Conservation of fishery resources: protection of juveniles of marine organisms

PURPOSE : to lay down technical conservation measures regarding fishery resources CONTENT : Council Regulation 850/98 contains the current conditions for Community waters outside the Baltic and the Mediterranean relating to technical measures for the conservation of fish stocks by protecting juveniles of marine organisms. The technical measures define mesh sizes and other aspects of the structure of fishing gears, time periods and geographical areas within which defined types of fishing are restricted, as well as minimum landing sizes of marine organisms. Recently, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) have indicated that a number of stocks of cod and a major stock of hake are in danger of collapse. Regulation 850/98 has been amended as a response to this. It has also been amended six times of reasons not necessarily related to cod or hake. It is necessary to incorporate all these revised conditions in a comprehensive package of technical measures. The Commission also puts forward in this proposal a number of other measures intended to further protect juvenile cod and hake. These include enlargement of two geographical areas closed to certain types of fishing to protect hake and the proposal to draw up, by Commission Regulations, detailed rules relating to the linear dimensions and immersion times of static nets. They also include detailed rules regarding carrying combinations of towed nets of different mesh sizes. In rewriting the text, the Commission ahs ensured that all other relevant conditions laid down in Regulation 850/98 are maintained. On adoption of this proposal, Regulation 850/98 and all other relevant Council and Commission Regulations will be annulled.�