COUNCIL REGULATION (EU) 2021/1069

of 28 June 2021

amending Regulation (EU) 2020/1579 as regards certain fishing opportunities in the Baltic Sea, and amending Regulation (EU) 2021/92 as regards certain fishing opportunities for 2021 in Union and non-Union waters

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) Council Regulation (EU) 2020/1579 (1) fixes for 2021 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks applicable in the Baltic Sea. On 28 May 2021, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) published a revised scientific catch advice for herring in the Gulf of Bothnia for 2021. The advice updates the catch figure and upgrades the advice to category 1 maximum sustainable yield (MSY) advice. The fishing opportunities for herring in the Gulf of Bothnia should be adjusted accordingly, and therefore Regulation (EU) 2020/1579 should be amended accordingly.

(2) Council Regulation (EU) 2021/92 (2) fixes for 2021 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks applicable in Union waters and, for Union vessels, in certain non-Union waters.

(3) According to the ICES advice of 13 April 2021, catches of sprat (Sprattus sprattus) in ICES division 3a (Kattegat/Skagerrak) and ICES subarea 4 (North Sea) should be no more than 106 715 tonnes for the period from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022. The fishing opportunities for sprat for that period should therefore be set at 87 186 tonnes in Union waters of ICES division 2a and ICES subarea 4, and at 19 529 tonnes in ICES division 3a, in line with the maximum sustainable yield.

(4) Regulation (EU) 2021/92 set at zero the total allowable catch (TAC) for anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) in ICES subareas 9 and 10 and Union waters of the Fishery Committee for the Eastern Central Atlantic 34.1.1 for the period from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022, pending the scientific advice for that period. ICES will issue its advice for that stock at the end of June 2021. In order to ensure that fishing activity may continue until the TAC is set on the basis of the latest scientific advice, a provisional TAC of 5 744 tonnes, based on the catches in the third quarter of 2020, should be established.

(5) The numbers in point 6 of Annex VI to Regulation (EU) 2021/92 should be amended in order to reflect agreements concluded between some Member States to temporarily transfer between themselves, exclusively for year 2021, certain amounts of bluefin tuna farming input and capacity. Those changes have been notified to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) through an amended Union farming plan and do not affect the total farming capacity and input capacity of the Union in the ICCAT Convention Area.

(6) The catch limits provided for in Regulation (EU) 2020/1579 apply from 1 January 2021. The provisions introduced by this amending Regulation concerning catch limits for herring in the Gulf of Bothnia should therefore also apply from that date. Such retroactive application is without prejudice to the principles of legal certainty and protection of legitimate expectations, as the fishing opportunities concerned have not yet been exhausted.

(7) This Regulation should enter into force on the day after its publication in order to enable the fishing season for sprat and anchovy to start on time on 1 July 2021,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1 Amendment of Regulation (EU) 2020/1579 Regulation (EU) 2020/1579 is amended as set out in Part A of the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 2 Amendment of Regulation (EU) 2021/92 Regulation (EU) 2021/92 is amended as set out in Parts B and C of the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 3 Entry into force and application This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. Article 1 shall apply from 1 January 2021. Article 2 shall apply from 1 July 2021.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. Done at Luxembourg, 28 June 2021. For the Council The President M. do C. ANTUNES

(1) Council Regulation (EU) 2020/1579 of 29 October 2020 fixing for 2021 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks applicable in the Baltic Sea and amending Regulation (EU) 2020/123 as regards certain fishing opportunities in other waters (OJ L 362, 30.10.2020, p. 3).

(2) Council Regulation (EU) 2021/92 of 28 January 2021 fixing for 2021 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks, applicable in Union waters and, for Union fishing vessels, in certain non-Union waters (OJ L 31, 29.1.2021, p. 31).