COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION
of 2 May 2012
amending Decision 2011/207/EU establishing a specific control and inspection programme related to the recovery of bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean
(notified under document C(2012) 2800)
(2012/246/EU)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 of 20 November 2009 establishing a Community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the common fisheries policy (1), and in particular Article 95 thereof,
Whereas:
(1)
In 2006 the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) adopted a multiannual recovery plan for bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean. ICCAT amended that multiannual recovery plan during the 2008 Annual Meeting. The amended plan was transposed into Union law by way of Council Regulation (EC) No 302/2009 of 6 April 2009 concerning a multiannual recovery plan for bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean (2). This plan was further amended and endorsed in the 2010 ICCAT Annual Meeting by way of ICCAT Recommendation 10-04 (3).
(2)
To ensure the successful implementation of the amended multiannual recovery plan, Commission Decision 2009/296/EC (4) established a specific control and inspection programme covering a period of two years, from 15 March 2009 to 15 March 2011.
(3)
The specific control and inspection programme related to the recovery of bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean, as established by Commission Decision 2011/207/EU (5), was adopted with a view of ensuring the continuity of the programme established by Decision 2009/296/EC and immediately implementing certain provisions of ICCAT Recommendation 10-04, in particular those on the early submission of required fishing and inspection plans. Decision 2011/207/EU covers the period from 15 March 2011 to 15 March 2014.
(4)
In light of the discussions in ICCAT at the 2011 Annual Meeting and with a view to fully implement the provisions required by ICCAT, it is appropriate to implement the requirements concerning sampling and pilot operations set out in paragraph 87 of ICCAT Recommendation 10-04 establishing a multiannual recovery plan for bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean.
(5)
It is also appropriate to update and correct certain obsolete or erroneous references that existed in Decision 2011/207/EU.
(6)
Decision 2011/207/EU should therefore be amended accordingly.
(7)
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
Decision 2011/207/EU is amended as follows:
1.
the title is replaced by the following:
2.
in Article 3, point 2 is replaced by the following:
‘2.
all catches, landings, transfers, transhipments and caging operations, including sampling programmes and pilot studies;’;
3.
in Article 4, the following points 9 and 10 are added:
‘9.
the implementation of pilot studies on how to better estimate both the number and weight of bluefin tuna at the point of capture;
10.
the implementation of sampling programmes and/or alternative programmes at the time of caging in order to improve the counting and the weight estimations of the caged fish.’;
4.
in Article 9, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:
‘1. Member State intending to conduct surveillance and inspect fishing vessels in the waters under the jurisdiction of another Member State in the framework of a Joint Deployment Plan shall notify its intentions to the contact point of the coastal Member State concerned, as referred to in Article 80, point 5 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009, and to the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA).’;
5.
Article 10 is replaced by the following:
‘Article 10
Information of infringements
Member States whose officials detect any infringement while carrying out an inspection on the activities listed in Article 3 shall inform without delay the Commission of the date of inspection and the details of the infringement.’;
6.
in Article 14, the words ‘the Community Fisheries Control Agency (CFCA)’ are replaced by the words ‘the EFCA’.
7.
Article 15 is amended as follows:
(a)
in paragraph 1, the words ‘the CFCA’ are replaced by the words ‘the EFCA’;
(b)
in paragraph 3, the introductory sentence is replaced by the following:
‘3. This report shall contain the following information, in accordance with the table set out in Annex IV:’;
8.
Annexes I and II are replaced by the text in the Annex to this Decision.
Article 2
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels, 2 May 2012.