Considerations on COM(2024)213 - - Main contents
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| dossier | COM(2024)213 - . |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2024)213 |
| date | June 28, 2024 |
(2) [Following the publication by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) of its advice for anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) in ICES division 9a for the period from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025 on [X], the total allowable catches (TAC) for anchovy in ICES subareas 9 and 10 and Union waters of Committee for Eastern Central Atlantic Fisheries (CECAF) division 34.1.1 for that period should be set in line with that advice.] [The recital and the relevant provisions will be updated after the publication of the ICES advice.]
(3) On 28 March 2024, the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) published its opinion28 on the socio-economic impact of setting the TAC for pollack (Pollachius pollachius) in ICES divisions 8a, 8b, 8d, and 8e for 2024 at the level advised by ICES29 and indicating the level of that TAC required to avoid the phenomenon of ‘choke species’30. Therefore, the definitive TAC for 2024 should be set, replacing the provisional TAC set by Regulation (EU) 2024/257 for the period from 1 January to 30 June 2024. Pursuant to Article 5(3) of Regulation (EU) 2019/472 of the European Parliament and of the Council31, that TAC should be set at a level of 959 tonnes, which, according to that opinion, will allow the fleets to continue operating until the fourth quarter of the year and therefore reduce: (i) the phenomenon of ‘choke species’ and a premature closure of the relevant fisheries; and (ii) associated socio-economic impacts on the fisheries sector.
(4) [From 13 to 29 June 2023, the Union and Norway held consultations on: (i) the level of the overall fishing opportunities for Northern prawn in ICES divisions 3a and 4a east for the period from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024; as well as (ii) the level of the TAC for Northern prawn in ICES division 3a. The outcome of those consultations was documented in an Agreed Record signed on 29 June 2023. The relevant TAC should therefore be set at the level agreed with Norway]. [The recital and the relevant provisions will be updated after the conclusion of consultations between the Union and Norway.]
(5) [On 12 May 2023, the Union, the United Kingdom and Norway held consultations on: (i) the level of the overall fishing opportunities for sprat (Sprattus sprattus) in Union and United Kingdom waters of ICES subarea 4 and division 2a for the period from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025; and Union and Norwegian waters of ICES division 3a for the same period as well as (ii) the level of the TAC for sprat in those areas. The outcome of those consultations was documented in an Agreed Record signed on 16 May 2023. The TACs for sprat and associated by-catches for the period from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024 in: (i) Union and United Kingdom waters of ICES subarea 4 and division 2a; and (ii) Union and Norwegian waters of ICES division 3a, should therefore be set at the levels agreed with the United Kingdom and Norway.] [The recital and the relevant provisions will be updated after the conclusion of consultations between the Union, the United Kingdom and Norway.]
(6) [On 4 May 2023, the Union and the United Kingdom held consultations. pursuant to Article 498(2), (4) and (6) of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the other part32, on the level of the TAC for sprat in ICES divisions 7d and 7e for the period from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024. The outcome of those consultations was documented in a Written Record signed on 1 June 2023. The TAC for sprat and associated by-catches in ICES divisions 7d and 7e for that period should therefore be set at the level agreed with the United Kingdom.] [The recital and the relevant provisions will be updated after the conclusion of consultations between the Union and the United Kingdom.]
(7) To allow fishing to start on 1 July 2024, it is proposed to set the Union quota for redfish (Sebastes spp.) in international waters of ICES subareas 1 and 2 for 2024. That Union quota should be set at the level of 6 000 tonnes, i.e. at the same level as for 2023, pending the availability of scientific advice and to allow to maintenance at historic level of the Union fishing activities for the stock in international waters.
(8) At is 2024 annual meeting, the North Pacific Fisheries Commission (NPFC) amended measures for chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus) in the NPFC Convention area and, for the first time, established catch limits for that stock available to all NPFC Contracting Parties for respectively trawlers and purse seiners for the period from 1 June 2024 to 31 May 2025, including the Union. In addition, the NPFC established an additional amount of that stock for the Union for that same period. It also established associated effort limits. Moreover, the NPFC established measures functionally linked to those catch limits and that additional amount, without which: (i) those catch limits for all NPFC Contracting Parties could not have been established; and (ii) the fishing opportunities for chub mackerel in the NPFC Convention area would have to be reduced to protect the non-target species. It is proposed to implement those fishing opportunities and functionally linked measures in Union law. Regarding the catch limits and the additional amount for the Union, as Member States have not fished for that stock in the past, it is proposed to allocate those at Union level.
(9) Regulation (EU) 2024/897 of the European Parliament and of the Council33 inter alia amends Article 33 of Regulation (EU) 2017/201734 of the European Parliament and of the Council35 by inserting a new provision in that latter regulation, which prohibits Union vessels from harming shortfin mako sharks caught in the Atlantic Ocean north of 5°N, and requires Union vessels to release promptly such shortfin mako sharks into the sea, while giving due consideration to the safety of crew members. To avoid overlapping provisions on the same subject matter, it is appropriate to delete Article 27(6) of Regulation (EU) 2024/257.
(10) Articles 32 and 34 to 36 of Regulation (EU) 2017/2017 already prohibit Union vessels from retaining on board, transhipping or landing any part or whole carcass of bigeye thresher sharks (Alopias superciliosus), oceanic whitetip sharks (Carcharhinus longimanus) hammerhead sharks of the Sphyrnidae family and silky sharks (Carcharhinus falciformis), caught in association with ICCAT fisheries, and to promptly release, unharmed specimens back into the sea. To avoid overlapping provisions on the same subject matter, it is also appropriate to delete Articles 27(1) and (3) to (5) of Regulation (EU) 2024/257.
(11) [Pursuant to Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 2023/2053 of the European Parliament and of the Council36, certain Member States submitted to the Commission revised annual fishing plans and annual fishing capacity management plans with requests to transfer a percentage of their annual quota of bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) in the Atlantic Ocean, east of 45°W, and the Mediterranean from 2023 to 2024. Based on those revised plans, the Commission submitted a revised Union annual plan for 2024 to the ICCAT Secretariat on [X] May 2024, pursuant to Article 11(5) of Regulation (EU) 2023/2053. The revised Union annual plan for 2024 was approved by ICCAT on [X]. The TAC for bluefin tuna in the Atlantic Ocean, east of 45°W, and the Mediterranean for 2024 should therefore be amended in line with that revised Union annual plan.] [The recital and the relevant provisions will be updated after the approval by ICCAT of a possible revised Union annual plan.]
(12) [Five Member States submitted modifications to their farming management plans for bluefin tuna to the Commission, pursuant to Article 15(7) of Regulation (EU) 2023/2053. Based on those revised plans, the Commission submitted a revised Union annual plan for 2023 to the ICCAT Secretariat on 9 May 2023. The revised Union annual plan for 2023 was approved by ICCAT on 11 May 2023. The Union’s maximum farming input and capacity should therefore be amended in line with that revised Union annual plan.] [The recital and the relevant provisions will be updated after the approval by ICCAT of a possible revised Union annual plan.]
(13) Article 20(1) and certain TAC tables in Annexes IA, Part B, and IK to Regulation (EU) 2024/257, and Article 18(1) and Annex IA, Part D, to Council Regulation (EU) 2023/19437 contain certain errors as regards fishing opportunities levels, species, application areas and reporting codes. It is therefore appropriate to correct those provisions accordingly.
(14) Regulations (EU) 2023/194 and (EU) 2024/257 should therefore be amended and corrected accordingly.
(15) Certain provisions of this Regulation correcting provisions of Regulation (EU) 2024/357 concerning certain fishing opportunities in the SIOFA area should apply from 1 December 2023, in line with the application period of the amended provisions. In addition the provisions of this Regulation amending or correcting provisions of Regulations (EU) 2023/194 and (EU) 2024/257 concerning: (i) pollack in ICES divisions 8a, 8b, 8d and 8e; (ii) bluefin tuna in the Atlantic Ocean, east of 45°W, and the Mediterranean; and (iii) the corrections of errors, should apply from 1 January 2024, in line with the application period of the provisions concerned. Such retroactive application does not affect the principles of legal certainty and protection of legitimate expectations, as the level or area of application of the fishing opportunities or farming limits are increased.
(16) Given the urgency of avoiding interruptions to fishing activities, this Regulation should enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union,