15.6.85 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoL157/23
COMMISSION DECISION
of24April1985
onthemultiannua]guidanceprogrammeinrespectofthefishingfleetsubmitted
byIrelandpursuanttoCouncilRegulation(EEC)No2908/83
(OnlytheEnglishtextisauthentic)
(85/285/EEC)
THECOMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN
COMMUNITIES ,
HavingregardtotheTreatyestablishingtheEuropean
EconomicCommunity ,
HavingregardtoCouncilRegulation(EEC)No2908/
83of4October1983onacommonmeasureforrestruc­
turing,modernizing anddevelopingthefishing
industryandfordevelopingaquaculture('),andinpar­
ticularArticle5thereof,
WhereastheIrishGovernment forwardedon4March
1985amultiannualguidanceprogrammeinrespectof
thefishingfleet,hereinaftercalled'theprogramme';
Whereastheperiodofimplementation ofthepro­
grammecoversatleasttheproposeddurationofthe
commonmeasure,inaccordancewiththefirstpara­
graphofArticle3oftheRegulation(EEC)No2908/Whereasthesemeasuresaredesignedtoimprovethe
financialsituationoftheIrishfishingfleet;
WhereastheIrishauthoritieshavealreadysetupaper­
manentsystemformonitoringentriesintoserviceof
vesselsofmorethan20meters(65feet)withaviewto
ensuringbetteruseofavailablestocksandoptimalising
thedistributionoffishingeffort;
Whereastheprogrammemay,havingregardtothepro­
ductionpotential,themeasuresfortheconservation
andmanagementoffishstocks,thedemandforthe
productsconcernedandtheguidelinesofthecommon
fisheriespolicy,constituteasuitableframeworkfor
projectswhichmayqualifyforfinancialsupportfrom
theCommunity ;
WhereasthemeasuresprovidedforinthisDecisionare
inaccordancewiththeopinionoftheStandingCom­
mitteefortheFishingIndustry,
HASADOPTEDTHISDECISION :83;
Whereastheprogrammecontainstheinformationre­
ferredtoinArticle4oftheRegulation(EEC)No2908/
83;Article1
Themultiannualguidanceprogrammeinrespectofthe
fishingfleetforwardedbytheIrishGovernmenton
4March1985,themainfeaturesofwhicharesetoutin
AnnexIhereto,isherebyapprovedsubjecttothepro­
visionssetoutinAnnexIIhereto.
Article2
ThisDecisionisaddressedtoIreland.Whereas,toensuretherationalrestructuringofthe
Irishfleet,theprogrammeprovidesfortherenewalof
thefleet,withoutanyincreaseinoveralltonnage,ina
mannercompatiblewiththeforeseeableavailabilityof
fishstocksinthemediumterm;whereastheprincipal
aimofsuchrenewalistoimproveworkingconditions
andcatchprocessingandstorageconditionsandto
diversifyfishingmethods;
WhereastheIrishauthoritiesrecentlyannouncedmea­
surestoimprovethefinancialsituationofthefishing
fleetinvolvingamongstotherthingsareductioninthe
rateofinterestonmortgageloanscontractedinrespect
offishingvesselsandtheextension,inmostcases,of
theperiodofrepaymentofloans;
Whereasthefuelusedbyfishingvesselswasrecently
exemptedofallexciseduty;DoneatBrussels,24April1985.
FortheCommission
FransANDRIESSEN
Vice-President
(')OJNoL290,22.10.1983,p.1.

NoL157/24 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 15.6.85
ANNEXI
MAINFEATURES OFTHEGUIDANCE PROGRAMME INRESPECTOFTHEFISHINGFLEET
DRAWNUPBYTHEIRISHGOVERNMENT WITHINTHEFRAMEWORK OFCOUNCIL
REGULATION (EEC)No2908/83
1.Purposeoftheprogramme
Restructuringofthefishingfleetbythereplacementofobsoletevesselsandthemodernization of
vesselsinservice.
2.Delimitationoftheareaconcernedbytheprogramme
TheterritoryofIreland.
3.Durationoftheprogramme
Theprogrammeisvalidfrom1January1985to31December1989.
4.Objectivesoftheprogramme
Theobjectivesoftheprogrammeareto:
—stabilizethecapacityofthefleetinthemediumterm,accountbeingtakenofaslightincrease
inthestocksavailableforhumanconsumptionandofthestabilityofstocksavailablefor
industrialprocessing,
—improveworkingandsafetyconditionsonboard,
—improveon-boardstorageandprocessingofcatcheswithaviewtoimprovingproductquality
andtherebyincreasingprofitability .
5.Thefollowingmeasuresareproposedtoattaintheseobjectives:
5.1.Construction
—stabilizationoftheoverallcapacityofthefleetaroundthelevelof32000grtexistingat
31December1984,
—monitoringofadditionstothefleet,whichmustbeoffsetbyanoverallwithdrawalofvessels
ofanequivalentcapacity.
5.2.Modernization
Modernization aidwillbereservedbypriorityforvesselslessthan25yearsoldand/orvessels
fishingforpelagicspeciestobeconvertedtomulti-purpose vessels.
6.Forecastinvestmentsrequiredtoattaintheobjectivesetoutinpoint4above
6.1.Forvesselconstruction(replacement)
1985to1989
Additionstothefleet 4000grt
Withdrawalfromthefleet 4000grt
6.2.Forvesselmodernization
Themaximumnumberofvesselsscheduledformodernization intheperiod1985to1989is37.
7.Investmentforecasts(millionECU)
Totalplannedinvestments(1985to1989)innewvesselsandmodernization ofvessels:56million
ECU(£Irl40million);
Stateaidplannedforconstructionandmodernization ofvessels:(1985to1989)14millionECU
(£Irl10million).
Thesefinancialfigures,aswellasthebreakdownbetweenthevariousmeasures,areindicative.

15.6.85 NoL157/25 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities
ANNEXII
FINALCONCLUSIONS
1.TheCommissionnotesthattheprogrammesubmittedbytheIrishGovernment ,whichconstitutes
thefutureframeworkforthegrantingoffinancialaidbothbytheCommunityandbyIreland,
constitutesaninitialstep,followingtheadoptionofthecommonfisheriespolicy,towards
medium-termrestructuringofthefishingfleet,withtheaimofensuringsatisfactoryeconomic
conditionsforthefishingindustryandofimprovingtheincomeofthoseemployedtherein.
Asregardscapacity,however,acontinuouswatchmustbekeptoninitiativesinvolvingthecon­
structionofnewvesselsandthemodernization ofexistingones.Inthiscontext,theCommission
considersthattheIrishauthoritiesshouldextendtheirsystemofvessellicencesassoonaspos­
sibleinordertoensureagreaterbalancebetweenstocksandcapacity.
TheCommissionlikewiseapprovesoftheIrishauthorities'intentiontoscrutinizeveryclosely
anyapplicationforthemodernization orreplacementofvessels.
Lastly,theCommissionfeelsthatasystemshouldbesetupformonitoringtheeffectofvessel
modernization oncapacity.
2.TheCommissionapprovestheIrishauthorities'intentiontoencouragesomeredeploymentofthe
fleetinactivitiesotherthanpelagicfishingbyimprovingthemulti-purpose natureofthevessels
inquestion.
3.TheCommissionconsidersthattheschemetoimprovethefinancialsituationoftheIrishfleet
publishedbyIrelandon12February1985,willhavetobecompatiblewiththepresentpro­
gramme.
4.TheCommissionpointsoutthattheinvestmentforecastscontainedinthisprogrammeinvolveno
commitmentasregardsanyfinancialaidfromtheCommunity .
5.TheCommissionconsidersthat,givenavailablefishstocksandthestateoftheIrishmarketfor
fish,theprogrammetargetsandmeasurestoattainthemshouldbesubjectedtomoredetailed
analysiswithintheframeworkoftheannualreviewreferredtoinArticle6ofRegulation(EEC)
No2908/83.TheCommissionreservesitsrighttoreviewitspresentdecisionbytheendof1986,
inthelightofdevelopments inthestructuralandeconomicsituationoffishingenterprisesin
Ireland.