshes other than square mesh or diamond mesh shall be prohibited unless authorised in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 29 of this Regulation.6.Paragraphs 4 and 5 shall not apply to any boat seine the cod-end of which has a mesh size smaller than 10 mm.7.By way of modification of Article 6(4) of Regulation (EEC) No 3440/84 the mesh size of the strengthening bag shall not be less than 120 mm for bottom trawlers if the cod-end mesh is smaller than 60 mm. This provision shall apply only to the Mediterranean Sea and shall be without prejudice to other Community waters. If the cod-end mesh size is equal to or greater than 60 mm then Article 6(4) of Regulation (EEC) No 3440/84 shall apply.8.The pocket type cod-end shall not have more than one opening to empty.9.The length of the transversal lacing rope shall be not less than 20 % of the circumference of the cod-end.10.The circumference of the strengthening bag, as defined in Article 6 of Regulation No 3440/84, shall not be less than 1,3 times that of the cod-end for bottom trawl nets.11.The carrying on board or the use of any towed net constructed wholly or in part in the cod-end of single twine netting materials having a twine thickness of more than 3,0 millimetres shall be prohibited.12.The carrying on board or the use of any towed net constructed wholly or in part in the cod-end of netting materials consisting of multiple twines shall be prohibited.13.Netting materials having a twine thickness greater than 6 mm shall be prohibited in any part of a bottom trawl net.