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"B COMMISSION DECISION
of 16 December 1997
approving the multiannual guidance programme for the fishing fleet of Spain for the period from 1
January 1997 to 31 December 2001
(Only the Spanish text is authentic)
(98/128/EC)
(OJ L 39, 12.2.1998, p. 59)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
"M1 Commission Decision 2001/20/EC of 21 December 2000 L 5 8 10.1.20011998D0128 — EN — 10.01.2001 — 001.001 — 1
COMMISSION DECISION
of 16 December 1997
approving the multiannual guidance programme for the fishing fleet of
Spain for the period from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2001
(Only the Spanish text is authentic)
(98/128/EC)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 3699/93 of 21 December 1993
laying down the criteria and arrangements regarding Community structuralassistance in the fisheries and aquaculture sector and the processing andmarketing of its products (
1) as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 25/97 (2),
and in particular Articles 5 and 6 thereof,
Having regard to Council Decision 97/413/EC of 26 June 1997 concerning the
objectives and detailed rules for restructuring the Community fisheries sectorfor the period from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2001 with a view toachieving a balance on a sustainable basis between resources and their
exploitation (
3) and in particular Article 9(1) thereof,
Whereas Decision 97/413/EC was adopted pursuant to the provisions of
Article 11 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 3760/92 of 20 December 1992
establishing a Community system for fisheries and aquaculture (4), as
amended by the Act of Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden;
Whereas Spain, hereinafter referred to as ‘the Member State’, on 24 June
1997, in accordance with Article 6(1) of Decision 97/413/EC, submitted tothe Commission a fishing effort limitation programme for the period from 1
January 1997 to 31 December 2001, and has supplemented this programme by
further information at later dates; whereas Article 9(1) of Decision 97/413/ECprovides that the Commission shall adopt the multiannual guidance
programmes (MAGP) for the fishing fleets of individual Member States no
later than 30 November 1997;
Whereas Article 6(2) of Decision 97/413/EC provides that capacity reductions
shall be ensured by the establishment in each Member State of a permanentregime to control the renewal of the fleet, which will determine, segment bysegment, the ratio of entries/exits of vessels; whereas the programmes
submitted by Member States either contain no information on this issue
whatsoever or are unsatisfactory; whereas Member States should thereforecommunicate the necessary information to the Commission at a later stage;
Whereas Article 7(1) of Decision 97/413/EC provides that the starting point
for the objectives fixed for the fishing fleets for 31 December 2001 shall be
the fleet objectives fixed by the previous programme for 31 December 1996;
Whereas the objectives fixed by the previous programme should be adjusted
in cases where this is justified by new information supplied by the Member
State concerned;
Whereas, pursuant to Article 7(2) of Decision 97/413/EC, the particular
situation of the fleet of each Member State concerned must be taken intoaccount in fixing the objectives applicable to that fleet;
Whereas Decision 97/413/EC, and in particular Article 9(1) thereof, requires
the fixing of annual intermediate targets; whereas since a large part of the
first year of the period covered by the programmes will have elapsed at the
time of the adoption of the present Decision it is not appropriate to set anintermediate objective for 1997;
Whereas, pursuant to Article 9(1) of Decision 97/413/EC, the Commission
shall adopt the detailed rules for the implementation of that Decision;whereas it is useful to clarify certain concepts;!B
(1) OJ L 346, 31.12.1993, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 6, 10.1.1997, p. 7.
(3) OJ L 175, 3.7.1997, p. 27.
(4) OJ L 389, 31.12.1992, p. 1.1998D0128 — EN — 10.01.2001 — 001.001 — 2
Whereas the starting point for calculating the intermediate and final fleet
objectives under MAGP IV are the fleet objectives fixed by the previousprogrammes for 31 December 1996 (MAGP III); whereas the tonnageobjectives set by MAGP III were expressed in gross registered tonnes (GRT),
but the MAGP IV objectives must be expressed in units of gross tonnes (GT);
whereas not all Member States have submitted GT values for all fishingvessels of the fleet concerned notwithstanding their obligation to measure orestimate the GT of all vessels in their fleet, and to transmit this information to
the Commission;
Whereas, in those circumstances, the Commission must, using a practical
approach, estimate the missing GT values in order to provisionally determinethat Member State’ s MAGP IV intermediate and final objectives on the basis
of those estimates;
Whereas however the Commission cannot accept any claims by Member
States that fishing effort and/or capacity has been reduced in as far as theyrelate to vessels for which the Member State concerned has not fulfilled itsobligation to transmit at GT value or estimate to the Commission, since the
exact amount of that reduction is not verifiable;
Whereas, in the absence of the required GT tonnage values measured or
estimated in accordance with the provisions of Council Regulation (EC) No2930/86 of 22 September 1986 defining the characteristics of fishing
vessels (
1), as amended by Regulation (EC) No 3259/94 (2) and implemented
by Commission Decision 95/84/EC (3), the Commission will be unable to
verify the percentage changes in the fleet capacity or fishing effortrepresented by changes in the capacity or activity of individual vessels, or
by vessel entries or exits to and from the fleet; whereas the Commission will
therefore have to assess whether the fishing effort reductions applied tovessels for which the required GT values are available have been sufficient tobe almost certain that a Member State has reached its MAGP IV objectives;
Whereas, since the starting point for the MAGP IV objectives are the final
MAGP III objectives, a Member State cannot be deemed to have reached
either intermediate or final MAGP IV objectives until it has fulfilled itsobligations under MAGP III, and in particular the obligation to reach at least
55 % of the MAGP III obligations by reductions in capacity,
Whereas the segmentation of the fleet must take into account the
segmentation adopted by the previous programme;
Whereas in accordance with Commission Regulation (EC) No 109/94 of 19
January 1994 concerning the Community register of fishing vessels (
4), as last
amended by Regulation (EC) No 493/96 (5), each Member State must
communicate all changes to the situation of the fishing fleet and the evolution
of fishing effort by fishery;
Whereas the calculation of the objectives of the programme is based on
information supplied by the Member State; whereas it may be necessary to
revise the objectives if this information is later found to have been inaccurate;
Whereas the measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the
opinion of the Management Committee for Fisheries and Aquaculture,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
The multiannual guidance programme for the fishing fleet of Spain for the
period 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2001, as forwarded on 24 June 1997
and subsequently supplemented, is hereby approved, subject to the conditions
laid down in this Decision and the Annex thereto.!B
(1) OJ L 274, 25.9.1986, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 339, 29.12.1994, p. 11.
(3) OJ L 67, 25.3.1995, p. 33.
(4) OJ L 19, 22.1.1994, p. 5.
(5) OJ L 72, 21.3.1996, p. 12.1998D0128 — EN — 10.01.2001 — 001.001 — 3
Article 2
The Member State shall ensure that any reductions in capacity or fishing
effort that are required to meet the final objectives of the programme areachieved progressively. To this end intermediate objectives are set such that at
least one quarter of the reductions are achieved by 31 December 1998, half of
the reductions are achieved by 31 December 1999 and three-quarters of thereductions are achieved by 31 December 2000.
In order to ensure that the final and intermediate objectives of the programme
will be met, the Member State shall communicate to the Commission forapproval the regime of entries/exits of vessels referred to in Article 6(2) ofDecision 97/413/EC.
Article 3
1. The following units shall be used to measure whether the final and
intermediate MAGP IV objectives have been met:
(i) the capacity of a vessel is measured both in terms of its tonnage
expressed in gross tonnes (GT) and in terms of its power measured in kW
according to the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 2930/86;
(ii) the fishing activity of a vessel is measured in days at sea in accordance
with Annex VI to Regulation (EC) No 109/94;
(iii) in accordance with Annex VI to Regulation (EC) No 109/94 the fishing
effort of a vessel is measured both as tonnage effort, defined as theproduct of its activity and its tonnage expressed in GT, and as power
effort, defined as the product of its activity and its power expressed in
kW .
2. Active and passive gears correspond to the lists of towed and static gears
respectively in Annex I, Table 2 to Regulation (EC) No 109/94, with the
exception of purse seines which are considered to be active gears for thepurposes of the present Decision.
3. Fleet segments and, if applicable, fisheries are defined as shown in the
Annex and in accordance with point 1 of the additional provisions thereof.
Article 4
1. Until such time as a Member State has fulfilled its obligations pursuant to
Regulation (EEC) No 2930/86 to submit a measured or duly estimated GTvalue of a vessel, for the purposes of MAGP IV , the GT of that vessel shall be
estimated by the Commission as being equivalent to the tonnage of that vessel
expressed in GRT.
2. Any fishing effort reduction, including capacity reductions, claimed by a
Member State shall not be taken into account by the Commission unless the
Member State has fulfilled its obligation pursuant to Regulation (EEC) No2930/86 to furnish the Commission with the GT value or estimate of the
vessel concerned.
3. If a Member State has not transmitted all the values or estimates of GT
required pursuant to Regulation (EEC) No 2930/86 necessary in order to
determine whether that Member State has reached an intermediate or final
objective, the Commission will assess whether the information on tonnagethat has been supplied to it is nevertheless sufficient to assume that theMember State concerned has reached that objective. If the Commission
concludes that this is the case, it shall consider that the conditions for granting
modernisation and construction aid laid down in Article 10 of Regulation(EC) No 3699/93 have been fulfilled.
Article 5
As long as a Member State has not fulfilled its global final obligations under
MAGP III, and notably the obligation to achieve at least 55 % of the reduction
objectives under MAGP III by capacity reductions, it shall be deemed not tohave fulfilled its global intermediate and/or final obligations under MAGP IV .!B1998D0128 — EN — 10.01.2001 — 001.001 — 4
Article 6
In order to monitor and control the implementation of the programme, the
Member States shall communicate all changes to the situation of the fishing
fleet and the evolution of fishing effort by fishery according to the procedures
laid down in Regulation (EC) No 109/94.
The annual communication from the Commission to the Council and to the
European Parliament on the progress of the MAGP IV provided for in Article6 of Regulation (EC) No 3699/93, shall be based on the information containedin the fishing vessel register of the Community and may incorporate
additional information contained in the reports communicated by the Member
States in accordance with Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 3699/93.
Article 7
The objectives of the programme are indicated in the Annex. These objectives
may be revised by the Commission, pursuant to the procedure laid down inArticle 18 of Regulation (EEC) No 3760/92, whenever information gathered
in order to calculate the objectives, notably concerning the composition of the
catches by segment or by fishery, the starting levels of effort and the GTvalues or estimates, is found to have been inaccurate.
Article 8
This Decision is addressed to the Kingdom of Spain.
It shall enter into force from 1 January 1997.!B1998D0128 — EN — 10.01.2001 — 001.001 — 5
ANNEX
MULTIANNUAL GUIDANCE PROGRAMME FOR THE FISHING FLEET OF
SP AIN FOR THE PERIOD 1997 TO 2001
I. TABLES OF OBJECTIVES
The tables specifying the applicable reduction objectives can be found at the end of this
Annex.
II. ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS
1. Identification of segments and fisheries
Segments of the fleet are defined in accordance with Article 1(4) and 4 of
Decision 97/413/EC. One or more fisheries may be identified within segmentsusing active gears.
Objectives fixed in terms of fishing effort by fishery are valid provided that the
measures to limit fishing effort described in the programme submitted pursuant
to Article 6 of Decision 97/413/EC, as approved by the Commission, arerespected.
The objectives fixed must be attained for each of the segments and where
applicable for each of the fisheries by the end of the programme.
Each segment of the fleet is allocated a code number by which the segment to
which any vessel belongs is recorded in the fishing vessel register of the
Community. All changes to the allocation of vessels to segments must be
communicated according to the procedures of Regulation (EC) No 109/94.
2. Conversion of tonnage objectives from units of GRT to units of GT
The objectives of the MAGP III fixed for 31 December 1996 serve as the
starting point for the calculation of the objectives of MAGP IV . The tonnage
objectives for the MAGP III are converted from units of gross registered tonnes(GRT) to units of GT by the application of the following formula to each of thefleet segments or applicable subdivisions of the fleet segments of MAGP III:
Objective for 31 December 1996 ðGTÞ¼
objective for 31 December 1996 ðGRT Þ/C2
Situation at 31 December 1996 ðGTÞ
Situation at 31 December 1996 ðGRT Þ
where the situation at 31 December 1996 in GRT incorporates, where necessary,
calculations made in accordance with Commission Decision 97/259/EC (1).
3. Calculation of the objectives
The objectives are expressed in terms of tonnage in GT and power as defined in
Regulation (EEC) No 2930/86 in kW .
3.1. O b j e c t i v e s b y s e g m e n t
Where a segment comprising small coastal vessels has been identified in
accordance with Article 3 of Decision 97/413/EC, the objectives fixed by theMAGP IV are to stabilise capacity at its level at 1 January 1997 or, at the choice
of the Member State, to limit capacity to a level corresponding to the objectives
of the MAGP III for this segment.
The capacity objectives for 31 December 2001 for all other segments are
calculated by applying the appropriate reduction rate to the capacity objectivesby segment for 31 December 1996 fixed by the MAGP III. If the vessels in oneor more segments of the MAGP III are redistributed into one or more segmentsof the MAGP IV , the sum of the objectives for 31 December 1996 of the MAGP
III segments concerned gives the sum of the objectives for 31 December 1996
of the new MAGP IV segments so created. The objectives of the MAGP IVsegments for 31 December 1996 are calculated by partitioning this sum amongthe MAGP IV segments according to the size of those segments at 31 December1996.
The reduction rate applied to each segment is calculated according to the
method described in Annex II to Decision 97/413/EC, in which the pilot
reduction rate for the segment is multiplied by the proportion of the catch inweight of the segment that is made up of critical stocks.!
B
(1) OJ L 104, 22.4.1997, p. 28.1998D0128 — EN — 10.01.2001 — 001.001 — 6
3.2. O b j e c t i v e s b y f i s h e r y
Where distinct fisheries have been identified in one or more segments, and
where the programme for the limitation of fishing effort in each of thesefisheries submitted in accordance with Article 6 of Decision 97/413/EC hasbeen approved by the Commission, distinct effort reduction rates are calculatedfor each of the fisheries. The method of calculation of the reduction rate in eachfishery is identical to that for capacity reductions by segment.
The effort objectives by fishery are calculated by applying the appropriate
reduction rate to the baseline level of effort for that fishery. The baseline levelsof effort for the fisheries in a segment are calculated by partitioning the effortobjective for the segment for 31 December 1996 among the fisheries. The effort
objective for the segment is given by the product of the capacity objective of the
segment for 31 December 1996 and mean activity of vessels in the segment overthe reference period agreed with the Commission. The proportion of the effortobjective for the segment allocated to each fishery is decided by the MemberState subject to approval by the Commission, and is fixed for the duration of theprogramme.
Without prejudice to the provisions of Articles 4 and 5 of the present Decision,
the intermediate objectives expressed in terms of fishing effort will be deemedto have been met if the cumulative fishing effort from the start of theprogramme to the date of the intermediate objective is equal to or less than thecumulative fishing effort that would have been exerted if all the annual
intermediate objectives had been met exactly.
Without prejudice to the provisions of Articles 4 and 5 of the present Decision,
the final objectives expressed in terms of fishing effort will be deemed to havebeen met if the cumulative fishing effort over the period of the programme isequal to or less than the cumulative fishing effort that would have been exerted
if all the annual objectives had been met exactly.
3.3. A u t h o r i s e d a d j u s t m e n t s t o t h e o b j e c t i v e s
Member States may at any time submit to the Commission a programme of
safety improvements. In accordance with Articles 3 and 4 of Decision 97/413/EC the Commission will decide whether any capacity increase foreseen by sucha programme justifies a corresponding increase in the objectives of the MAGPIV .
Where a Member State implements technical measures that result in a reduction
in the by-catch of critical stocks, the Commission will, at the request of thatMember State, determine whether these measures justify a revision of theweighted reduction rates applicable to the segments or fisheries concerned.
The Decisions of the Commission concerning the provisions of this paragraph
will be taken according to the procedures of Article 18 of Regulation (EEC) No3760/92.
3.4. B a c k l o g f r o m t h e p r e v i o u s p r o g r a m m e
Where the objectives for 31 December 1996 have not been achieved, the
backlog in a given segment can be made up by a mixture of capacity and
activity reductions, provided that a programme for the reduction of effort is
submitted to the Commission for approval in accordance with Article 4 ofRegulation (EC) No 109/94 and provided that at least 55 % of the backlog forall segments combined is made up by capacity reductions. The reductions inactivity resulting from such a programme have been taken into account in orderto establish the baseline activity levels for MAGP IV .
4. Implementation and monitoring
The implementation of the measures to reduce fishing effort for certain
segments of fleet require that evidence is given to the Commission by the
Member State that the following are available for each of the segmentsconcerned:
— data concerning activity levels before the entry into force of the measures,— effective tools to manage time at sea, and an ability to manage fishing
licence schemes,
— data making it possible to follow the effect of the measures implemented.
These effects have to be controllable by the Commission, in accordancewith the provisions of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 (
1) relating to
control.!B
(1) OJ L 261, 20.10.1993, p. 1.1998D0128 — EN — 10.01.2001 — 001.001 — 7
!M1
Spain
Area Stocks Segment Catch composition Pilot rate Weighted reductionSituation
1.1.1997Objective
31.12.1996Objective
31.12.2001
GT (*) kW GT (*) kW GT (*) kW
EU waters Demersal Artisanal
(512 m) (1)24 963 214 171 33 293 235 997 33 293 283 196
Subtotal 24 963 214 171 33 293 235 997 33 293 283 196
EU waters Pelagic, tuna-like fish Trawlers DR: 1,8 %
OF: 14,9 %Others: 83,3 %25 % 4,2 % 140 961 408 329 170 265 442 193 163 114 423 621
Fixed gear DR: 1,6 %
OF: 25,1 %Others: 73,3 %25 % 6,7 % 50 983 144 867 62 983 159 630 58 776 148 967
Purse-seiners DR: 25,0 %
OF: 8,1 %
Others: 66,9 %30 % 9,9 % 53 122 174 630 63 641 192 426 57 341 173 376
International waters
and third countriesDemersal and pelagic Trawl and mobile gear (
2)(4) 0 % 0 % 213 177 374 261 334 595 517 173 334 595 517 173
Fixed gear (3) 0 % 0 % 49 446 102 950 56 642 118 370 56 642 118 370
Tuna-like fish Tuna fleet 0 % 0 % 77 116 116 115 95 493 138 133 95 493 138 133
Subtotal 584 805 1 321 152 783 619 1 567 925 765 960 1 519 639
Total 609 768 1 535 323 816 912 1 803 922 799 253 1 802 836
DR: Depletion risk
OF: Overfished.
(*) Includes estimated GT values in accordance with Article 4 of the present Decision. The objectives will be revised as real GT values become available.
(1)The power objectives of this segment for 31.12.2001 have been adjusted in order to accommodate any increase in the power of the segment resulting form a programme of engine replacements intended to provide a sufficient margin of safety for
navigation in poor weather. Invitations to vessel owners to participate in this programme will be closed by 30 June 2001 at the latest. The power object ives may be further revised if the present adjustment proves to be either excessive or
insufficient to accommodate demand.
(2)A fraction of this capacity contributes to a fishery in Moroccan waters whose level of presence at 31.12.1996 was estimated as 44 412 GRT. The situation of this fishery by 31.12.2001 will be determined by the evolution of the fishing
possibilities obtained in the framework of fisheries agreements with third countries or in international waters.
(3)A fraction of this capacity contributes to a fishery in Moroccan waters whose level of presence at 31.12.1996 was estimated as 8 962 GRT. The situation o f this fishery by 31.12.2001 will be determined by the evolution of the fishing
possibilities obtained in the framework of fisheries agreements with third countries or in international waters.
(4)A fraction of this capacity contributes to a fishery in Moroccan waters whose level of presence at 31.12.1996 was estimated as 6 100 GRT. The situation o f this fishery by 31.12.2001 will be determined by the evolution of the fishing
possibilities obtained in the framework of fisheries agreements with third countries or in international waters.1998D0128 — EN — 10.01.2001 — 001.001 — 8