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Dan MacMeekin         Attorney at Law        Washington, DC, USA

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The operator of every fishing vessel authorized to be used for fishing in the Convention Area shall comply with the following terms and conditions at all times when the vessel is in the Convention Area. Such terms and conditions shall apply in addition to any terms and conditions which may apply to the vessel in areas under the national jurisdiction of a member of the Commission by reason of a licence issued by such member or pursuant to a bilateral or multilateral fisheries agreement. For the purposes of this Annex, "operator" means any person who is in charge of, directs or controls a fishing vessel, including the owner, master or charterer.

The operator of the vessel shall comply with the applicable national laws of each coastal State Party to this Convention in whose jurisdiction it enters and shall be responsible for the compliance by the vessel and its crew with such laws and the vessel shall be operated in accordance with such laws.

1. The operator and each member of the crew shall allow and assist any person identified as an observer under the regional observer programme to:

(a) embark at a place and time agreed to;

(b) have full access to and use of all facilities and equipment on board which the observer may determine is necessary to carry out his or her duties, including full access to the bridge, fish on board, and areas which may be used to hold, process, weigh and store fish, and full access to the vessel’s records including its logs and documentation for the purpose of records inspection and copying, reasonable access to navigational equipment, charts and radios, and reasonable access to other information relating to fishing;

(c) remove samples;

(d) disembark at an agreed place and time; and

(e) carry out all duties safely.

2. The operator or any crew member shall not assault, obstruct, resist, delay, refuse boarding to, intimidate or interfere with observers in the performance of their duties.

3. The operator shall provide the observer, while on board the vessel, at no expense to the observer or the observer’s government, with food, accommodation and medical facilities of a reasonable standard equivalent to those normally available to an officer on board the vessel.

1. The operator shall comply with any procedures established by the Commission to verify the quantity and species transhipped, and any additional procedures and measures established by the Commission with respect to transhipment in the Convention Area.

2. The operator shall allow and assist any person authorized by the Commission or by the member of the Commission in whose designated port or area a transhipment takes place to have full access to and use of facilities and equipment which such authorized person may determine is necessary to carry out his or her duties, including full access to the bridge, fish on board and areas which may be used to hold, process, weigh and store fish, and full access to the vessel’s records, including its log and documentation for the purpose of inspection and photocopying. The operator shall also allow and assist any such authorized person to remove samples and gather any other information required to fully monitor the activity. The operator or any member of the crew shall not assault, obstruct, resist, delay, refuse boarding to, intimidate or interfere with any such authorized person in the performance of such person’s duties. Every effort should be made to ensure that any disruption to fishing operations is minimized during inspections of transhipments.

The operator shall record and report vessel position, catch of target and non-target species, fishing effort and other relevant fisheries data in accordance with the standards for collection of such data set out in Annex I of the Agreement.

1. The authorization issued by the flag State of the vessel and, if applicable, any licence issued by a coastal State Party to this Convention, or a duly certified copy, facsimile or telex confirmation thereof, shall be carried on board the vessel at all times and produced at the request of an authorized enforcement official of any member of the Commission.

2. The master and each member of the crew of the vessel shall immediately comply with every instruction and direction given by an authorized and identified officer of a member of the Commission, including to stop, to move to a safe location, and to facilitate safe boarding and inspection of the vessel, its licence, gear, equipment, records, facilities, fish and fish products. Such boarding and inspection shall be conducted as much as possible in a manner so as not to interfere unduly with the lawful operation of the vessel. The operator and each member of the crew shall facilitate and assist in any action by an authorized officer and shall not assault, obstruct, resist, delay, refuse boarding to, intimidate or interfere with an authorized officer in the performance of his or her duties.

3. The vessel shall be marked and identified in accordance with the FAO Standard Specifications for the Marking and Identification of Fishing Vessels or such alternative standard as may be adopted by the Commission. At all times when the vessel is in the Convention Area, all parts of such markings shall be clear, distinct and uncovered.

4. The operator shall ensure the continuous monitoring of the international distress and calling frequency 2182 khz (HF) or the international safety and calling frequency 156.8 Mhz (channel 16, VHF-FM) to facilitate communication with the fisheries management, surveillance and enforcement authorities of the members of the Commission.

5. The operator shall ensure that a recent and up to date copy of the International Code of Signals (INTERCO) is on board and accessible at all times.

6. At all times when the vessel is navigating through an area under the national jurisdiction of a member of the Commission in which it does not have a licence to fish, and at all times when the vessel is navigating on the high seas in the Convention Area and has not been authorized by its flag State to fish on the high seas, all fishing equipment on board the vessel shall be stowed or secured in such a manner that it is not readily available to be used for fishing.

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  Dan MacMeekin  2000 -2008            Disclaimer  - the fine print                February  24, 2008