Annexes to COM(2021)198 - Conservation and management measures applicable in the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Convention Area

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dossier COM(2021)198 - Conservation and management measures applicable in the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Convention Area.
document COM(2021)198 EN
date October 19, 2022
Agreement of 28 July 1994 relating to the implementation of Part XI thereof (OJ L 179, 23.6.1998, p. 1).

(5) Council Decision 98/414/EC of 8 June 1998 on the ratification by the European Community of the Agreement for the implementing of the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 relating to the conservation and management of straddling stocks and highly migratory fish stocks (OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 14).

(6) Council Decision 2005/75/EC of 26 April 2004 on the accession of the Community to the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (OJ L 32, 4.2.2005, p. 1).

(7) Council Regulation (EC) No 520/2007 of 7 May 2007 laying down technical measures for the conservation of certain stocks of highly migratory species and repealing Regulation (EC) No 973/2001 (OJ L 123, 12.5.2007, p. 3).

(8) Regulation (EU) 2019/473 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 March 2019 on the European Fisheries Control Agency (OJ L 83, 25.3.2019, p. 18).

(9) OJ L 123, 12.5.2016, p. 1.

(10) Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39).

(11) Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 1).

(12) Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 of 20 November 2009 establishing a Union control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the common fisheries policy, amending Regulations (EC) No 847/96, (EC) No 2371/2002, (EC) No 811/2004, (EC) No 768/2005, (EC) No 2115/2005, (EC) No 2166/2005, (EC) No 388/2006, (EC) No 509/2007, (EC) No 676/2007, (EC) No 1098/2007, (EC) No 1300/2008, (EC) No 1342/2008 and repealing Regulations (EEC) No 2847/93, (EC) No 1627/94 and (EC) No 1966/2006 (OJ L 343, 22.12.2009, p. 1).

(13) Council Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 of 29 September 2008 establishing a Community system to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, amending Regulations (EEC) No 2847/93, (EC) No 1936/2001 and (EC) No 601/2004 and repealing Regulations (EC) No 1093/94 and (EC) No 1447/1999 (OJ L 286, 29.10.2008, p. 1).


ANNEX I

BIRD MITIGATION MEASURES

Table 1: Mitigation Measures

Column AColumn B
Side setting with a bird curtain and weighted branch lines (1)Tori line (2)
Night setting with minimum deck lightingBlue-dyed bait
Tori lineDeep setting line shooter
Weighted branch linesManagement of offal discharge
Hook-shielding devices (3)

Specifications

1.Tori lines (South of 25° South)
(a)For vessels ≥ 35 m total length

(i)Deploy at least one tori line. Where practical, vessels are encouraged to use a second tori line at times of high bird abundance or activity; both tori lines shall be deployed simultaneously, one on each side of the line being set. If two tori lines are used, baited hooks shall be deployed within the area bounded by the two tori lines.

(ii)A tori line using long and short streamers shall be used. Streamers shall be: brightly coloured, a mix of long and short streamers.

(1)Long streamers shall be placed at intervals of no more than 5 m, and long streamers must be attached to the line with swivels that prevent streamers from wrapping around the line. Long streamers of sufficient length to reach the sea surface in calm conditions must be used.

(2)Short streamers (greater than 1 m in length) shall be placed no more than 1 m apart.

(iii)Vessels shall deploy the tori line to achieve a desired aerial extent greater than or equal to 100 m. To achieve this aerial extent the tori line shall have a minimum length of 200 m, and shall be attached to a tori pole > 7 m above the sea surface located as close to the stern as practical.

(iv)If vessels use only one tori line, the tori line shall be deployed windward of sinking baits.

(b)For vessels < 35 m total length

(i)A single tori line using either long and short streamers, or short streamers only shall be used.

(ii)Streamers shall be: brightly coloured long and/or short (but greater than 1 m in length); streamers must be used and placed at intervals as follows:

(1)Long streamers placed at intervals of no more than 5 m for the first 75 m of tori line.

(2)Short streamers placed at intervals of no more than 1 m.

(iii)Long streamers should be attached to the line in a way that prevent streamers from wrapping around the line. All long streamers shall reach the sea-surface in calm conditions. Streamers may be modified over the first 15 m to avoid tangling.

(iv)Vessels shall deploy the tori line to achieve a minimum aerial extent of 75 m. To achieve this aerial extent the tori line shall be attached to a tori pole > 6 m above the sea surface located as close to the stern as practical. Sufficient drag must be created to maximise aerial extent and maintain the line directly behind the vessel during crosswinds. To avoid tangling, this is best achieved using a long in-water section of rope or monofilament.

(v)If two tori lines are used, the two lines must be deployed on opposing sides of the main line.

2.Tori lines (North of 23° North)
(a)Long Streamer

(i)Minimum length: 100 m

(ii)Must be attached to the vessel such that it is suspended from a point a minimum of 5 m above the water at the stern on the windward side of the point where the hookline enters the water.

(iii)Must be attached so that the aerial extent is maintained over the sinking baited hooks.

(iv)Streamers must be less than 5 m apart, be using swivels and long enough so that they are as close to the water as possible.

(v)If two (i.e. paired) tori lines are used, the two lines must be deployed on opposing sides of the main line.

(b)Short Streamer (For vessels ≥ 24 m total length)

(i)Must be attached to the vessel such that it is suspended from a point a minimum of 5 m above the water at the stern on the windward side of a point where the hookline enters the water.

(ii)Must be attached so that the aerial extent is maintained over the sinking baited hooks.

(iii)Streamers must be less than 1 m apart and be 30 cm minimum length.

(iv)If two (i.e. paired) tori lines are used, the two lines must be deployed on opposing sides of the main line.

(c)Short Streamer (For vessels < 24 m total length)

This design shall be reviewed no later than three years from the implementation date based on scientific data.

(i)Must be attached to the vessel such that it is suspended from a point a minimum of 5 m above the water at the stern on the windward side of a point where the hookline enters the water.

(ii)Must be attached so that the aerial extent is maintained over the sinking baited hooks.

(iii)If streamers are used, it is encouraged to use the streamers designed to be less than 1 m apart and be 30 cm minimum length.

(iv)If two (i.e. paired) tori lines are used, the two lines must be deployed on opposing sides of the mainline.

3.Side setting with bird curtain and weighted branch lines
(a)Mainline deployed from port or starboard side as far from stern as practicable (at least 1 m), and if mainline shooter is used, must be mounted at least 1m forward of the stern.

(b)When seabirds are present the gear must ensure mainline is deployed slack so that baited hooks remain submerged.

(c)Bird curtain must be employed:

(i)pole aft of line shooter at least 3 m long;

(ii)minimum of three main streamers attached to upper 2 m of pole;

(iii)main streamer diameter minimum 20 mm;

(iv)branch streamers attached to end of each main streamer long enough to drag on water (no wind) – minimum diameter 10 mm.

4.Night setting
(a)No setting between nautical dawn and before nautical dusk.

(b)Nautical dusk and nautical dawn are defined as set out in the Nautical Almanac tables for relevant latitude, local time and date.

(c)Deck lighting to be kept to a minimum. Minimum deck lighting should not breach minimum standards for safety and navigation.

5.Weighted branch lines

Following minimum weight specifications are required:

(a)one weight greater than or equal to 40 g within 50 cm of the hook;

(b)greater than or equal to a total of 45 g attached to within 1 m of the hook;

(c)greater than or equal to a total of 60 g attached to within 3,5 m of the hook; or

(d)greater than or equal to a total of 98 g weight attached to within 4 m of the hook.

6.Hook-shielding devices

Hook-shielding devices encase the point and barb of baited hooks to prevent seabird attacks during line setting. The following devices have been approved for use in WCPFC fisheries:

Hookpods, which comply with the following performance characteristics:

(a)the device encases the point and barb of the hook until it reaches a depth of at least 10 metres or has been immersed for at least 10 minutes;

(b)the device meets current minimum standards for branch line weighting as specified in this Annex; and

(c)the device is designed to be retained on the fishing gear rather than being lost.

7.Management of offal discharge
(a)either no offal discharge during setting or hauling;

(b)or strategic offal discharge from the opposite side of the boat to setting/hauling to actively encourage birds away from baited hooks.

8.Blue-dyed bait
(a)If using blue-dyed bait it must be fully thawed when dyed.

(b)The WCPFC Secretariat shall distribute a standardised colour placard.

(c)All bait must be dyed to the shade shown in the placard.

9.Deep setting line shooter
(a)Line shooters must be deployed in a manner such that the hooks are set substantially deeper than they would be lacking the use of the line shooter, and such that the majority of hooks reach depths of at least 100 m.


(1) If using side setting with a bird curtain and weighted branch lines from Column A, this will be counted as two mitigation measures.

(2) If a tori line is selected from both Column A and Column B, this equates to simultaneously using two (i.e. paired) tori lines.

(3) Hook-shielding devices can be used as a stand-alone measure.


ANNEX II

MARKINGS AND OTHER TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS OF FISHING VESSELS

1.   

Union fishing vessels shall display the WIN in the English language prominently at all times:
(a)on the vessel’s hull or superstructure, port and starboard. Operators may place fixtures that are inclined at an angle to the vessel’s side or superstructure provided that the angle of inclination would not prevent sighting of the sign from another vessel or from the air;

(b)on a deck, except as provided for in paragraph 3. Should an awning or other temporary cover be placed so as to obscure the mark on a deck, the awning or cover shall also be marked. These marks should be placed athwartships with the top of the numbers or letters towards the bow.

2.   

The WIN shall be placed:
(a)as high as possible above the waterline on both sides of the vessel and it shall be ensured that such parts of the hull as the flare of the bow and the stern are avoided;

(b)in a manner that does not allow the marks to be obscured by the fishing gear whether it is stowed or in use;

(c)in a manner so that they are clear of flow from scuppers or overboard discharges including areas which might be prone to damage or discolouration from the catch of certain types of species; and

(d)so that they do not extend below the waterline.

3.   

Undecked vessels shall not be required to display the WIN on a horizontal surface. However, operators are encouraged to fit a board on which the WIN is placed so that it may be clearly seen from the air.

4.   

Boats, skiffs and craft carried by the vessel for fishing operations shall bear the same WIN as the vessel concerned.

5.   

Union fishing vessels shall comply with the following in placing the WIN on the vessel:
(a)block lettering and numbering is used throughout;

(b)the width of the letters and numbers is in proportion to the height;

(c)the height (h) of the letters and numbers is in proportion to the size of the vessel and in accordance with the following:

(i)for the WIN to be placed on the hull, superstructure and/or inclined surfaces: the length of vessel overall (LOA) shall be displayed in metres (m); the height of letters and numbers in metres (m) shall not be less than: 1,0 m for vessels of 25 m and over, 0,8 m for vessels at least 20 m but less than 25 m, 0,6 m for vessels of at least 15 m but less than 20 m, 0,4 m for vessels of at least 12 m but less than 15 m, 0,3 m for vessels of at least 5 m but less than 12 m, 0,1 m for vessels under 5 m;

(ii)for the WIN to be placed on deck: the height shall not be less than 0,3 m for all classes of vessels of 5 m and over;

(d)the length of the hyphen is half the height of the letters and numbers;

(e)the width of the stroke for all letters, numbers and the hyphen is h/6;

(f)the space between letters and/or numbers does not exceed h/4 nor be less than h/6;

(g)the space between adjacent letters having sloping sides does not exceed h/8 nor be less than h/10;

(h)the WIN is white on a black background, or black on a white background;

(i)the background shall extend to provide a border around the WIN of not less than h/6;

(j)good quality marine paint is used throughout;

(k)the WIN meets the requirements of these specifications where retro-reflective or heat generating substances are used; and

(l)the WIN and the background are maintained in good condition at all times.


ANNEX III

MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR AUTOMATIC LOCATION COMMUNICATORS (ALCS) USED IN THE WCPFC VESSEL MONITORING SYSTEM

1.   

The ALC shall automatically and independently of any intervention on the vessel communicate the following data:
(i)ALC static unique identifier;

(ii)the current geographical position (latitude and longitude) of the vessel; and

(iii)the date and time (expressed in Universal Time Constant [UTC]) of the fixing of the position of the vessel referred to in point (ii).

2.   

The data referred to in paragraph 1, points (ii) and (iii), shall be obtained from a satellite-based positioning system.

3.   

ALCs fitted to fishing vessels must be capable of transmitting data referred to in paragraph 1, hourly.

4.   

The data referred to paragraph 1 shall be received by the WCPFC within 90 minutes of being generated by the ALC, under normal operating conditions.

5.   

ALCs fitted to fishing vessels must be protected so as to preserve the security and integrity of data referred to in paragraph 1.

6.   

Storage of information within the ALC must be safe, secure and integrated under normal operating conditions.

7.   

It must not be reasonably possible for anyone other than the monitoring authority to alter any of that authority’s data stored in the ALC, including the frequency of position reporting to that authority.

8.   

Any features built into the ALC or terminal software to assist with servicing shall not allow unauthorised access to any areas of the ALC that could potentially compromise the operation of the VMS.

9.   

ALCs shall be installed on vessels in accordance with their manufacturer’s specifications and applicable standards.

10.   

Under normal satellite navigation operating conditions, positions derived from the data forwarded must be accurate to within 100 square metres Distance Root Mean Squared (DRMS) (i.e. 98 % of the positions must be within this range).

11.   

The ALC and/or forwarding service provider must be able to support the ability for data to be sent to multiple independent destinations.

12.   

The satellite navigation decoder and transmitter shall be fully integrated and housed in the same tamper-proof physical enclosure.

13.   

A standard format for manual position reporting in the event of ALC Malfunction or Failure is as follows:
(a)WIN

(b)Vessel Name

(c)Date: dd/mm/yy

(d)Time: 24 hour format HH:MM (UTC)

(e)Latitude –DD-MM-SS (N/S)

(f)Longitude –DDD-MM-SS (E/W)

(g)Activity (Fishing/Searching/Transit/Transhipping)


ANNEX IV

INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED IN THE WCPFC TRANSHIPMENT DECLARATION

1.A unique document identifier

2.The name of the fishing vessel and its WIN

3.The name of the carrier vessel and its WIN

4.The fishing gear used to take the fish

5.The quantity of product (1)(including species and its processed state (2)) to be transhipped

6.The state of fish (fresh or frozen)

7.The quantity of by-product (3) to be transhipped

8.The geographic location (4) of the highly migratory fish stock catches

9.The date and location (5) of the transhipment

10.If applicable, the name and signature of the WCPFC observer

11.The quantity of product already on board the receiving vessel and the geographic origin (6) of that product.


(1) Tuna and tuna-like species.

(2) Whole; gutted and headed; gutted, headed and tailed; gutted only, not gilled; gilled and gutted; gilled, gutted and tailed; shark fins.

(3) Non tuna and tuna-like species.

(4) Geographic location of catch means sufficient information to identify what proportion of the catch was taken in the following areas: high seas, outside the Convention Area, EEZs (listed separately). Location of catches not required for receiving vessel.

(5) Location of transhipment is to be in decimal latitude and longitude to the nearest 0,1 degrees and accompanied by a description of the location, such as high seas, outside the Convention Area or within a named EEZ.

(6) The origin of product shall be reported by RFMO area and will include the quantity of product from each different area.


ANNEX V

COORDINATES AND MAP OF THE EASTERN HIGH SEA POCKET

LONGITUDELATITUDE
-155.495308-11.375548
-155.498321-11.391248
-155.375667-11.6652
-155.144789-12.031226
-155.087069-12.286791
-155.011312-12.527927
-154.988916-12.541928
-155.011131-12.528155
-155.4405-12.58823
-155.8398-12.7045
-156.3396-12.96024
-156.748-13.26971
-157.0805-13.57845
-157.4277-13.99567
-157.6434-14.37697
-157.7986-14.73752
-157.9131-15.11709
-157.962-15.46605
-158.039622-15.653761
-158.122829-15.877123
-158.127739-15.869203
-158.231024-15.803568
-158.36955-15.745447
-158.496828-15.694033
-158.661362-15.634953
-158.821586-15.583395
-159.026918-15.539192
-159.190663-15.503491
-159.372631-15.472738
-159.548569-15.453715
-159.736692-15.448871
-159.90316-15.449959
-160.083542-15.463548
-160.226654-15.480612
-160.365423-15.495182
-160.451319-15.514117
-160.406016-15.448192
-160.316351-15.338878
-160.217964-15.213622
-160.156932-15.110787
-160.074995-14.978629
-160.011413-14.890788
-159.926847-14.750107
-159.87787-14.621808
-159.79653-14.407807
-159.75968-14.275899
-159.711458-14.113648
-159.682425-13.98575
-159.655144-13.863674
-159.621745-13.726376
-159.619708-13.634445
-159.616001-13.561895
-159.614094-13.509574
-159.561966-13.476838
-159.464666-13.417237
-159.323121-13.349332
-159.212807-13.287211
-159.104174-13.209011
-158.983445-13.143509
-158.882253-13.049931
-158.744371-12.94646
-158.649624-12.872332
-158.560938-12.795621
-158.495677-12.723884
-158.424306-12.639442
-158.333838-12.548261
-158.2853-12.45563
-158.071642-12.43816
-157.8909-12.42376
-157.747379-12.436771
-157.631174-12.428707
-157.4811-12.39678
-157.229515-12.356368
-157.039477-12.306157
-156.868471-12.243143
-156.665366-12.174288
-156.495214-12.106995
-156.3649-12.01769
-156.25113-11.967768
-156.113903-11.894359
-156.012144-11.844092
-155.895851-11.761728
-155.77415-11.66355-
-155.688884-11.572012
-155.593209-11.478779
-155.495308-11.375548


Legend:

1.Eastern High Seas Pocket (E-HSP)

2.High Seas

3.Kiribati

4.Cook Islands

5.French Polynesia


ANNEX VI

SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM OF A SHARK LINE


Legend:

1.Longline

2.Float

3.Floatline

4.Shark lines

5.Mainline

6.Snoods