Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2012)579 - Fixing for 2013 and 2014 of the fishing opportunities for EU vessels for certain deep-sea fish stocks - Main contents
Please note
This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2012)579 - Fixing for 2013 and 2014 of the fishing opportunities for EU vessels for certain deep-sea fish stocks. |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2012)579  |
| date | 09-10-2012 |
Grounds for and objectives of the proposal Deep-sea stocks are fish stocks caught in waters beyond the main fishing grounds of continental shelves. They are distributed on the continental slopes or associated with seamounts. Most of these species are slow-growing and long-lived, which makes them particularly vulnerable to fishing activity. Another imporant element in a species' vulnerability to fishing is whether it can be targeted in local aggregations, particularly at the time of spawning. This is the case for orange roughy, blue ling and alfonsinos. As for all wild fish stocks, leaving deep-sea fisheries unrestricted leads to a race by fishing undertakings to take possession of a free resource, without having sufficient regard to the sustainable level of exploitation. This has been clearly the case for some deep-sea species before regulation by the European Union commenced in 2003. For example, the valuable orange roughy in north-western waters is considered depleted, as well as the valuable red seabream in the Bay of Biscay. Therefore, limiting the fishing activity is a necessary public intervention in order to prevent the erosion of income for fishermen, to develop exploitation towards higher long-term yields, and to reduce the impact on the ecosystem and food web as a consequence of sudden reductions in the size of certain fish populations. In the case of deep-sea species, the public intervention is of particular importance due to the fact that the recovery from depletion of slow-growing stocks might take a very long time or might even fail. The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) provides a thorough review of the biological status of deep sea stocks every two years. The latest advice was given in June 2012. This proposal for fixing fishing opportunities is based on the further review undertaken by the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) in July 2012, following the work of ICES. This provides the groundwork for fixing fishing opportunities for deep sea stocks in accordance with the principle embodied in Article 2(2)(b) of Council Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002, whereby decision-making under the Common fisheries Policy must be based on sound scientific advice which delivers timely results. The Commission has therefore established the practice of tabling proposals for fishing opportunities regulations at the pace that scientific advice becomes available. In addition, the Commission has assessed the effectiveness of the general access regime to deep-sea stocks (Council Regulation (EC) No 2347/2002 of 16 December 2002 establishing specific access requirements and associated conditions applicable to fishing for deep-sea stocks i), and carried out an impact assessment of options to reinforce this regime, including a wide consultation process. On that basis, the Commission has tabled on 19 July 2012 a proposal revising the access regime, which includes a reinforced licensing system and a gradual phase-out of those fishing gears that specifically target deep sea species in a less sustainable manner, namely bottom trawls and bottom-set gillnets. The Commission has also proposed specific requirements for the collection of data from deep-sea fishing activities.
General context Fishing for deep-sea species is regulated by the European Union since 2003 in terms of total allowable catches (TACs) per species and area, and in terms of maximum fishing effort deployable in the North-East Atlantic. For 2011 and 2012 the total allowable catches of certain deep sea species were established in Council Regulation (EU) No 1225/2010 of 13 December 2010 fixing for 2011 and 2012 the fishing opportunities for EU vessels for fish stocks of certain deep-sea fish species. In all cases, with only two exceptions, available information on the deep-sea stocks covered by this proposal does not allow scientists to fully assess the stock status, neither in terms of population size nor fishing mortality. There are several reasons for this: these species are often very long-lived and slow-growing, making it extremely difficult to structure the stock into age classes and to assess the effect of fishing on the stock through changes in the length or age structure of catches. The frequency of recruitment of young fish to the stocks is not known. The stocks are widely distributed in depths that are difficult to examine for practical reasons. Data from scientific surveys are often not available due to the reduced commercial importance of these stocks, or do not cover the whole distribution area. Fishing activities are only partly focusing on these species and some have a relatively short history. Despite these intrinsic difficulties, the scientific advice delivered by ICES in June 2012 and STECF in July 2012 has made progress, notably in respect of the stocks that offer the largest fishing opportunities. For the main stock of roundnose grenadiers, it has been possible to identify levels of fishing that, if complied with, will bring the resource to maximum sustainable yield (MSY). For another important species, black scabbardfish, the advice, albeit based on trends and not on a full estimate of the status of the stock, provides precise indications as to how to achieve MSY in 2015. This brings about clear management objectives that can form the basis for a long-term sustainable use of these stocks. The fixing and sharing of possibilities for fishing falls exclusively within the competence of the Union. The obligations concerning sustainable exploitation of living aquatic resources are set out in Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002. Such fishing opportunities should be in accordance with international agreements, inter alia the 1995 United Nations agreement concerning the conservation and management of straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks (hereinafter 'the 1995 UN Fish stocks agreement'). In particular, the regulator needs to be more cautious when information is uncertain, unreliable or inadequate. Pursuant to Article 6 of the 1995 UN Fish Stocks Agreement the absence of adequate scientific information is not to be used as a reason for postponing or failing to take conservation and management measures. The TAC adjustments foreseen in this proposal follow the guidance set out in the scientific advice and reflect the management principles laid down in the 1995 UN Fish stocks agreement and the 2008 International Guidelines for the Management of Deep-sea Fisheries in the High Seas of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, which have been confirmed by successive Resolutions of the UN General Assembly (Resolutions 61/105 in 2007, 64/72 in 2009, and most recently, 66/231 in 2011). While a number of deep-sea stocks are exploited also by other fishing nations, in particular Norway, Iceland, the Faroes Islands and Russia, and while it is necessary to seek agreement on harmonised management measures together with those fishing nations or, as far as stocks inhabit international waters, within the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC), unilateral measures applicable to vessels of the European Union are needed until those agreements are reached, in order to avoid the negative consequences of unregulated fisheries as described above.
Existing provisions in the area of the proposal The existing provisions in the area of the proposal are established in Council Regulation (EU) No 1225/2010 and applicable until 31 December 2012. They are linked to the already mentioned Council Regulation (EC) No 2347/2002, which lists in Annex I the commercially most important deep-sea species for which the Commission seeks to have catch limitations.
Consistency with other policies and objectives of the Union The measures proposed are designed in accordance with the objectives and the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy and are consistent with the Union's policy on sustainable development.
Contents
Consultation methods, main sectors targeted and general profile of respondents The proposal has been developed based on the principles and guidance set out in the Commission's Communication from the Commission concerning a Consultation on Fishing Opportunities for 2013 (COM(2012)278 final)), in which the Commission explained its views and intentions concerning its proposals for fishing opportunities in 2013 for all stocks. As stated in its title, the Commission carries out a wide consultation of stakeholders, civil society, Member States and the public at large based on this Communication.
Collection and use of expertise Fisheries biology and fisheries economics are the scientific/expertise domains concerned. The Commission consulted ICES, an international independent scientific body, and organised the plenary meeting of the STECF. Advice from ICES is based on an advice framework developed within ICES and used in accordance with from the Memorandum of Understanding between ICES and the Commission, which is one of ICES' clients. The STECF gives its advice following terms of reference that it receives from the Commission. All STECF reports are available, after formal adoption by the Commission, on its website. All ICES reports are available on its website For many of the stocks covered by this proposal, there are insufficient data to demonstrate the sustainability of the fisheries. The scientific advice in these cases follows the precautionary principle and the advice that recommends reducing the catches from recent levels until signs of population increase become evident. Precise indications as to the level of catch reductions are provided. This advice is considered directional, providing guidance on the levels at which TACs should be set. As a general approach, and in light of the precautionary principle, the Commission sees a need to propose TAC reductions that go in this direction, in the proportion suggested by the advice. Among the 24 TAC entries in this regulation, several of them concern a very limited tonnage. For these small TACs, precautionary reductions are advised. However, existing quotas are small and intended to cover inevitable by-catches, and for this reason, the TACs as they currently stand are maintained in order to avoid creating an obligation to discard. This concerns notably blue ling, roundnose grenadiers and black scabbardfish by-catches outside the main fishery areas. As for the stocks where the situation continues to be of particular concern, the current zero TACs are continued, as advised. These include the stocks oforange roughy, assessed as depleted. As regards the stocks of deep-sea sharks, new scientific advice is expected by early October, and thus they appear as “pro memoria” (pm) in this proposal. Blue ling and red seabream are deemed to be in poor state. For them, as well as for alfonsinos and forkbeards, precautionary reductions of the catch are advised. In contrast, the advice is rather positive concerning the stocks in this proposal that support targeted fisheries, namely the main roundnose grenadier and black scabbardfish fisheries. After consecutive reductions of fishing opportunities, the 2012 scientific advice confirms the tendency already observed two years ago that the exploitation levels of these two stocks over a number of years do not seem to have had a detrimental effect on their status. This year, ICES and STECF have been able to complete a more precise evaluation of the state of these resources, suggesting their good status. This allows a raise in the fishing opportunities for black scabbardfish and a stable level of catches in the case of the larger stock of grenadier in the western waters. The on-going revision and improvement of the deep sea fisheries access regime comes into play as the means to develop the necessary measures to encourage fishing strategies that mitigate negative effects on vulnerable marine ecosystems and reduce discards. Where important parts of the advised catch are made by non-Member States, this has been taken into account and the advice has been applied to EU fisheries according to their development. Impact assessment Fishing opportunities have to be fixed as required by Article 43(3) TFEU. The proposal does not only concern short-term decisions but is also part of a longer term approach whereby the level of fishing is gradually reduced to long-term sustainable levels. The approach taken in the proposal will in the short-term result in reduced TACs but, as the overexploited stocks recover, the fishing opportunities should be stable or increase, depending on the precautionary advice. The medium to long-term consequences of the approach are predicted to be a reduced impact on the environment as a consequence of the decline in fishing effort, reductions in the number of vessels and/or in the average fishing effort per vessel, and unchanged or increased landings of those species that will have shown to sustain continuous fishing activity. The reduction achieved in fishing effort and fleet size dedicated to deep-sea fisheries since 2003 shows that this policy is being implemented in practice. Some first positive signals from the stock indices confirm that the expectations of the medium to long term consequences are still valid.
The proposal establishes by way of a Regulation, for EU fishing fleets, the catch limitations for the commercially most important deep-sea species in EU and international waters of the North-East Atlantic, in order to achieve the objective of the Common Fisheries Policy of ensuring fisheries at levels that are biologically, economically and socially sustainable. It is based on Article 43(3) TFEU. The proposal falls under the Union exclusive competence as referred to in Article 3(1)(d) TFEU. The subsidiarity principle therefore does not apply.
The proposal complies with the proportionality principle for the following reason: the Common Fisheries Policy is a common policy. According to Article 43(3) TFEU it is incumbent upon the Council to adopt the measures on the fixing and allocation of fishing opportunities.
Having regard to Article 20(3) of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 Member States are free to allocate such opportunities among regions or operators as they see fit. Therefore, Member States have ample room for manoeuvre on decisions related to the social/economic model of their choice to exploit their allocated fishing opportunities.
The proposal has no new financial implications for Member States. This Regulation is adopted by Council every two years, and the public and private means to implement it are already in place.
The proposal has no implications for the EU budget.
Simplification
The proposal does in general neither simplify the management of fishing quotas, nor does it complicate it.
The proposal concerns a regulation covering the years 2013 and 2014. The management tools and levels of fishing opportunities will be reviewed during 2014 at the latest in order to prepare a successor regulation. A revision clause in this regulation is not necessary.
Detailed explanation of the proposal The TFEU establishes under Article 43(3) that the Council shall adopt measures 'on the fixing and allocation of fishing opportunities' on a proposal from the Commission. This proposal is limited to the fixing and allocation of fishing opportunities and conditions functionally linked to the use of those fishing opportunities. As regards catch limitations, the proposal is in accordance with the principles for the so called frontloading process which are set out in the Communication from the Commission on improving consultation on Community fisheries management (COM(2006)246final) and in the Communication from the Commission concerning a Consultation on Fishing Opportunities for 2013 (COM(2012)278 final)), which set out the views and intentions of the Commission concerning its proposals for fishing opportunities, pending the scientific advice on the state of the stocks for 2013. Section 6 of this Communication sets out the Commission's views on how to fix fishing opportunities, and such rules have been followed in the development of this proposal in respect of the 24 TAC entries it contains, as follows: · Where scientific advice is provided based on comprehensive data and quantitative analysis and forecasts according to the ICES 'MSY framework' TACs should be set according to scientific advice. When such advice is available it should be directly used to fix levels of quotas or fishing effort, though a gradual implementation of this framework by 2015 could be accepted where this is compatible with the advice. Two TAC entries for roundnose grenadier are concerned by this guidance in this proposal. · Where indicative scientific advice is provided based on qualitative analysis of available information (even if this is incomplete or incorporates expert judgement) this should be used as a basis for TAC decisions: TAC cuts for 8 TAC entries are proposed in accordance with this guidance in this proposal. In the case of 2 entries for black scabbardfish, following this guidance implies an increase in the TAC. · Where there is no scientific advice at all there is a need to follow the precautionary approach: this affects 11 TAC entries in this proposal, including six with precautionary zero TACs. The proposal is furthermore in line with the Communication from the Commission on implementing sustainability in EU fisheries through maximum sustainable yield (COM(2006)360final).