COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2018/1969

of 12 December 2018

operating deductions from fishing quotas available for certain stocks in 2018 on account of overfishing in the previous years

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 Union control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the common fisheries policy, amending Regulations (EC) No 847/96, (EC) No 2371/2002, (EC) No 811/2004, (EC) No 768/2005, (EC) No 2115/2005, (EC) No 2166/2005, (EC) No 388/2006, (EC) No 509/2007, (EC) No 676/2007, (EC) No 1098/2007, (EC) No 1300/2008, (EC) No 1342/2008 and repealing Regulations (EEC) No 2847/93, (EC) No 1627/94 and (EC) No 1966/2006 (1), and in particular Article 105(1), (2) and (3) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Fishing quotas for the year 2017 have been established by: — Council Regulation (EU) 2016/1903 (2), — Council Regulation (EU) 2016/2285 (3), — Council Regulation (EU) 2016/2372 (4), and — Council Regulation (EU) 2017/127 (5).

(2) Fishing quotas for the year 2018 have been established by: — Council Regulation (EU) 2016/2285, — Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1970 (6), — Council Regulation (EU) 2017/2360 (7), and — Council Regulation (EU) 2018/120 (8).

(3) Pursuant to Article 105(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009, when the Commission has established that a Member State has exceeded the fishing quotas which have been allocated to it, the Commission is to operate deductions from future fishing quotas of that Member State.

(4) Article 105(2) and (3) of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 provides that such deductions have to be operated in the following year or years by applying the respective multiplying factors as set out therein.

(5) Certain Member States have exceeded their fishing quotas for the year 2017. It is therefore appropriate to operate deductions on the fishing quotas allocated to them in 2018 and, where relevant, in subsequent years, for the overfished stocks.

(6) In 2016, Spain overfished its quota for albacore in the Atlantic Ocean, North of 5° N (ALB/AN05N). At the request of Spain, the corresponding deduction was equally spread over two years (2017 and 2018). By Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/2309 (9), the first half of the deduction, namely 1 134,677 tonnes, was operated on the 2017 Spanish quota. For 2018, the Spanish initial quota for northern albacore in the Atlantic Ocean, North of 5° N (ALB/AN05N), as fixed by Regulation (EU) 2018/120, already reflected a deduction of 945,560 tonnes. Therefore, a remaining quantity of 189,117 tonnes should be deducted from the Spanish 2018 quota.

(7) Deductions from fishing quotas, as provided for by this Regulation, should apply without prejudice to deductions applicable to 2018 quotas pursuant to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 185/2013 (10).

(8) Since quotas are expressed in tonnes, overfishing involving quantities of less than 1 tonne should not be considered,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1 1. The fishing quotas fixed in Regulations (EU) 2016/2285, (EU) No 2017/1970, (EU) 2017/2360 and (EU) 2018/120 for the year 2018 shall be reduced as set out in the Annex to this Regulation. 2. Paragraph 1 shall apply without prejudice to deductions provided for in Implementing Regulation (EU) No 185/2013.

Article 2 This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. Done at Brussels, 12 December 2018. For the Commission The President Jean-Claude JUNCKER

(1) OJ L 343, 22.12.2009, p. 1.

(2) Council Regulation (EU) 2016/1903 of 28 October 2016 fixing for 2017 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks applicable in the Baltic Sea and amending Regulation (EU) 2016/72 (OJ L 295, 29.10.2016, p. 1).

(3) Council Regulation (EU) 2016/2285 of 12 December 2016 fixing for 2017 and 2018 the fishing opportunities for Union fishing vessels for certain deep-sea fish stocks and amending Council Regulation (EU) 2016/72 (OJ L 344, 17.12.2016, p. 32).

(4) Council Regulation (EU) 2016/2372 of 19 December 2016 fixing for 2017 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks in the Black Sea (OJ L 352, 23.12.2016, p. 26).

(5) Council Regulation (EU) 2017/127 of 20 January 2017 fixing for 2017 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 24, 28.1.2017, p. 1).

(6) Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1970 of 27 October 2017 fixing for 2018 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks applicable in the Baltic Sea and amending Regulation (EU) 2017/127 (OJ L 281, 31.10.2017, p. 1).

(7) Council Regulation (EU) 2017/2360 of 11 December 2017 fixing for 2018 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks in the Black Sea (OJ L 337, 19.12.2017, p. 1).

(8) Council Regulation (EU) 2018/120 of 23 January 2018 fixing for 2018 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, and amending Regulation (EU) 2017/127 (OJ L 27, 31.1.2018, p. 1).

(9) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/2309 of 13 December 2017 operating deductions from fishing quotas available for certain stocks in 2017 on account of overfishing of other stocks in the previous years and amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1345 (OJ L 331, 14.12.2017, p. 23).

(10) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 185/2013 of 5 March 2013 providing for deductions from certain fishing quotas allocated to Spain in 2013 and subsequent years on account of overfishing of a certain mackerel quota in 2009 (OJ L 62, 6.3.2013, p. 1).