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1. Fishing for Herring in EC waters of ICES zone IIa It shall be prohibited to land or retain on board herring caught in EC waters of zone IIa in the periods 1 January to 28 February and 16 May to 31 December.

2. Technical conservation measures in the Skagerrak and in the Kattegat By way of derogation from the provisions set out in Annex IV of Regulation (EC) No 850/98, the provisions in Appendix 1 to this Annex shall apply.

3. Electric fishing in ices zones IVc and IVb 3.1. By way of derogation from Article 31(1) of Regulation (EC) No 850/98 fishing with beam trawl using electrical pulse current shall be allowed in ICES zones IVc and IVb south of a rhumb line joined by the following points, which shall be measured according to the WGS84 coordinate system:

— a point on the east coast of the United Kingdom at latitude 55° N,

— then east to latitude 55° N, longitude 5° E,

— then north to latitude 56° N,

— and finally east to a point on the west coast of Denmark at latitude 56° N.

3.2. The following measures shall apply in 2008:

(a) no more than 5 % of the beam trawler fleet by Member State shall be allowed to use the electric pulse trawl;

(b) the maximum electrical power in kW for each beam trawl shall be no more than the length in metre of the beam multiplied by 1,25 ;

(c) the effective voltage between the electrodes shall be no more than 15V;

(d) the vessel shall be equipped with an automatic computer management system which records the maximum power used per beam and the effective voltage between electrodes for at least the last 100 tows. It shall be not possible for non authorized person to modify this automatic computer management system;

(e) It shall be prohibited to use one or more tickler chains in front of the footrope.

4. Closure of an area for sandeel fisheries in ices zone IV 4.1. It shall be prohibited to land or retain on board sandeels caught within the geographical area bounded by the east coast of England and Scotland, and enclosed by sequentially joining with rhumb lines the following positions, which shall be measured according to the WGS84 coordinate system:

— the east coast of England at latitude 55°30′N,

— latitude 55°30′N, longitude 1°00′W,

— latitude 58°00′N, longitude 1°00′W,

— latitude 58°00′N, longitude 2°00′W,

— the east coast of Scotland at longitude 2°00′W.

4.2. Fisheries for scientific investigation shall be allowed in order to monitor the sandeel stock in the area and the effects of the closure.

5. Rockall Haddock box in ices zone VI All fishing, except with longlines, shall be prohibited in the areas enclosed by sequentially joining with rhumb lines the following positions, which shall be measured according to the WGS84 coordinate system: However, in the part of the areas defined in this point which overlaps with the area defined as North West Rockall in point 13.1 the derogation as regards longlines shall not apply.

6. Restrictions on fishing for cod in ICES zones VI and VII 6.1. ICES zone VIa Until 31 December 2008, it shall be prohibited to conduct any fishing activity within the areas enclosed by sequentially joining with rhumb lines the following positions, which shall be measured according to the WGS84 coordinate system: 59°05′N, 06°45′W 59°30′N, 06°00′W 59°40′N, 05°00′W 60°00′N, 04°00′W 59°30′N, 04°00′W 59°05′N, 06°45′W.

6.2. ICES zones VII f and g

From 1 February 2008 until 31 March 2008, it shall be prohibited to conduct any fishing activity in the following ICES rectangles: 30E4, 31E4, 32E3. This prohibition shall not apply within 6 nautical miles from the baseline.

6.3. By way of derogation from points 6.1. and 6.2. it shall be permitted to conduct fishing activities using pots and creels within the specified areas and time periods, provided that:

(i) no fishing gear other than pots and creels are carried on board, and (ii) no fish other than shellfish and crustacea are retained on board.

6.4. By way of derogation from points 6.1. and 6.2., it shall be permitted to conduct fishing activities within the areas referred to in those points using nets of mesh size less than 55 mm, provided that:

(i) no net of mesh size greater than or equal to 55 mm is carried on board, and (ii) no fish other than herring, mackerel, pilchard/sardines, sardinelles, horse mackerel, sprat, blue whiting and argentines are retained on board.

7. Technical conservation measures in the Irish Sea

7.1. In the period from 14 February 2008 to 30 April 2008 it shall be prohibited to use any demersal trawl, seine or similar towed net, any gill net, trammel net, tangle net or similar static net or any fishing gear incorporating hooks within that part of ICES division VIIa enclosed by:

— the east coast of Ireland and the east coast of Northern Ireland and — straight lines sequentially joining the following geographical coordinates:

— a point on the east coast of the Ards peninsula in Northern Ireland at 54° 30′ N,

— 54° 30′ N, 04° 50′ W,

— 53° 15′ N, 04° 50′ W,

— a point on the east coast of Ireland at 53° 15′ N.

7.2. By way of derogation from point 7.1, within the area and time period referred to therein:

(a) the use of demersal otter trawls shall be permitted provided that no other type of fishing gear is retained on board and that such nets:

(i) are of mesh size either 70 mm to 79 mm or 80 mm to 99 mm, and (ii) are of only one of the permitted mesh size ranges, and (iii) incorporate no individual mesh, irrespective of its position within the net, of mesh size greater than 300 mm, and (iv) are deployed only within an area enclosed by sequentially joining with rhumb lines the following coordinates: 53° 30′ N, 05° 30′ W 53° 30′ N, 05° 20′ W 54° 20′ N, 04° 50′ W 54° 30′ N, 05° 10′ W 54° 30′ N, 05° 20′ W 54° 00′ N, 05° 50′ W 54° 00′ N, 06° 10′ W 53° 45′ N, 06° 10′ W 53° 45′ N, 05° 30′ W 53° 30′ N, 05° 30′ W;

(b) the use of separator trawls shall be permitted provided that no other type of fishing gear is retained on board and that such nets:

(i) comply with the conditions laid down in subparagraph (a)(i) to (iv), and (ii) are constructed in conformity with the technical details provided in the Annex of Council Regulation (EC) No 254/2002 of 12 February 2002 establishing measures to be applicable in 2002 for the recovery of the stock of cod in the Irish Sea (ICES division VIIa) ().

Furthermore, separator trawls may also be used within an area enclosed by rhumb lines sequentially joining the following coordinates: 53° 45′ N, 06° 00′ W 53° 45′ N, 05° 30′ W 53° 30′ N, 05° 30′ W 53° 30′ N, 06° 00′ W 53° 45′ N, 06° 00′ W.

7.3. The technical conservation measures referred to in Articles 3 and 4 of Regulation (EC) No 254/2002 shall apply.

8. Use of gillnets in ICES Zones IIIa, IVa, Vb, VIa, VIb, VII b, c, j, k and XII 8.1. For the purposes of this point, gillnet and entangling net means a gear made up of a single piece of net and held vertically in the water. It catches living aquatic resources by gilling, entangling or enmeshing.

8.2. For the purposes of this point, trammel net means a gear made up of two or more pieces of net hung jointly in parallel on a single headline and held vertically in the water.

8.3. Community vessels shall not deploy gillnets, entangling nets and trammel nets at any position where the charted depth is greater than 200 metres in ICES Zones IIIa, IVa, Vb, VIa, VIb, VII b, c, j, k and XII east of 27° W.

8.4. By way of derogation from point 8.3 it shall be permitted to use the following gear:

(a) Gillnets with a mesh size equal to or greater than 120 mm and less than 150 mm provided that they are deployed in waters of less than 600 metres charted depth, are no more than 100 meshes deep, have a hanging ratio of not less than 0,5 , and are rigged with floats or equivalent floatation. The nets shall each be of a maximum of 5 nautical miles in length, and the total length of all nets deployed at any one time shall not exceed 25 km per vessel. The maximum soak time shall be 24 hours; or (b) Entangling nets with a mesh size equal to or greater than 250 mm, provided that they are deployed in waters of less than 600 metres charted depth, are no more than 15 meshes deep, have a hanging ratio of not less than 0,33 , and are not rigged with floats or other means of floatation. The nets shall each be of a maximum of 10 km in length. The total length of all nets deployed at any one time shall not exceed 100 km per vessel. The maximum soak time shall be 72 hours. However, this derogation shall not apply in the NEAFC Regulatory Area.

8.5. Only one of the types of gear described in points 8.4.(a) and 8.4.(b) shall be carried aboard the vessel at any one time. To allow for the replacement of lost or damaged gear, vessels may carry on board nets with a total length 20 % greater than the maximum length of the fleets that may be deployed at any one time. All gear shall be marked in accordance with Commission Regulation (EC) No 356/2005 of 1 March 2005 laying down detailed rules for the marking and identification of passive fishing gear and beam trawls ().

8.6. All vessels deploying gillnets or entangling nets at any position where the charted depth is greater than 200 metres in ICES Zones IIIa, IVa, Vb, VIa, VIb, VII b, c, j, k and XII east of 27° W must hold a special fixed net fishing permit issued by the flag Member State.

8.7. The master of a vessel with a fixed net permit referred to in point 8.6 shall record in the logbook the amount and lengths of gear carried by a vessel before it leaves port and when it returns to port, and must account for any discrepancy between the two quantities.

8.8. The naval services or other competent authorities shall have the right to remove unattended gear at sea in ICES Zones IIIa, IVa, Vb, VIa, VIb, VII b, c, j, k and XII east of 27° W in the following situations:

(a) the gear is not properly marked;

(b) the buoy markings or VMS data indicate that the owner has not been located at a distance less than 100 nautical miles from the gear for more than 120 hours;

(c) the gear is deployed in waters with a charted depth greater than that permitted;

(d) the gear is of an illegal mesh size.

8.9. The master of a vessel with a fixed net permit referred to in point 8.6 shall be recorded in the logbook the following information during each fishing trip:

— The mesh size of the net deployed,

— The nominal length of one net,

— The number of nets in a fleet,

— The total number of fleets deployed,

— Position of each fleet deployed,

— The depth of each fleet deployed,

— The soak time of each fleet deployed,

— The quantity of any gear lost, its last known position and date of loss.