COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2019/1726

of 15 October 2019

operating deductions from fishing quotas available for certain stocks in 2019 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 2018 have been established by: — Council Regulation (EU) 2016/2285 (2), — Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1970 (3), — Council Regulation (EU) 2017/2360 (4), and — Council Regulation (EU) 2018/120 (5).

(2) Fishing quotas for the year 2019 have been established by: — Council Regulation (EU) 2018/1628 (6), — Council Regulation (EU) 2018/2025 (7), — Council Regulation (EU) 2018/2058 (8), and — Council Regulation (EU) 2019/124 (9).

(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 2018. It is therefore appropriate to operate deductions on the fishing quotas allocated to them in 2019 and, where relevant, in subsequent years, for the overfished stocks.

(6) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1969 (10) and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/479 (11) have provided for deductions from fishing quotas for certain countries and species for 2018. However, for certain Member States, the deductions to be applied for some species were higher than the respective quotas available in 2018 and could therefore not be operated entirely in that year. To ensure that in such cases the full amount for the respective stocks be deducted, the remaining quantities should be taken into account when establishing deductions for 2019 and, where appropriate, from subsequent quotas.

(7) Following changes in the stock area definitions set up in Regulation (EU) 2019/124, the remaining deduction applicable to Belgium due to overfishing of undulate ray in Union waters of 7d (RJU/07D.) in the year 2017 should be applied to the 2019 quota for undulate ray in Union waters of 7d and 7e (RJU/7DE.).

(8) Deductions from fishing quotas, as provided for by this Regulation, should apply without prejudice to deductions applicable to 2019 quotas pursuant to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 185/2013 (12).

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

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1 1. The fishing quotas fixed in Regulations (EU) 2018/1628, (EU) 2018/2025, (EU) 2018/2058, and (EU) 2019/124 for the year 2019 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, 15 October 2019. For the Commission The President Jean-Claude JUNCKER

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

(2) 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).

(3) 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).

(4) 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).

(5) 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).

(6) Council Regulation (EU) 2018/1628 of 30 October 2018 fixing for 2019 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks applicable in the Baltic Sea and amending Regulation (EU) 2018/120 as regards certain fishing opportunities in other waters (OJ L 272, 31.10.2018, p. 1).

(7) Council Regulation (EU) 2018/2025 of 17 December 2018 fixing for 2019 and 2020 the fishing opportunities for Union fishing vessels for certain deep-sea fish stocks (OJ L 325, 20.12.2018, p. 7).

(8) Council Regulation (EU) 2018/2058 of 17 December 2018 fixing for 2019 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks in the Black Sea (OJ L 329, 27.12.2018, p. 8).

(9) Council Regulation (EU) 2019/124 of 30 January 2019 fixing for 2019 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 29, 31.1.2019, p. 1).

(10) 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 (OJ L 316, 13.12.2018, p. 12).

(11) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/479 of 22 March 2019 operating deductions from fishing quotas available for certain stocks in 2018 on account of overfishing of other stocks in the previous years and amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1969 (OJ L 82, 25.3.2019, p. 6).

(12) 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).