Technical measures
Managing fisheries
EU fisheries management has detailed technical rules related to fishing gear. © Lionel Flageul
Technical measures are a broad set of rules which govern how, where and when fishermen may fish. They are established for all European sea basins, but they differ considerably from one basin to another, in accordance with the regional conditions.
The measures may include:
minimum landing sizes and minimum conservation sizes
specifications for design and use of gears
minimum mesh sizes for nets
requirement of selective gears to reduce unwanted catches;
closed areas and seasons;
limitations on by-catches (catches of unwanted or non-target species)
measures to minimize the impact of fishing on the marine ecosystem and environment.
The technical measures regulations in the EU need to be modernized in light of the reformed Common Fisheries Policy. To this effect, the European Commission has put forward a new framework proposal for technical conservation measures.
Official documents