Division 2.1 Article 9 of Reg. 2371/2002 (Common Fisheries Policy Basic Regulation)

Article 9 of Reg. 2371/2002 allows Member States to take non-discriminatory measures to minimise the effect of fishing on the conservation of marine eco-systems within 12 nautical miles of its baselines provided that the Community has not adopted measures addressing conservation and management specifically for this area.

The Member State measures shall be compatible with the objectives set out in article 2 and they shall be no less stringent than existing Community legislation.

If the Member States measures are liable to affect the vessels of another Member State, such measures shall be adopted only after the Commission, the Member State and the Regional Advisory Councils (RACs) concerned have been consulted on a draft of the measures accompanied by an explanatory memorandum.

The aim of the proposed UK measures is to minimise the effect of fishing on the conservation of marine eco-systems by protecting designated Annex I of Council Directive 92/43/EEC reef features from deterioration due the impact of bottom towed fishing gears.

Furthermore, the Community has not adopted measures specifically addressing the conservation of marine ecosystems for these marine Natura 2000 sites.