COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) N° 3919/92 of 20 December 1992 fixing, for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks, the total allowable catches (TACs) for 1993 and certain conditions under which they may be fished

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) N° 3760/92 of 20 December 1992 establishing a Community system for fisheries and aquaculture (1), and in particular Article 11 thereof.

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Whereas Article 2 of Regulation (EEC) N° 3760/92, requires the Council to formulate, in the light of the available scientific advice and, in particular, of the report prepared by the Scientific and Technical Committee for Fisheries, the conservation measures necessary to achieve the aims set out in Article 1 of the abovementioned Regulation;

Whereas Article 3 of Regulation (EEC) N° 3760/92, requires the Council, if it becomes necessary to limit fishing effort by restricting catches, to establish the total allowable catches (TACs) by stock or group of stocks, the share available for the Community and also the specific conditions under which the catches must be made;

Whereas, in order to ensure the protection of fishing grounds and fish stocks and the balanced exploitation of the resources of the sea, in the interests of both fishermen and consumers, there should be fixed each year, for the different species of which the catches must be restricted, a TAC per stock or group of stocks and the share of these catches available to the Community taking into account its commitments to third countries;

Whereas, in accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 2 of the Agreement on fisheries between the European Economic Community and the Kingdom of Norway (2), Article 2 of the Agreement on fisheries between the European Economic Community of the one part and the Government of Sweden (3), and Article 2 of the Agreement on fisheries between the European Economic Community and the Government of Denmark and the Home Government of the Faroe Islands of the other part (4), the parties have consulted on their reciprocal fishing rights for 1993;

Whereas these bilateral consultations have been successfully concluded; whereas, as a result, it is possible to fix the TACs, the Community shares and the quotas for certain joint and autonomous stocks, of which part is allocated to Norway, Sweden and the Faroe Islands;

Whereas trilateral consultations with Norway and Sweden concerning reciprocal fishing rights in the Skagerrak and Kattegat have not been successfully concluded; whereas, as a result, it is not possible to fix the TACs, the Community shares and the quotas for certain joint and autonomous stocks in these areas; whereas it will be attempted to conclude these consultations early in 1993 in order to avoid any interruption in the fishery;

Whereas the Community has signed the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which contains principles and rules relating to the conservation and management of the living resources of the sea;

Whereas, in the framework of its wider international obligations, the Community participates in efforts to conserve fish stocks arising in international waters; whereas the extent to which such stocks are fished by vessels of the Community should be viewed in the light of overall fishing activity and the contribution made hitherto by the Community towards their conservation should be taken into account;

Whereas the catch restrictions fixed for cod in II b should also cover all areas where this stock accurs in order to prevent unlimited catches in adjacent areas;

Whereas the International Baltic Sea Fishery Commission has recommended TACs for the stocks of cod, salmon, herring and sprat occurring in the waters of the Baltic Sea and the shares thereof for each contracting party;

Whereas, in order to ensure effective management, the shares of the TAC available for the Community in 1993 should be distributed fairly among the Member States in a manner which assures relative stability of fishing activities, in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation 3760/92;

Whereas, in the case of certain stocks fished mainly for reduction to meal and oil, it does not appear necessary to make quota allocations;

Whereas Article 161 of the Act of Accession of Spain and Portugal fixes the share of the TACs allocated to Spain for certain stocks in certain zones and allocates flat-rate amounts of horse mackerel and blue whiting to Spain;

Whereas those flat-rate amounts of blue whiting must be divided among ICES sub-areas and divisions V b (EC zone), VI, VII and VIII a, b and d;

Whereas, pursuant to Article 158 of the Act of Accession, a distinction must be made between fishing for demersal species and fishing for species other than demersal; whereas the group to which blue whiting, anchovy and horse mackerel belong must therefore be defined;

Whereas, in order to ensure effective management of these TACs, the specific conditions under which fishing operations occur should be established;

Whereas, taking account of the latest scientific advice, it is necessary to establish seasonal limitations on certain fishing activities in the North Sea and to increase the minimum mesh size in order to limit catches of juvenile cod;

Whereas, in order to ensure a better exploitation of the quotas of herring, hake and mackerel, transfers of quotas from ICES divisions IV c and VII d to ICES division IV b should be allowed for herring, transfers from divisions V b (EC division), VI, VII, XII and XIV and from divisions VIII a, b and d to division II a (EC division) and IV (EC division) should be allowed for hake, and transfers from divisions II a (EC division), VI, VII, VIII a, b, d, and e, XII and XIV to division IV a (EC division) should be allowed for mackerel, and transfers between divisions V b (EC division), VI, VII, and VIII a, b and d should be allowed for blue whiting;

Whereas, in order to ensure a better exploitation of the haddock stocks in zones V b (EC zone), VI, XII and XIV, catches in zones V b and VI a should be limited;

Whereas, taking account of the latest scientific advice, it is necessary to establish seasonal limitations on fishing activities in the Firth of Clyde and the Irish Sea in order to limit fishing for herring;

Whereas catches of certain pelagic species may be taken with a mesh size which derogates from Community Regulations; whereas new studies are at present in progress to evaluate the effects on selectivity on individuals enmeshed while fishing for these pelagic species in regions 1 and 2; whereas, since these new elements may contribute to a redefinition of this type of fishing, it is desirable to prolong the conditions for fishing established in Regulation (EEC) N° 2120/92 (1);

Whereas catches of certain shrimps (Pandalus spp. except Pandalus montagui) may be taken with a mesh size which derogates from Community Regulations; whereas, it is appropriate to complete certain scientific studies under way on the effects of new provisions concerning mesh and concerning losses in the catches of shrimps of authorized size; whereas therefore it is desirable to prolong the conditions for fishing established in Regulation (EEC) N° 2120/92;

Whereas catches of whiting may be taken with a mesh size which derogates from Community Regulations; whereas it is appropriate to prolong the conditions for fishing established in Regulation (EEC) N° 2120/92, in agreement with the Scientific and Technical Committee for Fisheries in order to gain further experience on the effects of these conditions on the stocks concerned and to evaluate the viablility of a directed fishery for whiting in regions 1 and 2 under the established conditions;

Whereas the situation of several stocks, in particular haddock and cod stocks in Region 2, is actually and potentially extremely serious; whereas the TACs for these stocks which are below the existing fishing capacity in the Member States; whereas scientific opinion indicates that the fishing effort must be reduced by 30 % for stocks of cod or haddock in the North Sea, to the west of Scotland, and of cod in the Skagerrak and Kattegat,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

This Regulation fixes for 1993, for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks, total allowable catches (TACs) per stock or group of stocks, the share of these catches available to the Community, the allocation of that share among Member States and the specific conditions under which these stocks may be fished (1).

For the purposes of this Regulation, the Skagerrak is bounded on the west by a line drawn from the Hanstholm lighthouse to the Lindesnes lighthouse and on the south by a line drawn from the Skagen lighthouse to the Tistlarna lighthouse and from this point to the nearest point on the Swedish coast.

For the purposes of this Regulation, the Kattegat is bounded on the north by a line drawn from the Skagen lighthouse to the Tistlarna lighthouse and from this point to the nearest point on the Swedish coast and on the south by a line drawn from Hasenoere to Gnibens Spids, from Korshage to Spodsbjerg and from Gilbjerg Hoved to Kullen.

For the purposes of this Regulation, the North Sea shall comprise ICES sub-area IV and that part of ICES division III A which is not covered by the definition of the Skagerrak as given in the second subparagraph.

Article 2

TACs for stocks or groups of stocks to which Community rules apply and the share of these catches available to the Community are herreby fixed for 1993 as set out in the Annex.

Article 3

The allocation among the Member States of the share available to the community of the TACs mentioned in Article 2 is laid down in the Annex.

This allocation shall be without prejudice to exchanges made pursuant to Article 5 (1) of Regulation (EEC) N° 3760/92 and re-allocations made pursuant to Article 11 (4) and Article 11 c (2) of Regulation (EEC) N° 2241/87 (2).

Article 4

As regards the herring stock of the North Sea and of the eastern English Channel, transfers of up to 50 % of the quotas may be effected from ICES divisions IV c and VII d to ICES division IV.

As regards the hake stock in zones II a (EC zone) and IV (EC zone), Member States having a quota in this zone may, on exhaustion of this quota, make transfers from zones V b (EC zone), VI, VII, XII and XIV and from zones VIII a, b and d to zone II a (EC zone) and IV (EC zone).

However, such transfers must be notified in advance to the Commission.

Article 5

1. It shall be prohibited to retain on board or to land catches from stocks for which TACs or quotas are fixed unless:

(i) the catches have been taken by vessels of a Member State having a quota and that quota is not exhausted; or (ii) the share of the TAC available to the Community (Community share) has not been allocated by quota among Member States and the Community share has not been exhausted; or (iii) for all species other than herring and mackerel, they are mixed with other species and have been taken with nets whose mesh size is 32 millimetres or less in Regions 1 and 2 or 40 millimetres or less in Region 3 in accordance with Article 2 (1) of Regulation (EEC) N° 3094/86 (3), and are not sorted either on board or on landing; or (iv) for herring, they are within the limits of paragraph 2; or (v) for mackerel, they are mixed with horse-mackerel or pilchard and the mackerel does not exceed 10 % of the total weight of mackerel, horse-mackerel and pilchard on board and the catches are not sorted; or (vi) they are caught during the course of scientific investigations carried out under Regulation (EEC) N° 3096/86.

All landings shall count against the quota, or, if the Community share has not been allocated between Member States by quotas, against the Community share, except for catches made under the provisions of (iii), (iv), (v) and (vi).

2. When fishing with nets whose mesh size is less than 32 millimetres in Regions 1 and 2 other than the Skagerrak and the Kattegat and with nets whose mesh size is less than 40 millimetres in Region 3, it shall be prohibited to retain on board catches of herring mixed with other species unless such catches are not sorted and unless the herring, if mixed with sprat only, does not exceed 10 % by weight of the total weight of herring and sprat combined.

When fishing with nets whose mesh size is less than 32 millimetres in Regions 1 and 2 and with nets whose mesh size is less than 40 millimetres in Region 3, it shall be prohibited to retain on board catches of herring mixed with other species unless such catches are not sorted and unless the herring, if mixed with other species whether or not including sprat, does not exceed 5 % by weight of the total weight of the herring and other species combined.

3. The determination of the percentage of by-catches and their disposal shall be made in accordance with Article 2 of Regulation (EEC) N° 3094/86.

Article 6

1. Fishing for herring shall be prohibited from 1 July to 31 October 1993 within the area bounded by the following coordinates:

- the west coast of Denmark at 55° 30′N,

- latitude 55° 30′N longitude 07° 00′E,

- latitude 57° 00′N longitude 07° 00′E - the west coast of Denmark at 57° 00′N.

2. Fishing for herring shall be prohibited in the zone extending from 6 to 12 miles off the east coast of the United Kingdom as measured from the baselines between latitudes 54° 10′N and 54° 45′N for the period 15 August to 30 September 1993 and between latitudes 55° 30′N and 55° 45′N for the period 15 August to 15 September 1993.

3. Fishing for herring shall be prohibited throughout the year in the Irish Sea (ICES Division VII a) in the maritime area between the west coasts of Scotland, England and Wales and a line drawn 12 miles from the baselines of these coasts bounded to the south by latitude 53° 20′N and to the north-west by a line drawn between the Mull of Galloway (Scotland) and the Point of Ayre (Isle of Man).

4. Fishing for herring shall be prohibited from 21 September to 31 December 1993 in the parts of the Irish Sea (ICES division VII a) bounded by the following coordinates:

(a) - the east coast of the Isle of Man at latitude 54° 20′N,

- latitude 54° 20′N, longitude 3° 40′W,

- latitude 53° 50′N, longitude 3° 50′W,

- latitude 53° 50′N, longitude 4° 50′W,

- the south-west coast of the Isle of Man at longitude 4° 50′W;

(b) - the east coast of Northern Ireland at latitude 54° 15′N,

- latitude 54° 15′N, longitude 5° 15′W,

- latitude 53° 50′N, longitude 5° 50′W,

- the east coast of Ireland at latitude 53° 50′N.

Fishing for herring shall be prohibited throughout 1993 in Logan Bay, defined as being the waters east of a line drawn from the Mull of Logan, situated at latitude 54° 44′N and longitude 4° 59′W, to Laggantalluch Head, situated at latitude 54° 41′N and longitude 4° 58′W.

5. Notwithstanding paragraph 4, vessels with a length not exceeding 12,2 metres based in ports situated on the east coast of Ireland and Northern Ireland between latitudes 53° 00′N and 55° 00′N may fish for herring in the prohibited area described in paragraph 4 (b). The only method of fishing authorized shall be drift netting with nets of a minimum mesh size of 54 mm.

6. Fishing for herring shall be prohibited in the maritime area situated to the north-east of a line drawn between Mull of Kintyre and Corsewall Point from 1 January to 30 April 1993.

7. The areas and periods described in this Article may be altered in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 14 of Regulation (EEC) N° 3760/92.

Article 7

Trawling and purse seining for mackerel, sprat and herring shall be prohibited in the Skagerrak from Saturday midnight to Sunday midnight and in the Kattegat from Friday midnight to Sunday midnight.

Article 8

Blue whiting, anchovy and horse mackerel shall be considered to be species other than demersal.

Article 9

Footnotes (11), (12) and (13) in Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC) N° 3094/86 are hereby replaced by the following:

(11) The use of 32 mm mesh shall be permitted until 31 December 1993;

(12) The use of 32 mm mesh shall be permitted until 31 December 1993;

(13) The conditions for this type of fishing shall remain valid until 31 December 1993.

Article 10

Notwithstanding Article 2 of, and Annex I to, Regulation (EEC) N° 3094/86, under headings Region '2` geographical zone 'entire region except Norway pout box` and the authorized Norway pout target species, the maximum percentage of protected species is 15 % of which no more than 5 % is taken up by cod and haddock.

Article 11

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

It shall apply from 1 January 1993.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 20 December 1992.

For the Council The President J. Gummer

(1) OJ N° L 389, 31. 12. 1992, p. 1.

(2) OJ N° L 226, 29. 8. 1980, p. 48.

(3) OJ N° L 226, 29. 8. 1980, p. 2.

(4) OJ N° L 226, 29. 8. 1980, p. 12.

(1) OJ N° L 213, 29.7.1992, p. 3.

(1) The definition of the ICES and CECAF areas referred to in this Regulation is given in Commission communications 85/C 347/05 (OJ N° 347, 31. 12. 1985, p. 14) and 85/C 335/02 (OJ N° C 335, 24. 12. 1985, p. 2) respectively.

(2) OJ N° L 207, 29. 7.1987, p. 1, as amended by Regulation (EEC) N° 3483/88.

(3) OJ N° L 288, 11. 10. 1988, p. 1.