Following a consultation carried out by the European Commission to Member States, the Government of the Azores has sent a report to the Directorate-General of Natural Resources, Security and Maritime Services (DGRM), expressing its disagreement with the proposal on the stipulated fishing gear for deep-sea fisheries.

For the Azorean Government, the proposal is unacceptable, taking into consideration that it is virtually impossible to define a specific method for deep-sea species.

The Regional Government also defends the need to maintain the prohibition on the issuance of licenses for trawl nets and gillnets in accordance with the provisions of the Regulation (EC) no.1568/2005 of September 20. This legislation introduced protective measures for deep coral reefs and other benthic organisms associated with particular ecosystems, such as hydrothermal vents that exist in waters around the Azores, through the establishment of a ban on deep-sea gillnets and trawl nets. It has ensured a better preservation of these sensitive marine habitats.

The document also expresses the concern of the Azores towards the maintenance of the derogation exempting vessels with overall length less than 10 metres licensed for the catch of deep-sea species from using the Fishing Log.