Division Templates for the Conduct of Exploratory Bottom Fi Exploratory Protocol for New Fishing Areas

The Exploratory Protocol shall consist of:

• A harvesting plan which outlines target species, dates and areas. Area and effort restrictions should be considered to ensure fisheries occur on a gradual basis in a limited geographical area.

• A mitigation plan including measures to prevent significant adverse impact to vulnerable marine ecosystems that may be encountered during the fishery.

• A catch monitoring plan that includes recording/reporting of all species caught, 100 % satellite tracking and 100 % observer coverage. The recording/reporting of catch should be sufficiently detailed to conduct an assessment of activity, if required.

• A data collection plan to facilitate the identification of vulnerable marine ecosystems/species in area fished.