COMMISSION DECISION
of 2 June 2005
establishing a specific monitoring programme related to the recovery of cod stocks
(notified under document number C(2005) 1538)
(only the Danish, German, English, French, Dutch and Swedish texts are authentic)
(2005/429/EC)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 of 12 October 1993 establishing a control system applicable to the common fisheries policy (1), and in particular Article 34c(1) thereof,
Whereas:
(1)
Council Regulation (EC) No 423/2004 (2) establishes measures for the recovery of cod stocks in the Kattegatt, the North Sea, the Skagerrak and the Eastern Channel, the West of Scotland and the Irish Sea.
(2)
Annex IVa 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 (3), lays down interim fishing effort limitations and additional conditions for monitoring, inspection and surveillance in the context of certain stocks recovery measures applicable to all fisheries likely to catch cod in the Kattegatt, the North Sea, the Skagerrak and the Eastern Channel, the West of Scotland and the Irish Sea.
(3)
To ensure the success of those measures, it is necessary to establish a specific monitoring programme involving Belgium, Denmark, Germany, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom, with the objective of guaranteeing an appropriate level of implementation of the conservation and control measures applicable to fishing activities in relation to the recovery of cod stocks.
(4)
That specific monitoring programme should be defined for a period of two years and may be revised in the light of the adoption of new conservation measures or at the request of a Member State. The results obtained by the application of the specific monitoring programme should be periodically evaluated in cooperation with the Member States concerned. Where appropriate, that programme may be amended.
(5)
In order to harmonise the inspection and surveillance of the relevant fisheries at Community level, it is appropriate to draw up common rules for the inspection and surveillance activities to be carried out by the competent authorities of the Member States concerned, and that Member States adopt national control programmes in order to match such common rules. To that end, benchmarks for the intensity of inspection and surveillance activities should be fixed, as well as inspection priorities and inspection procedures.
(6)
Exchanges of national inspectors between the Member States concerned should be encouraged so as to enhance uniformity of inspection and surveillance practices and help develop the coordination of the control activities between the competent authorities of those Member States.
(7)
To ensure the follow-up of infringements in accordance with Article 25 of Council Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 of 20 December 2002 on the conservation and sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources under the Common Fisheries Policy (4), a framework should be set up under which all the authorities concerned may request mutual assistance and exchange relevant information in accordance with Articles 34a and 34b of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 and Article 28 of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002.
(8)
The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee for Fisheries and Aquaculture,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
Subject-matter
This Decision establishes a specific monitoring programme (the specific monitoring programme), for a period of two years, in order to ensure the harmonised control of compliance with the rules for promoting the recovery of cod stocks in the following areas, as defined in Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 423/2004:
(a)
Kattegatt;
(b)
North Sea;
(c)
Skagerrak;
(d)
Eastern Channel;
(e)
Irish Sea;
(f)
West of Scotland.
Article 2
Scope
The specific monitoring programme shall cover the inspection and surveillance of:
(a)
fishing activities by vessels using fishing gear types identified in Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 423/2004 as likely to catch cod in the areas referred to in Article 1 of this Decision;
(b)
all related activities including the transhipment, landing, marketing, transport and storage of fishery products and the recording of landing and sales.
Article 3
National control programmes
1. Belgium, Denmark, Germany, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom shall establish national control programmes in conformity with the common rules set out in Annex I.
2. National control programmes shall contain all the data listed in Annex II.
3. The Member States referred to in paragraph 1 shall submit to the Commission, three months after the communication of this decision at the latest, their national control programme and an implementation schedule for the first six months of their programme. The schedule shall include details as regards the human and material resources allocated and the periods and zones where they are to be deployed.
4. Thereafter, the Member States concerned shall notify an updated implementation schedule to the Commission every six months and no later than 15 days before the date of commencement of its implementation.
Article 4
Commission inspections
1. Inspections may be carried out by Commission inspectors without the assistance of inspectors of the Member States concerned, in accordance with Article 27 of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002.
2. The competent authority of the Member State concerned shall provide the Commission inspectors with the assistance necessary to conduct the inspections provided for in paragraph 1.
3. The Commission inspectors shall verify their findings with the inspectors of the Member State concerned. To that end, they shall meet after each of their inspection visits with officials of the competent authority of the Member State concerned in order to brief them on their findings.
Article 5
Joint inspection and surveillance activities
1. The Member States referred to in Article 3(1) may undertake joint inspection and surveillance activities.
2. For that purpose, the Member States concerned shall:
(a)
ensure that inspectors from other Member States concerned are invited to participate in their joint inspection activities;
(b)
establish joint operational procedures applicable to their surveillance crafts.
3. Commission inspectors may participate in those joint inspections.
Article 6
Infringements
1. In waters subject to their jurisdiction, Member States whose inspectors discover any infringement while carrying out an inspection of a vessel flying the flag of another Member State shall inform the flag Member State of the date of inspection and the details of the infringement.
2. Where the Member State whose inspectors discovered the infringement does not take further action, the flag Member State shall take prompt action as appropriate to receive and consider the evidence of the infringement. It shall conduct any further investigation as necessary for the follow-up of the infringement. Whenever possible, it shall inspect the fishing vessel concerned.
3. Member States shall cooperate to ensure that, if prosecution of an infringement is transferred in accordance with Article 31(4) of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93, the security and continuity of any evidence of the infringement cited by its inspectors is guaranteed in each case.
Article 7
Information
1. The Member States referred to in Article 3(1) shall communicate to the Commission, no later than one month from the date of the end of each six months period as referred to in Article 3(3), the following information concerning that period:
(a)
the number of vessels by gear category authorised to fish cod subject to the conditions of Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 423/2004 and the best estimation of the allocation of fishing possibilities among them;
(b)
the inspection and surveillance activities carried out;
(c)
all infringements, as defined in Annex III, detected during the six months period, including for each infringement the flag of the vessel, the identification code, the date, time and location of the inspection and the nature of the infringement; Member States shall indicate the nature of the infringement by references to the letter under which there are listed in Annex III;
(d)
infringements not listed in Annex III detected during the six months period;
(e)
the current state of play concerning the follow-up of infringements detected;
(f)
any relevant coordination and cooperation actions between Member States.
2. At the request of the Commission, more detailed information collected by inspectors, and in particular inspector copies of the inspection forms containing information on the matters set out in Annex IV, shall be provided by the Member States concerned.
Article 8
Evaluation
The Commission shall convene at least once a year a meeting of the Committee for Fisheries and Aquaculture to evaluate the compliance with and results of the specific monitoring programme.
Article 9
Addresses
This decision is addressed to the Kingdom of Belgium, the Kingdom of Denmark, the Federal Republic of Germany, the French Republic, Ireland, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Kingdom of Sweden and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Done at Brussels, 2 June 2005.