COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) 2022/1281

of 4 March 2022

amending Regulation (EU) 2019/833 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/124 as regards certain provisions of, and Annexes to, the conservation and enforcement measures of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO)

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

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

Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2019/833 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2019 laying down conservation and enforcement measures applicable in the Regulatory Area of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation, amending Regulation (EU) 2016/1627 and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 2115/2005 and (EC) No 1386/2007 (1), and in particular Article 50(1) and (2) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) The Union is party to the Convention on Future Multilateral Cooperation in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries (the NAFO Convention), approved by Council Regulation (EEC) No 3179/78 (2).

(2) The European Parliament and the Council adopted Regulation (EU) 2019/833 in order to implement the NAFO conservation and enforcement measures (‘CEM’) into Union law.

(3) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/124 (3) supplemented Regulation (EU) 2019/833 with a number of NAFO conservation and enforcement measures.

(4) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/989 (4) amended Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/124 with NAFO measures adopted at its 2019 annual meeting.

(5) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/860 (5) amended Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/124 with NAFO measures adopted at its 2020 annual meeting.

(6) The Regulation (EU) 2021/1231 of the European Parliament and of the Council (6) amended Regulation (EU) 2019/833 with NAFO measures adopted at its 2019 and 2020 annual meetings.

(7) At its annual meeting in September 2021, the NAFO amended its CEM with additional prohibited activities of research vessels, extended periods and areas of vulnerable marine ecosystem (‘VME’) closures and updated Annex II.M containing the observer report and Annex IV.A containing the surveillance report form.

(8) These changes should also be implemented into Union law. Therefore, Regulation (EU) 2019/833 and Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/124 should be amended accordingly,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1 Regulation (EU) 2019/833 is hereby amended as follows: (1) In Article 4, the following paragraph (1a), is inserted: ‘1a. In 2022, a research vessel shall not: (a) take 3M cod in excess of 15 metric tonnes. Should a research vessel’s catch exceed this amount, the excess shall be counted against the allocation to the vessel’s flag State Contracting Party. If the allocation to the Member State for 3M cod is exhausted, the Member State shall not authorise its vessels to undertake further research activities. Any research activities under way must be stopped by the operator as soon as 15 tonnes have been caught. (b) take 3M shrimp in excess of 10 metric tonnes. Given that no directed fishery is authorised on 3M shrimp in 2022, any research activities under way must be stopped by the operator as soon as 10 tonnes have been caught.’ (2) In Article 10(2), point (a) is replaced, by the following: ‘(a) the master of the vessel shall notify the NAFO Executive Secretary and its flag FMC by email or fax, at the latest 72 hours prior to the vessel’s entry into the Regulatory Area, of the amount of catch on board, the position by latitude and longitude where the master of the vessel intends to commence fishing, the estimated time of arrival at the position, and contact information for the fishing vessel (for example radio, satellite phone or email);’ (3) Article 18 is amended as follows: — In paragraphs 1, 2 and 3, ‘Until 31 December 2021’ is replaced by ‘Until 31 December 2026’. — Paragraph 4 is added: ‘4. Until 31 December 2023, no vessel shall engage in bottom fishing activities in the areas illustrated in Figure 5 and defined by connecting the coordinates specified in Table 7b in numerical order and back to coordinate 1 referred to in point 46 of the Annex to this Regulation.’

Article 2 The Annex to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/124 is hereby amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 3 This Regulation shall enter into force on the third 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, 4 March 2022. For the Commission The President Ursula VON DER LEYEN

(1) OJ L 141, 28.5.2019, p. 1.

(2) Council Regulation (EEC) No 3179/78 of 28 December 1978 concerning the conclusion by the European Economic Community of the Convention on Future Multilateral Cooperation in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries (OJ L 378, 30.12.1978, p. 1).

(3) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/124 of 15 October 2019 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2019/833 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down conservation and enforcement measures applicable in the Regulatory Area of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (OJ L 34 I, 6.2.2020, p. 1).

(4) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/989 of 27 April 2020 amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/124 as regards certain provisions of, and Annexes to, the conservation and enforcement measures of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO) (OJ L 221, 10.7.2020, p. 5).

(5) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/860 of 23 March 2021 amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/124 as regards Annex to the conservation and enforcement measures of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO) (OJ L 190, 31.5.2021, p. 19).

(6) The Regulation (EU) 2021/1231 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 July 2021 amending Regulation (EU) 2019/833 laying down conservation and enforcement measures applicable in the Regulatory Area of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (OJ L 274, 30.7.2021, p. 32).