Council Regulation (EC) No 753/2009 of 27 July 2009 amending Regulation (EC) No 43/2009, as regards fishing opportunities and associated conditions for certain fish stocks

of 27 July 2009

amending Regulation (EC) No 43/2009, as regards fishing opportunities and associated conditions for certain fish stocks

Preamble

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 of 20 December 2002 on the conservation and sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources under the Common Fisheries Policy ¹ , and in particular Article 20 thereof,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1342/2008 of 18 December 2008 establishing a long-term plan for cod stocks and the fisheries exploiting those stocks ² , and in particular Article 12 thereof,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 302/2009 of 6 April 2009 concerning a multiannual recovery plan for bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean ³ , and in particular Article 9, paragraphs (3), (4), (5), (7), (8), (9) and (10) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Whereas:

(1) Council Regulation (EC) No 43/2009 ⁴ fixes for 2009 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) Annex IIA to Regulation (EC) No 43/2009 lays down the rules for the management of fishing effort in the context of the long-term plan for the management of Cod stocks established in Regulation (EC) No 1342/2008 and in particular establishes, in Appendix 1 to that Annex, the maximum allowable effort in kW days for each Member State to be deployed in the concerned areas and with the concerned gear groupings. Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 754/2009 of excluding certain groups of vessels from the application of the effort regime laid down in Chapter III of Regulation (EC) No 1342/2008 ⁵ , it is necessary to adjust the maximum allowable effort as laid down in Appendix 1 of Annex IIA to Regulation (EC) No 43/2009 by deducting for Spain 590 583 kW-days from effort group TR1 in area (d) and for Sweden 148 118 kW-days from effort group TR2 in geographical area (a) and 705 625 kW-days from effort group TR2 in geographical area (b). In view of the retroactive application of Regulation (EC) No 754/2009 from 1 February 2009, these adjustments should apply from that same date.

(3) According to Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No 302/2009 concerning a multiannual recovery plan for bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean, the Council is to determine and distribute among the Member States the maximum number of baitboats and trolling boats authorised to fish actively bluefin tuna in the Atlantic; of vessels fishing actively bluefin tuna in the Adriatic for farming purposes, and of the coastal artisanal baitboats, longliners and handliners fishing actively for fresh bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean. In addition, the Council is to decide on the allocation among Member States of the Community quota of bluefin tuna. The Community quota of undersized bluefin tuna is based on the Community quota allocated to the European Community by ICCAT Recommendation 08-05 amending the Recommendation by ICCAT to establish a multiannual recovery plan for bluefin tuna in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean.

(4) In order to gather more scientific information on krill, a species of fundamental importance to the Antarctic marine ecosystem, it is appropriate to implement multiple recent recommendations from the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources Scientific Committee, established under the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), reiterated at the 2008 meeting of the Scientific Committee to guarantee a 100 % observer coverage in krill fishery in the CCAMLR Convention Area under Community law.

(5) In the context of the fisheries agreement with Norway, a further 750 tonnes of cod in Norwegian waters of ICES zones I and II have been made available to the Community.

(6) The proposal made by representatives from the European Community, the Faeroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, Norway and the Russian Federation at a meeting in London from 9 to 11 February 2009 regarding the management of redfish in the Irminger Sea and adjacent waters in the NEAFC Convention Area in 2009 and subsequently agreed by the Contracting Parties of the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) should be implemented in Community law. As that Agreement is applicable for the whole of 2009, the fishing opportunities should apply retroactively from 1 January 2009.

(7) The conclusions of the EU-Greenland Joint Committee meeting in Copenhagen on 25 November 2008, as regards the Community share of redfish in Greenland waters of ICES zones V and XIV should be implemented in Community law. As the arrangement concluded with Greenland is connected to the NEAFC Agreement on the management of redfish in the Irminger Sea and adjacent waters, the measures adopted for the implementation of the conclusions of the EU-Greenland Joint Committee meeting should also apply retroactively from 1 January 2009.

(8) The total allowable catch (TAC) adopted for Greenland halibut in management area EC waters of IIa and IV; EC and international waters of VI, for mackerel in management area VI, VII, VIIIa, VIIIb, VIIId and VIIIe, EC waters of Vb and international waters of IIa, XII and XIV and for horse mackerel in management area VI, VII, VIIIa, VIIIb, VIIId and VIIIe, EC waters of Vb, international waters of XII and XIV, should cover EC waters and international waters of Vb in order to avoid misreporting. The management areas for those TACs should therefore be amended accordingly.

(9) In order to protect juveniles of cod, haddock, saithe and whiting species, a system of real-time closures in the North Sea and Skagerrak should be established, in accordance with the agreed record of conclusions of consultation between the European Community and Norway agreed in London on 3 July 2009.

(10) It is necessary to correct the provisions regarding the restrictions on fishing for cod, haddock and whiting in ICES zone VI in order to ensure that the geographical scope of the derogations for fishing for nephrops and for fishing with trawls, demersal seines or similar gears is the same.

(11) The proposal made by the Heads of Delegation of the Contracting Parties of the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) (Denmark in respect of the Faeroe Islands and Greenland, European Community, Iceland, Norway and the Russian Federation) at a meeting in London from 24 to 27 March 2009 regarding the protection of vulnerable marine ecosystems from significant adverse impacts in the NEAFC regulatory area and subsequently agreed by the Contracting Parties of NEAFC should be implemented into Community law.

(12) In order to ensure that catches of mackerel by third-country vessels in Community waters are correctly accounted for, it is necessary to put in place strengthened control provisions for such vessels. Having regard to the distribution of the mackerel stock, appearing mainly in the waters of the United Kingdom, it is appropriate that third country vessels transmit their reports to the UK Fisheries Monitoring Centre (Edinburgh).

(13) In order to ensure certainty for the fishermen concerned and to allow them to plan their activities for this fishing season as soon as possible, it is imperative to grant an exception to the six-week period referred to in Title I, Article 3, of the Protocol on the role of national Parliaments in the European Union annexed to the Treaty on the European Union and to the Treaties establishing the European Communities.

(14) Regulation (EC) No 43/2009 should therefore be amended accordingly,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Amendments to Regulation (EC) No 43/2009

Regulation (EC) No 43/2009 is hereby amended as follows:

1. the following Chapter VIIIa is inserted: ‘CHAPTER VIIIa LABELLING OF FISH FROZEN AFTER BEING CAUGHT IN THE NEAFC CONVENTION AREA BY COMMUNITY VESSELS OR THIRD COUNTRY VESSELS Article 39a Labelling of frozen fish When frozen, all fish caught in the NEAFC Convention Area shall be identified with a clearly legible label or stamp. The label or stamp, which shall be placed on each box or block of frozen fish, shall indicate the species, production date, the ICES sub-area and division where the catch was taken and the name of the vessel which caught the fish.’;

2. in Article 48, the following paragraph is inserted: ‘1a. Each vessel participating in the krill fishery referred to in Article 49 shall have at least one scientific observer appointed in accordance with the CCAMLR Scheme of International Scientific Observation or fulfilling the requirements under that scheme, on board throughout all fishing activities within the fishing period.’;

3. in Article 50, paragraph 4 is deleted;

Article 2

Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 1(6) shall apply from 1 January 2009, Article 1(7) from 1 February 2009 and Article 1(8)(a),(b), (f) and (g) from 1 September 2009.

Final provisions

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. Done at Brussels, 27 July 2009. For the Council The President C. BILDT

¹ OJ L 358, 31.12.2002, p. 59 .

² OJ L 348, 24.12.2008, p. 20 .

³ OJ L 96, 15.4.2009, p. 1 .

⁴ OJ L 22, 26.1.2009, p. 1 .

⁵ See page 16 of this Official Journal.

⁶ Of which 350 tonnes are allocated to Norway and are to be taken in the EC waters of ICES zones IIa and VI. In ICES zone VI this quantity may only be fished with long-lines.’

⁷ May be fished only in ICES zones IIa, VIa (north of 56° 30′ N), IVa, VIId, VIIe, VIIf and VIIh.

⁸ May be fished in EC waters of ICES zones IVa north of 59° N from 1 January to 15 February and from 1 October to 31 December. A quantity of 3 982 tonnes of the Faeroe Islands' own quota may be fished in ICES zone VIa north of 56° 30′ N throughout the year.

⁹ TAC agreed by the EC, Norway and Faeroe Islands for the northern area.

¹⁰ May be fished in ICES zone IV, VIa North of 56° 30′ N, VIIe, VIIf and VIIh.’

¹¹ No more than 70 % of the quota may be taken within the area bounded by the following coordinates and no more than 15 % of the quota may be taken within that area during the period from 1 April to 10 May. (RED/*5X14.)

¹² May only be fished by pelagic trawl. May be fished East or West. The quota may be taken in the NEAFC Regulatory Area on the condition that Greenlandic reporting conditions are fulfilled (RED/*51214).

¹³ 3 000 tonnes to be fished with pelagic trawl are allocated to Norway and 200 tonnes are allocated to the Faeroe Islands.

¹⁴ No more than 70 % of the quota may be taken within the area bounded by the following coordinates and no more than 15 % of the quota may be taken within that area during the period from 1 April to 10 May. (RED/*5-14.)

Footnotes

1. . ↩ ↩²

2. . ↩ ↩²

3. . ↩ ↩²

4. . ↩ ↩²

5. See page 16 of this Official Journal. ↩ ↩²

6. Of which 350 tonnes are allocated to Norway and are to be taken in the EC waters of ICES zones IIa and VI. In ICES zone VI this quantity may only be fished with long-lines.’ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

7. May be fished only in ICES zones IIa, VIa (north of 56° 30′ N), IVa, VIId, VIIe, VIIf and VIIh. ↩

8. May be fished in EC waters of ICES zones IVa north of 59° N from 1 January to 15 February and from 1 October to 31 December. A quantity of 3 982 tonnes of the Faeroe Islands' own quota may be fished in ICES zone VIa north of 56° 30′ N throughout the year. ↩

9. TAC agreed by the EC, Norway and Faeroe Islands for the northern area. ↩

10. May be fished in ICES zone IV, VIa North of 56° 30′ N, VIIe, VIIf and VIIh.’ ↩

11. No more than 70 % of the quota may be taken within the area bounded by the following coordinates and no more than 15 % of the quota may be taken within that area during the period from 1 April to 10 May. (RED/*5X14.) ↩

12. May only be fished by pelagic trawl. May be fished East or West. The quota may be taken in the NEAFC Regulatory Area on the condition that Greenlandic reporting conditions are fulfilled (RED/*51214). ↩

13. 3 000 tonnes to be fished with pelagic trawl are allocated to Norway and 200 tonnes are allocated to the Faeroe Islands. ↩

14. No more than 70 % of the quota may be taken within the area bounded by the following coordinates and no more than 15 % of the quota may be taken within that area during the period from 1 April to 10 May. (RED/*5-14.) ↩