EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 2.10.2026

COM(2026) 531 final

ANNEXES

to the

Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

laying down management, conservation and control measures applicable in the Area of Application of the Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement (SIOFA)

ANNEX 8

Specification of bird scaring line for demersal longliners

1.The aerial extent of the bird scaring line, being that part of the line supporting the streamers, is the effective seabird deterrent component of a bird scaring line. Vessels are encouraged to optimise the aerial extent of the bird scaring line and ensure that it protects the hookline as far astern of the vessel as possible, even in crosswinds.

2.The bird scaring line shall be attached to either the port or starboard sides of the vessel.

3.The bird scaring line shall be a minimum of 150 meters in length and include an object towed at the seaward end to create tension to maximise aerial coverage. The object towed should be maintained directly behind the attachment point to the vessel such that in crosswinds the aerial extent of the bird scaring line is over the hookline.

4.Branched streamers, each comprising two strands of a minimum of 3 millimeters diameter brightly coloured plastic tubing (or cord), shall be attached no more than 5 meters apart commencing 5 meters from the point of attachment of the bird scaring line to the vessel and thereafter along the aerial extent of the bird scaring line. Where tubing is used for the branched streamers, the tubing should be of a type that is manufactured to be protected from ultraviolet radiation.

5.Streamer length shall range between minimums of 6.5 meters from the stern to 1 meter for the seaward end. When a bird scaring line is fully deployed, the branched streamers shall be of sufficient length to reach the sea surface in the absence of wind and swell. Swivels or a similar device should be placed in the bird scaring line in such a way as to prevent streamers being twisted around the bird scaring line. Each branched streamer may also have a swivel or other device at its attachment point to the bird scaring line to prevent fouling of individual streamers.

6.A spare bird scaring line shall be carried and deployed in the event of loss or damage of a bird scaring line.

Demersal longline Vessels ≥ 25 meters in length

7. Each bird scaring line shall be suspended from a point a minimum of 7 m above the water at the stern of the point where the hookline enters the water.

Demersal longline Vessels < 25 meters in length

8. The bird scaring line shall be suspended from a point a minimum of 6 m above the water at the stern of the point where the hookline enters the water.

9. Streamers may be modified over the first 15 meters to prevent tangling.

10. The bird scaring line should achieve an aerial extent of at least 75 meters when setting at > 4 knots or 50 meters is setting at speeds < 4 knots.

ANNEX 9

Specification of bird exclusion devices for demersal longliners

Bird exclusion devices shall have the following operational characteristics:

7.deterrence of birds from flying directly into the area where the line is being hauled; and

8.prevention of birds that are sitting on the surface from swimming into the hauling bay area.

ANNEX 10

Seabirds mitigation measures for pelagic longliners

Mitigation	Description	Specification
Night setting with minimum deck lighting	No setting between nautical dawn and before nautical dusk. Deck lighting to kept to a minimum.	Nautical dusk and nautical dawn are defined as set out in the Nautical Almanac tables for relevant latitude, local time and date. Minimum deck lighting should not breach minimum standards for safety and navigation.
Bird-scaring lines (Tori lines), in accordance with the specifications provided in Annex V.	Bird-scaring lines shall be deployed during the entire longline setting to deter birds from approaching the branch line.	For vessels greater than or equal to 35 m: - Deploy at least 1 bird-scaring line. Where practical, vessels are encouraged to use a second tori pole and bird scaring line at times of high bird abundance or activity; both tori lines should be deployed simultaneously, one on each side of the line being set. - Aerial extent of bird-scaring lines must be greater than or equal to 100 m. - Long streamers of sufficient length to reach the sea surface in calm conditions must be used. - Long streamers must be at intervals of nor more than 5 m. For vessels less than 35 m: - Deploy at least 1 bird-scaring line. - Aerial extent must be greater than or equal to 75 m. - Long and/or short (but greater than 1 m in length) streamers must be used and placed at intervals as follows: o Short: intervals of no more than 2 m. o Long: intervals of no more than 5 m for the first 55 m of bird scaring line. Additional design and deployment guidelines for bird-scaring lines are provided in Annex V.
Line weighting	Line weights to be deployed on the snood prior to setting.	Greater than a total of 45 g attached within 1 m of the hook or; Greater than a total of 60 g attached within 3,5 m of the hook or; Greater than a total of 98 g attached within 4 m of the hook.

ANNEX 11

Guidelines for trawl vessel for seabird mitigation

1.In addition to the provisions of Article 15(1), Member States should encourage any fishing trawler flying their flag and operating in the SIOFA area south of the 25°S to apply the following mitigation measures:

1.1.Vessels should, if feasible, adopt shooting and hauling procedures that minimise the time that the net is lying on the surface of the water with the meshes slack. Net maintenance should, to the extent possible, not be carried out with the net in the water;

1.2.Nets should be cleaned priori to shooting to remove residue of fish or other items that may attract seabirds.

1.3.Offal or discards should not be discharges immediately prior to or during deployment or retrieval of fishing gear. The period of deployment is defined as the period from shooting the net until the doors are released, retrieval is the time between attachment of the doors at the stern till the net is on deck;

1.4.Seabird mitigation should, if feasible, be deployed during fishing operations to prevent seabird from flying around the stern of the vessel or prevent seabirds from interacting with the fishing gear;

i. If 'Bird Bafflers' are used, they should be deployed prior to the fishing gear being deployed, and should remain in place until all fishing gear is removed from the water (see example in Figure 1);

ii. If bird scaring lines are used (see example specifications in Figure 2), they should be deployed immediately after shooting and retrieved before hauling.

1.5.Vessels should carry materials for construction, replacement, and repair of bird scaring lines in the event of changes to seabird abundance or behaviour (point 1.2).

2.In the event that a vessel causes 3 or more threatened seabird mortalities in the same calendar year. In addition to the provisions in Article 15(1) and Article 42(3), the following additional seabird mitigation measures should be added for this vessel. The following additional measures should remain in place until the incidences have been reviewed by the Member States and appropriate mitigation actions have been implemented:

2.1. There should be no discharging of offal or discards immediately prior to and during the deployment or retrieval of fishing. The period of deployment is defined as the period from shooting the net until the doors are released, retrieval is the time between attachment of the doors at the stern till the net is on deck;

2.2. In the event that the seabird mortalities are from warp strikes, bird scaring streamer lines should be deployed immediately after shooting and retrieved before hauling, unless their deployment is in conflict with vessel safety priorities in poor sea conditions (see example specifications in Figure 2);

2.3. Net monitor cables 1(1) should not be used. Where this is impracticable:

i. a snatch block should be installed at the stern of a vessel to draw the net monitoring cable close to the water and thus reduce its aerial extent; and

ii. bird scaring lines should be deployed and specifically positioned to deter birds away from net monitoring cables while fishing.

After this review process has been completed the provisions of point 1 should be reapplied.

Bird Bafflers

1. Exact design and placement will be contingent on vessel shape.

2. Each boom should extend outwards not less than four metres from the side or stern of the vessel (Figure 1).

3. Dropper lines should be attached to the booms and be no more than 2 metres apart.

4. Plastic cones, rods or other brightly coloured and durable material should be attached to the ends of the dropper lines, so that the bottom of the cone, rod or material is not more than 50 centimetres above the water, in the absence of wind and swell.

5. Lines or webbing should be attached between the dropper lines to prevent tangling.

Figure 1: Bird baffler deployed. Seabirds are impeded from flying round the stern of the vessel.

Figure 2: Examples of bird scaring lines either free from the warp (a) or linked to the warp with a shackle (b).

ANNEX 12

Data format for transmission of VMS position reports

1.Fisheries for Universal Exchange (UN/FLUX)

VMS position reports sent to the SIOFA VMS via the Member States’ FMC in UN/FLUX shall contain, at minimum, the mandatory data elements in Table 1.

1.1.Table 1: UN/FLUX data elements

Data Element	Mandatory/ optional	Comments
Addressee	M	Message detail – Addressee Alpha-3 country code Note: Part of the FLUX TL envelope
From	M	Message detail – Sender Alpha-3 country code
Unique message identifier	M	UUID according to RFC 4122 defined by IETF
Date and time of transmission	M	Date and time when the message was created in UTC, using the format: YYYY-MM-DD:hh:mm:ss[.000000]Z 2(1)
Flag State	M	Message detail – Flag of flag State, Alpha-3 country code
Type of message	M	Message detail – Type of message The following codes are to be used: ENTRY: first position recorded after entering the fishing zone  EXIT: first message recorded after leaving the fishing zone POS: positions transmitted while being in the fishing zone MANUAL: position transmitted manually
Radio call sign	M	Vessel detail – Vessel international radio call sign (IRCS)
CCP internal reference number	O	Vessel detail – Unique CCP vessel identifier
Unique Vessel Identifier (UVI)	O	Vessel detail – IMO number
External registration number	O	Vessel detail – Number on side of vessel
Latitude	M	Vessel position detail – Position in degrees and decimal degrees DD.ddd (WGS-84) Positive coordinates for positions north of the Equator; Negative coordinates for positions south of the Equator.
Longitude	M	Vessel position detail – Position in degrees and decimal degrees DD.ddd (WGS-84) Positive coordinates east for the Greenwich meridian; Negative coordinates west of the Greenwich meridian.
Course	M	Vessel course 360° scale
Speed	M	Vessel speed in knots
Date and time	M	Vessel position detail – date and time of recording of the position in UTC, using the format YYYY-MM-DD:hh:mm:ss[.000000]Z 3(2)

(1) (1)    A net monitoring cable (i.e. net-sonde cable or third wire) is defined as “a wire commonly suspended from the trawl gantry running to net monitoring equipment attached directly to the net” (CCAMLR).

(2) (1)    YYYY= year; MM= month, including leading 0 where month number is less than 10; DD= day of the month including leading 0 where day number is less than 10; T= the letter T to indicate the part of the time section; H24= hours of the day expressed with 2 digits using the 24-hour notation; MI=minutes expressed as 2 digits; SS=seconds expressed as 2 digits; [.000000]= optionally fractions of seconds may be included, not including the brackets; Z= time zone, which must be Z (i.e. UTC).

(3) (2)    Ibid.