# EUR-Lex - 52012PC0402 - EN

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# 52012PC0402

**Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION on establishing the fishing opportunities for anchovy in the Bay of Biscay for the 2012/2013 fishing season /* COM/2012/0402 final - 2012/0194 (NLE) */**

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1.           CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL

Council Regulations on fishing
opportunities adopted during the second half of each year no longer includes a
TAC for anchovy in the Bay of Biscay because of the different annual cycle
followed by the biology of this stock and the scientific advice on it. An
anchovy TAC needs to be set around July each year.

By way of Council Regulation (EC) No
716/2011, the Council established the TAC for the fishery exploiting this stock
applicable from 1 July 2011 until 30 June 2012. The TAC and its allocation to
the Member States concerned must now be fixed for the next 12 months.

2.           LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE
PROPOSAL

Having regard to the objectives of the
Common Fisheries Policy, laid down in Council Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 of
20 December 2002 on the conservation and sustainable exploitation of fisheries
resources under the Common Fisheries Policy, fishing opportunities should be
established on the basis of the available scientific advice and by taking into
account the biological and socio-economic aspects whilst ensuring fair
treatment between fishing sectors.

For the anchovy stock in the Bay of Biscay,
the advice from the Scientific, Technical and Economic
Committee for Fisheries (STECF) of July 2012 is based
on a fishing season running from 1 July 2011 until 30 June 2012.

The advice from the STECF estimates the spawning
stock biomass to be approximately 68,180 tonnes. Having regard to the
Commission proposal of 29 July 2009 for a Regulation establishing a long-term
plan for the anchovy stock in the Bay of Biscay and the fisheries exploiting
that stock[1]
and considering that the impact assessment underlying that proposal provides
for the most recent assessment of impact of decisions on the fishing
opportunities for this stock, it is appropriate to fix a TAC for this stock in
accordance with the harvest rule set out in the proposal. Consequently, the TAC
for the fishing season from 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2013 should be established
at 20,700 tonnes.

The Council is requested to adopt this
proposal as soon as possible in order to allow fishermen to plan their
activities for the new fishing season.

2012/0194 (NLE)

Proposal for a

COUNCIL REGULATION

on establishing the fishing opportunities
for anchovy in the Bay of Biscay for the 2012/2013 fishing season

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the
Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 43(3) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the
European Commission,

Whereas:

(1)       It is incumbent upon the
Council to establish the total allowable catches (TAC) by fishery or group of fisheries.
Fishing opportunities should be distributed among Member States in such a way
as to ensure the relative stability of each Member State’s fishing activities
for all stocks or groups of stocks and having due regard to the objectives of
the common fisheries policy established by Council Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002
of 20 December 2002 on the conservation and sustainable exploitation of
fisheries resources under the Common Fisheries Policy[2].

(2)       For
the purposes of suitable stock management and simplification, it is appropriate
that TAC and Member State
quotas for the stock of anchovy in the Bay of Biscay (ICES subarea VIII) are set for an annual
management season running from 1 July to 30 June of the following year, rather
than a calendar year management period. Nevertheless, fishery should remain subject to the general
provisions of Council Regulation (EU) No 43/2012[3]
concerning the conditions for the use of quotas.

(3)       The
Bay of Biscay anchovy TAC for
the 2012/2013 fishing season should be established on the basis of scientific
advice available, taking into account biological and socioeconomic aspects and
ensuring fair treatment between fishing sectors.

(4)       In
order to provide for a multiannual plan for the anchovy stock in the Bay of
Biscay covering the fishing season and establishing the harvest control rule
applying for the fixing of fishing opportunities, on 29 July 2009 the
Commission presented a proposal for a Regulation establishing a long-term plan
for the anchovy stock in the Bay of Biscay and the fisheries exploiting that
stock. Having regard to that proposal and considering that the impact
assessment underlying that proposal provided for the most recent assessment of
the impact of decisions on the fishing opportunities for the anchovy stock in
the Bay of Biscay, it is appropriate to fix TAC for that stock accordingly. The advice issued by the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee
for Fisheries (STECF) in July 2012 estimated the spawning stock biomass to be approximately 68,180 tonnes.
Consequently, the TAC for the
fishing season running from 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2013 should be established
at 20,700 tonnes.

(5)       In
accordance with Article 2 of Council Regulation (EC) No 847/96 of 6 May 1996
introducing additional conditions for year-to-year management of TACs and quotas[4], it is necessary to establish
to what extent the stock of anchovy in the Bay of Biscay is subject to the
measures laid down in that Regulation.

(6)       In
view of the start of the 2012/2013 fishing season and for the purpose of the
annual reporting of catches, this Regulation should enter into force
immediately and apply from 1 July 2012,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1
Fishing opportunities for
anchovy in the Bay of Biscay

1.           The total allowable catch
(TAC) and its allocation between Member States for the fishing season running
from 1 July 2012 until 30 June 2013 for the stock of anchovy in ICES Subarea
VIII, as defined in Regulation (EC) No 218/2009 of the European Parliament and
of the Council of 11 March 2009 on the submission of
nominal catch statistics by Member States fishing in the north-east Atlantic[5], shall be as follows (in tonnes live weight):

Species: || Anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus || ICES Zone: || VIII (ANE/08.)

Spain || 18 630 || || Analytical TAC

France || 2 070 ||

EU || 20 700 ||

|| ||

TAC || 20 700 ||

2.           The allocation of the
fishing opportunities as set out in paragraph 1 and the use thereof shall be
subject to the conditions set out in Articles 8, 10 and 13 of Regulation (EU)
No 43/2012.

3.           The stock referred to in
paragraph 1 shall be considered subject to an analytical TAC for the purposes
of Regulation (EC) No 847/96. Points 2 and 3 of Article 3 and Article 4 of that
Regulation shall apply.

Article 2

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

It shall apply from 1 July 2012.

This Regulation shall be binding
in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels,

For
the Council

The
President

[1]               COM(2009)399final

[2]               OJ L 358, 31.12.2002, p. 59.

[3]               OJ L 25, 27.1.2012,
p. 1.

[4]               OJ L 115, 9.5.1996,
p. 3.

[5]               OJ L 87, 31.3.2009, p. 70.