Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1638/87 fixing the minimum mesh size for pelagic trawls used in fishing for blue whiting in that part of the area covered by the Convention on Future Multilateral Cooperation in the North-East Atlantic Fisheries which extends beyond the maritime waters falling within the fisheries jurisdiction of Contracting Parties to the Convention.

Vessels flying the flag of a Member State or registered in a Member State are hereby prohibited from using pelagic trawls with a mesh size of less than 35 millimetres when fishing for blue whiting in that part of the Convention area which extends beyond the maritime waters falling within the fisheries jurisdiction of the Contracting Parties to the Convention. A vessel shall be deemed to be fishing for blue whiting if it has on board a quantity of blue whiting, which exceeds 50 percent, by weight of the total quantity of blue whiting and other species on board. A pelagic trawl is hereby defined as a towed net designed to catch fish species schooling at mid-water levels, including waters close to the surface.