Regulation 2006/1941 - Fixing of the fishing opportunities and associated conditions for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks applicable in the Baltic Sea for 2007 - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 367/1

Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 requires the Council to adopt the measures necessary to ensure access to waters and resources and the sustainable pursuit of fishing activities taking account of available scientific advice and, in particular, the report prepared by the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries.

Pursuant to Article 20 of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002, it is incumbent upon the Council to establish fishing opportunity limits by fishery or group of fisheries and to allocate these opportunities to Member States.

In order to ensure effective management of the fishing opportunities, the specific conditions under which fishing operations are carried out should be established.

The principles as well as certain procedures for fishery management need to be laid down at Community level, so that Member States can ensure the management of the vessels flying their flag.

Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 lays down definitions relevant to the allocation of fishing opportunities.

In accordance with Article 2 of Council Regulation (EC) No 847/96, the stocks that are subject to the various measures referred to therein must be identified.

Fishing opportunities should be used in accordance with Community legislation on the subject, and in particular with Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1381/87 of 20 May 1987 establishing detailed rules concerning the marking and documentation of fishing vessels (3), Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2807/83 of 22 September 1983 laying down detailed rules for recording information on Member States' catches of fish (4), Council Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 of 12 October 1993 establishing a control system applicable to the common fisheries policy (5), Commission Regulation (EC) No 2244/2003 of 18 December 2003 laying down detailed provisions regarding satellite-based Vessel Monitoring Systems (6), and Council Regulation (EEC) No 2930/86 of 22 September 1986 defining characteristics for fishing vessels (7), Council Regulation (EEC) No 3880/91 of 17 December 1991 on the submission of nominal catch statistics by Member States fishing in the north-east Atlantic (8) and Council Regulation (EC) No 2187/2005 of 21 December 2005 for the conservation of fishery resources through technical measures in the Baltic Sea, the Belts and the Sound (9).

In order to contribute to the conservation of fish stocks, certain supplementary measures on the control and technical conditions of fishing should be implemented in 2007,

the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) zones are as defined in Regulation (EEC) No 3880/91;

‘Baltic Sea’ means ICES Divisions IIIb, IIIc and IIId;

‘total allowable catch (TAC)’ means the quantity that can be taken from each stock each year;

‘quota’ means a proportion of the TAC allocated to the Community, a Member State or a third country.

exchanges made pursuant to Article 20(5) of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002;

reallocations made pursuant to Articles 21(4), 23(1) and 32(2) of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93;

additional landings allowed under Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96;

quantities withheld in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96;

deductions made pursuant to Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96.

the catches have been taken by vessels of a Member State with a quota and that quota has not been exhausted; or alternatively

species other than herring and sprat are mixed with other species, the catches have been taken with trawls, Danish seines or similar gears whose mesh size is less than 32 mm, and the catches are not sorted either on board or on landing.

Fishing with trawls, seines or similar gears of a mesh size equal to or greater than 90 mm or with bottom set gillnets, entangling nets and trammel nets of a mesh size equal to or greater than 90 mm or with bottom set lines or long lines shall be prohibited:

For fishing vessels flying their flag, Member States shall ensure that fishing with trawls, seines or similar gears of a mesh size equal to or greater than 90 mm or with bottom set gillnets, entangling nets and trammel nets of a mesh size equal to or greater than 90 mm or with bottom set lines or long lines shall also be prohibited for:

Member States shall divide the days referred to in points (a) and (b) into periods of not less than 5 days.

Member States shall, not later than 7 January 2007, notify to the Commission and make available on their websites the precise dates of the calendar days referred to in point 1.2 which should be identical for fishing vessels flying the flag of the respective Member State.

By way of derogation from points 1.1 and 1.2, Community fishing vessels with an overall length of less than 12 metres and fishing within the territorial sea shall be permitted to retain on board and land up to 20 kg or 10 % cod by live weight, whatever is the higher, when fishing with gillnets, entangling nets and/or trammel nets with a mesh size equal to or greater than 110 mm.

All fishing activity within the areas enclosed by sequentially joining with rhumb lines the following positions, which shall be measured according to the WGS84 coordinate system, is prohibited from 1 May to 31 October:

By way of derogation from point 1.1, fishing with gillnets, entangling nets and trammel nets with mesh size equal to or greater than 157 mm or with lines shall be permitted. When fishing with lines, no cod shall be retained on board.

By way of derogation from Article 1(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1627/94 of 27 June 1994 laying down general provisions concerning special fishing permits (1), all Community fishing vessels of an overall length equal to or greater than 8 m carrying on board or using any gear of a mesh size equal to or greater than 90 mm shall hold a special permit for fishing for cod in the Baltic Sea.

Member States shall issue the special permit for fishing for cod referred to in paragraph 2.1.1 only to Community fishing vessels holding in 2006 a special permit for fishing for cod in the Baltic Sea in accordance with point 6.2.1 of Annex III to Council Regulation (EC) No 27/2005 of 22 December 2004 fixing for 2005 the fishing opportunities and associated conditions for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks, applicable in Community waters and, for Community vessels, in waters where catch limitations are required (2). However, a Member State may issue a special permit for fishing for cod to a Community fishing vessel, flying the flag of that Member State, not holding a special fishing permit in 2006 if it ensures that at least an equivalent capacity, measured in kilowatts (kW), is prevented from fishing in the Baltic Sea with any gear referred to in paragraph 2.1.1.

Each Member State shall establish and maintain a list of fishing vessels holding a special permit for fishing for cod in the Baltic Sea and make it available on its official website to the Commission and other Member States bordering the Baltic Sea.

The master of a Community fishing vessel, or his/her authorised representative, to which a Member State has issued a special permit for fishing for cod in the Baltic Sea shall keep a copy of this permit on board the fishing vessel.

By way of derogation from Article 6(4) of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93, the masters of Community fishing vessels of an overall length equal to or greater than 8 m shall keep a logbook of their operations when a fishing trip includes any part of Subdivisions 22 to 27 in accordance with Article 6 of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93.

For fishing vessels fitted with vessel monitoring systems (VMS), Member States shall verify that the information received at the Fisheries Monitoring Centre (FMC) corresponds to activities recorded in the logbook by using VMS data. Such cross-checks shall be recorded in computer-readable form for a period of three years.

Each Member State shall maintain and make available on its official website the contact details for the submission of logbooks, landing declarations and prior notifications as specified in point 2.6 of this Annex.

By way of derogation from Article 5(2) of Regulation (EEC) No 2807/83, the permitted margin of tolerance in estimating quantities, in kilograms, of species subject to TAC that are retained on board vessels shall be 10 % of the logbook figure except for cod in which case the margin of tolerance shall be 8 %.

For catches taken in Subdivisions 22 to 27 which are landed unsorted the permitted margin of tolerance in estimating quantities shall be 10 % of the total quantity that is retained on board.

fishing effort limits provided for in points 1.1 and 1.2 of Annex II;

restrictions on fishing provided for in point 1 of this Annex.

A fishing vessel may commence fishing activity in Community waters in either Subdivisions 22 to 24 (Area A) or Subdivision 25 to 27 (Area B) with less than 175 kg of cod on board.

When a fishing vessel exits from either Area A, B or Subdivision 28 to 32 (Area C) with more than 175 kg of cod on board, it shall:

When leaving the Area where the fishing vessel has been fishing, the nets shall be stowed in accordance with the following conditions so that they may not readily be used:

Points 2.5.1, 2.5.2 and 2.5.3 shall not apply to vessels equipped with VMS in accordance with Articles 5 and 6 of Regulation (EC) No 2244/2003. However, such vessels shall transmit their catch report on a daily basis to the FMC of the flag Member State, provided for by Article 3(7) of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93, for inclusion in its computerised database.

The master of a Community fishing vessel leaving Subdivision 22 to 24 (Area A), Subdivision 25 to 27 (Area B) or Subdivision 28 to 32 (Area C) with more than 300 kg in live weight of cod on board shall notify the competent authorities of the flag Member State two hours before leaving the Area of:

The notification provided for in point 2.6.1 may also be made by a representative on behalf of the master of the Community fishing vessel.

By way of derogation from Article 7(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93, the master, or his authorised representative, of a Community fishing vessel retaining more than 300 kg live weight of cod shall inform the competent authorities of the Member State where the landing will take place at least one hour prior to an entry into a landing location of:

When a fishing vessel retains more than 750 kg of cod live weight, the cod may be landed exclusively at designated ports.

Each Member State may designate ports at which any quantity of Baltic cod in excess of 750 kg in live weight is to be landed.

By 6 January 2007, each Member State that has established a list of designated ports, shall maintain and make available on its official website a list of designated ports.

Fishing vessels with more than 200 kg in live weight of cod on board shall not commence discharging until authorised by the competent authorities of the place of discharge.

The competent authorities of a Member State may require that any quantity of cod caught in the Baltic Sea and landed in that Member State is weighed in the presence of controllers before being transported elsewhere from the port of landing.

Transit within areas closed for cod fishing is prohibited unless fishing gear on board is securely lashed and stowed in accordance with point 2.5.3.

Transhipment of cod is prohibited.

Member States concerned shall undertake joint inspection and surveillance activities. The Community Fisheries Control Agency (CFCA) shall coordinate the planning and the operation of these activities by the Member States.

Commission inspectors may participate in these joint inspection and surveillance activities.

A meeting of the competent national inspection authorities shall be convened by the CFCA before 15 November 2007 to coordinate the joint inspection and surveillance programme for 2008.

Each of the Member States concerned shall define a national control action programme for the Baltic Sea in accordance with Appendix 2.

Each of the Member States concerned shall set specific inspection benchmarks in accordance with Appendix 1. Such benchmarks shall be revised periodically after an analysis has been made of the results achieved. Inspection benchmarks shall evolve progressively until the target benchmarks defined in Appendix 2 are reached.

Before 31 January 2007, each of the Member States concerned shall make available to the Commission and other Member States bordering the Baltic Sea on its official website their national control action programmes as referred to in point 2.14.1, together with an implementation schedule.

The Commission shall convene a meeting of the Committee for Fisheries and Aquaculture to evaluate compliance with and the results of the national control action programmes for cod stocks in the Baltic Sea.

By way of derogation from Article 34c(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93, the specific control and inspection programme for the cod stocks concerned may last for more than three years.

The retention on board of the following species of fish which are caught within the geographical areas and during the periods mentioned below shall be prohibited:

By way of derogation from point 3.1, when fishing with trawls, Danish seines and similar gears with a mesh size equal to or greater then 105 mm or with gillnets, entangling nets or trammel nets with a mesh size equal to or greater than 100 mm, by-catches of flounder and turbot may be retained on board and landed within a limit of 10 % by live weight of the total catch retained on board and landed during the periods of prohibition referred to in that point.

Each Member State shall set specific inspection benchmarks in accordance with this Annex.

Inspection and surveillance of fishing activities shall concentrate on vessels likely to catch cod. Random inspections of transport and marketing of cod shall be used as a complementary cross-checking mechanism to test the effectiveness of inspection and surveillance.

Different gear types shall be subject to different levels of prioritisation, depending on the extent to which the fleets are affected by fishing opportunity limits. For that reason, each Member State shall set specific priorities.

Each Member State shall specify and describe which sampling strategy will be applied.

The Commission can have access on request to the sampling plan used by the Member State.

By 22 January 2007, each Member State shall implement its inspection schedules taking account of the targets set out below.

The numbers of shore-based and seagoing inspectors and the periods and zones where they are to be deployed.

The numbers of patrol vessels and aircraft and the periods and zones where these are to be deployed.

The budgetary allocation for deployment of human resources, patrol vessels and aircraft.

when conducting inspections at sea and on land;

for communicating with the competent authorities designated by other Member States as responsible for the national control action programme for cod;

for joint surveillance and exchange of inspectors, including specification of powers and authority of inspectors operating in other Member States’ waters.