COUNCIL REGULATION (EU) No 219/2010
of 15 March 2010
amending Regulation (EU) No 53/2010 as regards the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and following the conclusion of the bilateral fisheries arrangements for 2010 with Norway and the Faroe Islands
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)
Regulation (EU) No 53/2010 (1) fixes for 2010 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks, applicable in EU waters and, for EU vessels, in waters where catch limitations are required.
(2)
The fishing opportunities for EU vessels in the waters of Norway and the Faroe Islands and in EU waters for stocks shared, jointly managed or exchanged with those countries as well as the fishing opportunities in EU waters for vessels flying the flag of Norway and the Faroe Islands are established each year following the consultation on fishing rights held in accordance with the procedure provided for in the agreements or protocols on fisheries relations with those countries (2).
(3)
Pending the conclusion of the consultations on the arrangements for 2010 with Norway and the Faroe Islands, Regulation (EU) No 53/2010 fixes provisional fishing opportunities for the concerned fish stocks.
(4)
On 15 January and 26 January 2010, the consultations with the Faroe Islands and Norway respectively were concluded and the arrangements for the fishing opportunities for 2010 established. As a consequence, it is necessary to replace the provisional fishing opportunities for the concerned fish stocks for 2010 as established in Regulation (EU) No 53/2010 with the fishing opportunities corresponding to those arrangements.
(5)
At its Annual Meeting in 2009, the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission reconfirmed that as from 1 January 2010 two high seas areas in the WCPFC Convention area are to be closed to fishing for bigeye and yellowfin tuna by purse-seine vessels and introduced a limit on catches for swordfish for each party to the Convention. It is necessary to implement these new provisions into EU law.
(6)
Regulation (EU) No 53/2010 should therefore be amended accordingly.
(7)
In order to avoid the interruption of fishing activities, this Regulation should apply from 1 January 2010. For the same reason it should enter into force immediately after its publication,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Regulation (EU) No 53/2010 is amended as follows:
1.
Article 1(2) is deleted;
2.
the following Article is inserted:
‘Article 30a
Closed areas for purse-seine fisheries
The fishing by purse-seine vessels for bigeye tuna and yellowfin tuna shall be prohibited in the following high seas areas:
(a)
the international waters enclosed by the boundaries of the exclusive economic zones of Indonesia, Palau, Micronesia and Papua New Guinea;
(b)
the international waters enclosed by the boundaries of the exclusive economic zones of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Fiji, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea.’;
3.
Annex IA is amended in accordance with Annex I to this Regulation;
4.
Annex IB is replaced by the text in Annex II to this Regulation;
5.
Annex IH is replaced by the text in Annex III to this Regulation;
6.
Annex III is replaced by the text in Annex IV to this Regulation.
Article 2
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
It shall apply from 1 January 2010.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 15 March 2010.