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"BCOMMISSION DECISION
of 16 December 1997
approving the multiannual guidance programme for the fishing fleet of the Netherlands for the
period from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2001
(Only the Dutch text is authentic)
(98/121/EC)
(OJ L 39, 12.2.1998, p. 15)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
"M1 Commission Decision 2001/21/EC of 21 December 2000 L 5 10 10.1.20011998D0121 — EN — 10.01.2001 — 001.001 — 1
COMMISSION DECISION
of 16 December 1997
approving the multiannual guidance programme for the fishing fleet
of the Netherlands for the period from 1 January 1997 to 31
December 2001
(Only the Dutch text is authentic)
(98/121/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
structural assistance in the fisheries and aquaculture sector and the
processing and marketing 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 sector for the period from 1 January 1997 to 31
December 2001 with a view to achieving 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 the Netherlands, hereinafter referred to as ‘the Member State’,
on 30 June 1997, in accordance with Article 6(1) of Decision 97/413/EC,
submitted to the 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/EC provides 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 permanent regime to control the renewal of the fleet, which will
determine, segment by segment, 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 therefore communicate 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 into
account in fixing the objectives applicable to that fleet;!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. 1.1998D0121 — EN — 10.01.2001 — 001.001 — 2
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 an intermediate 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;
Whereas the starting point for calculating the intermediate and final fleet
objectives under MAGP IV are the fleet objectives fixed by the previous
programmes for 31 December 1996 (MAGP III); whereas the tonnage
objectives 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 fishing vessels of the fleet concerned notwithstanding their
obligation to measure or estimate 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
determine that 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
they relate to vessels for which the Member State concerned has not
fulfilled its obligation 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)
No 2930/86 of 22 September 1986 defining the characteristics of fishing
vessels (1), as amended by Regulation (EC) No 3259/94 (2)a n d
implemented by Commission Decision 95/84/EC (3), the Commission
will be unable to verify the percentage changes in the fleet capacity or
fishing effort represented 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 to vessels for which the required GT
values are available have been sufficient to be 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 its obligations 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 Management Committee for Fisheries and Aquaculture
failed to deliver an opinion within the time allowed by its chairman,!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. 12.1998D0121 — EN — 10.01.2001 — 001.001 — 3
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
The multiannual guidance programme for the fishing fleet of the
Netherlands for the period 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2001, as
forwarded on 30 June 1997 and subsequently supplemented, is hereby
approved, subject to the conditions laid down in this Decision and the
Annex thereto.
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 are
achieved 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 the reductions 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 for approval the regime of entries/exits of vessels referred
to in Article 6(2) of Decision 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 the product 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 the purposes 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 GT value 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) No 2930/86 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 tonnage that has been supplied to it is nevertheless
sufficient to assume that the Member State concerned has reached that!B1998D0121 — EN — 10.01.2001 — 001.001 — 4
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 to have fulfilled its global intermediate and/or final
obligations under MAGP IV .
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
Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 3699/93, shall be based on the
information contained in 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 in Article 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 GT values or estimates, is found to
have been inaccurate.
Article 8
This Decision is addressed to the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
It shall enter into force from 1 January 1997.!B1998D0121 — EN — 10.01.2001 — 001.001 — 5
ANNEX
MULTIANNUAL GUIDANCE PROGRAMME FOR THE FISHING FLEET
OF THE NETHERLANDS 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 withinsegments using 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 theCommission, are respected.
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 theCommunity. 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 grossregistered tonnes (GRT) to units of GT by the application of the followingformula to each of the fleet segments or applicable subdivisions of the fleet
segments of MAGP III:
Objective for 31 December 1996 ðGTÞ¼
objective for 31 December 1996 ðGRT Þ/C2Situation 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. Objectives by segment
Where a segment comprising small coastal vessels has been identified in
accordance with Article 3 of Decision 97/413/EC, the objectives fixed by
the MAGP 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 correspondingto 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
objectives by segment for 31 December 1996 fixed by the MAGP III. If thevessels in one or more segments of the MAGP III are redistributed into oneor more segments of the MAGP IV , the sum of the objectives for 31
December 1996 of the MAGP III segments concerned gives the sum of the!
B
(1) OJ L 104, 22.4.1997, p. 28.1998D0121 — EN — 10.01.2001 — 001.001 — 6
objectives for 31 December 1996 of the new MAGP IV segments so
created. The objectives of the MAGP IV segments for 31 December 1996
are calculated by partitioning this sum among the MAGP IV segments
according to the size of those segments at 31 December 1996.
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
in weight of the segment that is made up of critical stocks.
3.2. Objectives by fishery
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/EChas been approved by the Commission, distinct effort reduction rates are
calculated for each of the fisheries. The method of calculation of the
reduction rate in each fishery is identical to that for capacity reductions bysegment.
The effort objectives by fishery are calculated by applying the appropriate
reduction rate to the baseline level of effort for that fishery. The baseline
levels of effort for the fisheries in a segment are calculated by partitioningthe effort objective for the segment for 31 December 1996 among thefisheries. 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 over the reference period agreed with theCommission. The proportion of the effort objective for the segmentallocated to each fishery is decided by the Member State subject to
approval by the Commission, and is fixed for the duration of the
programme.
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 deemed to have been met if the cumulative fishing effort from the
start of the programme to the date of the intermediate objective is equal toor less than the cumulative fishing effort that would have been exerted ifall 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 bedeemed to have been met if the cumulative fishing effort over the period ofthe programme is equal to or less than the cumulative fishing effort that
would have been exerted if all the annual objectives had been met exactly.
3.3. Authorised adjustments to the objectives
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 increaseforeseen by such a programme justifies a corresponding increase in theobjectives of the MAGP IV .
Where a Member State implements technical measures that result in a
reduction in the by-catch of critical stocks, the Commission will, at therequest of that Member State, determine whether these measures justify arevision of the weighted 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 ofRegulation (EEC) No 3760/92.
3.4. Backlog from the previous programme
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 issubmitted to the Commission for approval in accordance with Article 4 ofRegulation (EC) No 109/94 and provided that at least 55 % of the backlog
for all segments combined is made up by capacity reductions. The
reductions in activity resulting from such a programme have been takeninto account in order to establish the baseline activity levels for MAGP IV .!
B1998D0121 — EN — 10.01.2001 — 001.001 — 7
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 theMember 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 Commis-
sion, in accordance with the provisions of Council Regulation (EEC)
No 2847/93 (
1) relating to control.!B
(1) OJ L 261, 20.10.1993, p. 1.1998D0121 — EN — 10.01.2001 — 001.001 — 8
!M1
The Netherlands
Area StocksSegmentation
MAGP IVFishery Catch compositionPilot
rateWeight-
ed re-
ductionSituation
1.1.1997Objective
31.12.1996Objective
31.12.2001
GT (*) kW GT (*) kWGT (*)
×t
(’000)kW × t
(’000)GT (*) kWGT (*)
×t
(’000)kW × t
(’000)
Coastal waters Small scale coas-
tal non-trawling
fishing229 1 968 229 1 968 229 1 968
Subtotal 229 1 968 229 1 968 229 1 968
Waters of third
countries, inter-
national waters,
EU-watersPelagic and de-
mersalA. Pelagic
trawlersDR = 5,97 %
OF = 10,57 %
Other = 83,46 %30 % 4,96 % 55 523 65 280 48 790
(2)62 475
(3)12 859 18 140 48 790 62 475 12 221 17 240
EU-waters Flatfish, pelagic
and demersalB. Cutters
(4221 kW) (1)DR = 69,99 %
OF = 6,58 %Other = 23,43 %30 % 22,97 % 78 422 307 192 73 065 302 467
(
4)14 248 58 227 71 345 275 616 10 975 44 852
EU-waters Flatfish, pelagic
and demersalC. Eurocutters
(4221 kW) (1)DR = 25,2 %
OF = 0,2 %Other = 74,6 %30 % 7,62 % 13 447 41 142 13 427 41 529 2 497 7 630 13 427 41 529 2 307 7 049
EU-waters Flatfish, pelagic
and demersalD. Small vessels
(trawlers)DR = 47,33 %
O F=0%Other = 52,67 %30 % 14,20 % 221 2 279 213
(
5)2 245
(6)40 432 213 2 245 34 3711998D0121 — EN — 10.01.2001 — 001.001 — 9
Area StocksSegmentation
MAGP IVFishery Catch compositionPilot
rateWeight-
ed re-
ductionSituation
1.1.1997Objective
31.12.1996Objective
31.12.2001
GT (*) kW GT (*) kWGT (*)
×t
(’000)kW × t
(’000)GT (*) kWGT (*)
×t
(’000)kW × t
(’000)
EU-waters Shrimps E. Shrimp vessels
(7)Other = 100 % 0 % 0 % 2 340 8 599 2 813 10 318 2 813 10 318
EU-waters Non-quota stocks F . All gears Other = 100 % 0 % 0 % 8 886 28 603 8 703 29 010 8 703 29 010
Total (A + B + C + D + E + F) 158 839 453 095 147 011 448 044 29 644 84 430 145 291 421 193 25 538 69 512
DR: Depletion risk.
OF: Overfished.
(*) Includes estimated GT values. The objectives will be revised as real GT values become available.
(1)Including the ‘reserved hps’, which are existing investment obligations administered within the limits of the objectives.
(2)The objective for 1996 has been increased by 5 509 GT, representing 45 % of the backlog from MAGP III.
(3)The objective for 1996 has been increased by 2 295 kW , representing 45 % of the backlog from MAGP III.
(4)The objective for 1996 has been increased by 3 866 kW , representing 45 % of the backlog from MAGP III.
(5)The objective for 1996 has been increased by 7 GT, representing 45 % of the backlog from MAGP III.
(6)The objective for 1996 has been increased by 28 kW representing 45 % of the backlog from MAGP III.
(7)This segment may be integrated in segment ‘C Eurocutters’ by the end of 2001.!M11998D0121 — EN — 10.01.2001 — 001.001 — 10