Article 103 Boarding fishing vessels at sea

Officials responsible for the conduct of the inspection shall ensure that no action is taken that may compromise the safety of the fishing vessel and its crew.

Officials shall not require the master of a fishing vessel that is being boarded or disembarked to stop or manoeuvre during fishing, or to stop the shooting or hauling of fishing gear. Officials may, however, require the interruption or delay of the shooting of gear to permit safe boarding or disembarkation until they have boarded or disembarked the fishing vessel. In the case of boarding this delay shall not exceed 30 minutes after officials have boarded the fishing vessel unless an infringement has been detected. This provision does not affect the possibility of officials to require the gear to be hauled for inspection.