The Government of the Azores has decided to limit fishing with traps in an area up to 6 miles off the coast. This restriction will be applied to the registered fishing vessels or with registered fishing gear at a port of the island, where this measure will be put into effect.
This measure will be implemented through an Ordinance of the Under Secretary of Fishing, which was published in the Official Journal, and it is justified by the need “to ensure a sustainable balance of fishing activities.”
With this amendment to the regulation on fishing with traps in the sub-area of the Azores of the national EEZ, applied to fishing vessels registered at Azorean ports, the Government also intends “to regulate the use of this type of fishing gear in order to reinforce the protection areas for local traditional fishing.” 
However, in some specific cases, the Under Secretary of Fishing may temporarily authorise any fishing vessel to use traps in areas between the coast and the 6 miles off the coast of another island.
Under this Ordinance, the granting of temporary permits will always be preceded by a hearing of the representative association of the fishing fleet of the island in question and the Department of Oceanography and Fisheries of the University of the Azores.
This authorisation may be granted as long as the vessel in question is equipped with a Fishery Monitoring System, commonly known as MONICAO, or a blue box. If these equipments are not available onboard, such situation cannot be the result of causes attributable to the shipowner, to the captain or to the lack conditions of the vessel.