Directive No. (2/98) on Minimum hygiene conditions for on board fishing vessels.

The Directive contains two Annexes dealing with the hygienic requirements to comply with when handling and preserving fish products for a period exceeding 24 hours. Storage conditions must prevent any contamination either by fuel, dirt, heat or any other contaminating agent; water used for washing fish must be fresh (as per Directive 5/98) or clean seawater. If not maintained alive, fish must be cold-treated or unloaded in eight-hour time. All scaling and gutting procedures must be operated in clean areas and all non edible wastes kept separated from the edible ones and the latter refrigerated or frozen right after. All fishing vessels proceeding to freeze or chill the fish products, must be equipped with adequate and effective equipments and, in case of chilling, either by cooled seawater (CSW) or refrigerated seawater (RSW), all the tanks must be adequately filled and provided with working sewage. In every freezing or refrigerating facility a temperature sensor device must be present and in working conditions at all times and temperature charts available to inspecting authorities.