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1. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 16 of this Regulation and Article 18 of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 in order to supplement this Regulation regarding the following technical measures, insofar as they are not covered by Regulation (EU) 2019/1241 of the European Parliament and of the Council ():

(a) specifications of characteristics of fishing gears and rules governing their use, to ensure or to improve selectivity, to reduce unwanted catches or to minimise the negative impact on the ecosystem;

(b) specifications of modifications or additional devices to the fishing gears, to ensure or to improve selectivity, to reduce unwanted catches or to minimise the negative impact on the ecosystem;

(c) limitations or prohibitions on the use of certain fishing gears and on fishing activities, in certain areas or periods to protect spawning fish, fish below the minimum conservation reference size or non-target fish species, or to minimise the negative impact on the ecosystem; and (d) the fixing of minimum conservation reference sizes for any of the stocks to which this Regulation applies, to ensure the protection of juveniles of marine organisms.

2. The measures referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall contribute to the achievement of the objectives set out in Article 3 of this Regulation, and shall comply with Article 15(4) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1241.

3. By way of derogation from Annex XII to Regulation (EC) No 850/98, the minimum conservation reference size for Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) in ICES division 3a is set at 105 mm. This paragraph shall apply until the date on which Annex XII to Regulation (EC) No 850/98 ceases to apply.