185 



5. Each Panel shall investigate and report to the Commission upon 

 any matter referred to it by the Commission. 



6. A Panel shall not incur any expenditure except in accordance 

 with directions given by the Commission. 



Article VIII 



1. The Commission may, on the recommendations of one or more 

 Panels, and on the basis of scientific investigations, transmit to the 

 Depositary Government proposals, for joint action by the Contracting 

 Governments, designed to keep the stocks of those species of fish which 

 support international fisheries in the Convention area at a level per- 

 mitting the maximum sustained catch by the application, with respect 

 to such species of fish, of one or more of the following measures : 



(a) establishing open and closed seasons ; 



(b) closing to fishing such portions of a sub-area as the Panel 

 concerned finds to be a spawning area or to be populated by small 

 or immature fish ; 



(c) establishing size limits for any species ; 



( d ) prescribing the fishing gear and appliances the use of which 

 is prohibited ; 



(e) prescribing an over-all catch limit for any species of fish. 



2. Each recommendation shall be studied by the Commission and 

 thereafter the Commission shall either 



(a) transmit the recommendation as a proposal to the De- 

 positary Government with such modifications or suggestions as 

 the Commission may consider desirable, or 



(b) refer the recommendation back to the Panel with com- 

 ments for its reconsideration. 



3. The Panel may, after reconsidering the recommendation re- 

 turned to it by the Commission, reaffirm that recommendation, with 

 or without modification. 



4. If, after a recommendation is reaffirmed, the Commission is un- 

 able to adopt the recommendation as a proposal, it shall send a copy 

 of the recommendation to the Depositary Government with a report 

 of the Commission's decision. The Depositary Government shall 

 transmit copies of the recommendation and of the Commission's report 

 to the Contracting Governments. 



5. The Commission may, after consultation with all the Panels, 

 transmit proposals to the Depositary Government within the scope of 

 paragraph 1 of this Article affecting the Convention area as a whole. 



6. The Depositary Government shall transmit any proposal received 

 by it to the Contracting Governments for their consideration and may 

 make such suggestions as will facilitate acceptance of the proposal. 



7. The Contracting Governments shall notify the Depositary Gov- 

 ernment of their acceptance of the proposal, and the Depositary Gov- 

 ernment shall notify the Contracting Governments of each acceptance 

 communicated to it, including the date of receipt thereof. 



8. The proposal shall become effective for all Contracting Govern- 

 ments four months after the date on which notifications of acceptance 

 shall have been received by the Depositary Government from all the 

 Contracting Governments participating in the Panel or Panels for the 

 sub-area or sub-areas to which the proposal applies. 



