COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) 2022/824

of 15 March 2022

amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/98 on the implementation of the Union's international obligations, as referred to in Article 15(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council, under the International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas and the Convention on Future Multilateral Cooperation in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on the Common Fisheries Policy, amending Council Regulations (EC) No 1954/2003 and (EC) No 1224/2009 and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 2371/2002 and (EC) No 639/2004 and Council Decision 2004/585/EC (1), and in particular Article 15(2) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Paragraph 3 of Recommendation 21-09 of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (‘ICCAT’) (2) prohibits the retaining on board, transhipping and landing, whole or in part, of North Atlantic shortfin mako caught in association with ICCAT fisheries in 2022 and 2023.

(2) To ensure consistency between Recommendation 21-09 and European Union law, the landing obligation in Article 15(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 should not apply to Union vessels that catch North Atlantic shortfin mako as by-catch.

(3) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/98 (3) should therefore be amended to include new provisions reflecting the fishing conditions established in ICCAT Recommendation 21-09.

(4) Since ICCAT Recommendation 21-09 encourages Contracting Parties to implement it prior to its entry into force on 17 June 2022, and in view of the importance of these provisions for the preservation of North Atlantic shortfin mako, this delegated act should apply from the third day after its publication.

(5) For the same reasons, this delegated act should enter into force as a matter of urgency,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1 In Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/98, the following Article 5b is inserted: ‘Article 5b By way of derogation from Article 15(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013, it shall be prohibited to retain on board, tranship or land any part or whole North Atlantic shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus) caught in association with fisheries in the ICCAT Convention Area in 2022 and 2023.’.

Article 2 This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. It shall apply until 31 December 2023.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. Done at Brussels, 15 March 2022. For the Commission The President Ursula VON DER LEYEN

(1) OJ L 354, 28.12.2013, p. 22.

(2) https://www.iccat.int/Documents/Recs/COMPENDIUM_ACTIVE_ENG.pdf

(3) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/98 of 18 November 2014 on the implementation of the Union’s international obligations, as referred to in Article 15(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council, under the International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas and the Convention on Future Multilateral Cooperation in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries (OJ L 16, 23.1.2015, p. 23).