Proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) amending Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 establishing a control system applicable to the common fisheries policy

(95/C 188/06)

(Text with EEA relevance)

COM(95) 256 final - 95/0146(CNS)

(Submitted by the Commission on 13 June 1995)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 43 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee,

Whereas Council Regulation (EC) No . . ./95 of . . . 1995 establishing a system for the management of fishing effort fixes the maximum annual fishing effort levels in certain areas;

Whereas, pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 685/95 of 27 March 1995 on the management of the fishing effort relating to certain Community fishing areas and resources (1), provision should be made for control and monitoring measures so as to ensure that the system for the management of fishing effort is being complied with;

Whereas Article 7 (3) of that Regulation provides that Member States should take the necessary action to make it compulsory for vessels flying their flags to communicate details of entry into, and exit from, fishing areas, including entry into, and exit from, fishing ports located within those areas, in which fishing effort limitation or limitation on capacity applies, and of entries into, and exits from, the area lying south of latitude 56°30′ north, east of longitude 12° west and north of latitude 50°32′ north, hereinafter known as the 'Irish Box`;

Whereas it is necessary to lay down the detailed rules for the application of the system for communicating entries and exits and those for the implementation, by 1 January 1998 at the latest, of the Community infrastructure for the management of data on catches in Community waters;

Whereas in this context it is necessary to give access to the integrated computerized system for the monitoring of data to the Member State responsible for monitoring and to the Commission;

Whereas it is necessary for the number of days spent in areas by fishing vessels flying Member States' flags to be monitored; whereas, therefore, it is essential that the masters of fishing vessels record in their logs the number of days spent in each fishing area; whereas it is necessary for the competent authorities in the Member States to be informed of this so as to ensure that their fishing activities are monitored;

Whereas each Member State must take the necessary measures to check by sampling the fishing activities of fishing vessels exempt from the obligation to keep a logbook;

Whereas access to fishing areas and to the Irish Box should be controlled both by the flag Member States and by the Member State responsible for monitoring in the waters under its jurisdiction or sovereignty and covered by a fishing area; whereas to that end provision should be made for the flag Member State to communicate to the Commission by computerized means the lists of named vessels authorized to exercise their activities in the fishing areas and in the Irish Box, and for the Member State responsible for monitoring to have access to those data;

Whereas restrictions on fishing effort should be managed both at Member State and at Community level; whereas Member States must record fishing efforts for each fishing area and must communicate aggregated fishing effort data to the Commission;

Whereas provision should be made for vessels flying the flag of a given Member State to cease their activities in a given fishing area once the overall fishing effort for that Member State in that fishing area is exhausted;

Whereas it is necessary to adopt provisions relating to the use of fishing gear so as to ensure that fishing vessels respect fishing effort restrictions;

Whereas, therefore, Council Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 (1) should be amended,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 is hereby amended as follows:

1. the following Title IIa is inserted after Article 19:

'TITLE IIa

Control of fishing effort

Article 19a

The provisions of this Title shall apply to Community fishing vessels exercising fishing activities in the fishing areas defined in Regulation (EC) No 685/95 and to Community fishing vessels exercising fishing activities directed at demersal species, in the area situated south of latitude 56°30′ north, east of longitude 12° west and north of latitude 50°32′ north, hereinafter known as the "Irish Box".

Article 19b

1. Masters of Community fishing vessels shall communicate the following information in the form of an "effort report":

- the identify of their vessel,

- each entry into, and exit from, a port located inside the area,

- each entry into an area and the date of commencement of fishing operations in the fishing area concerned,

- each exit from an area and the date of completion of the fishing operations,

- from 1 January 1998 at the latest, catches retained on board on entry into, and exit from, each area.

2. Masters of Community fishing vessels who have not made the required reports shall not be permitted to exercise fishing activities in the areas in question.

3. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the masters of fishing vessels flying their flag comply with the reporting obligation.

Article 19c

1. Masters of Community fishing vessels shall communicate the information referred to in Article 19b by telex or by radio via a radio station approved under Community rules for the reception of such reports, at the same time to the competent authorities of both:

- the flag Member State, and

- the Member State responsible for monitoring where the vessel is likely to exercise its fishing activities in waters under the sovereignty or jurisdiction of that Member State.

2. However, vessels equipped with real-time automatic monitoring systems recognized pursuant to Community legislation may use those systems to make the above reports.

3. Within the framework of the integrated system for the control of the data referred to in Article 19d, reports shall be made solely to the competent authorities of the flag Member State.

Article 19d

1. In order to facilitate the acquisition and processing of, and access to, the information referred to in Article 19b, Member States shall introduce an integrated computerized system for the control of the data by 1 January 1998 at the latest. To that end, Member States shall guarantee the creation of databases in which all the data referred to in Article 19b shall be recorded in real time. The Commission shall have access by computer to the data contained in the Member States' databases.

2. The flag Member State shall guarantee access by the competent authorities responsible for monitoring to the integrated computerized system for the purpose of direct and immediate consultation of the data referred to in Article 19b for the vessels exercising fishing activities in waters under the sovereignty or jurisdiction of the Member State concerned.

Article 19e

1. Masters of Community fishing vessels shall record and account for in their logs the time spent in an area as follows:

With regard to towed gear:

- the day of entry of the vessel into the area concerned or of exit from a port located in that area,

- the day of exit of the vessel from the area or of entry into a port located in that area,

- the number of days the vessel spent in that area.

With regard to static gear:

- the day of entry of the vessel using the static gear into the area concerned, or of exit from a port located in that area,

- the day of exit of the static gear from that area or of entry into a port located in that area,

- the number of days the static gear spent in that area.

2. For vessels exempt from the obligation to keep a logbook, the flag Member State shall carry out checks by sampling to assess the overall number of days spent in the area.

3. Detailed rules for the application of this Article shall, if necessary, be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 36.

Article 19f

1. The flag Member State shall complete the register(s) which it has created in accordance with Commission Regulation (EC) No 109/94 of 19 January 1994 concerning the fishing vessel register of the Community (*) so as to incorporate into it/them the data contained in the lists of named vessels as referred to in Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 685/95.

2. The flag Member State shall transmit the data referred to in paragraph 1 in computer form, preferably by electronic mail, in accordance with the procedures laid down in Regulation (EC) No 109/94.

3. The Member State responsible for monitoring shall have access to the data referred to in paragraph 1 and contained in the Community fishing vessel register with regard to the identification of authorized vessels exercising fishing activities in the area under its jurisdiction or sovereignty.

Article 19g

Each Member State shall record the fishing efforts deployed by vessels flying its flag in each fishing area and in the Irish Box referred to in Article 19a for demersal fishing areas on the basis of available information, in particular information contained in vessels' logbooks and information collected in accordance with Article 19e (2).

Article 19h

Each Member State shall assess in overall terms the fishing efforts deployed by vessels flying its flag which have a length between perpendiculars of less than 15 metres, in the fishing areas and Irish Box referred to in Article 19a.

Article 19i

Each Member State shall inform the Commission, by computerized means in accordance with the procedures laid down in Regulation (EC) No 109/94, of the aggregate data for the fishing effort deployed:

- in the previous month for each fishing area and in the Irish Box referred to in Article 19a for demersal species, before the 15th of each month,

- in the previous quarter for each fishing area referred to in Article 19a for pelagic species, before the end of the first month of each calendar quarter.

(*) OJ No L 19, 22. 1. 1994, p. 5.`

2. The following Article is inserted after Article 20:

'Article 20a

1. Where fishing vessels exercise fishing activities in the fishing areas in the Irish Box referred to in Article 19a they may only carry with them and use the corresponding fishing gear.

2. However, fishing vessels also fishing in fishing areas other than those referred to in paragraph 1 during the same trip may carry gear corresponding to their activities in the areas concerned provided that gear kept on board and not authorized for use in the fishing area concerned and in the Irish Box referred to in Article 19a is stowed so that it may not be readily used, in accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 20 (1).

3. Provisions relating to the identification of static fishing gear shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 36.`

3. The following Articles are inserted after Article 21:

'Article 21a

Each Member State shall determine the date on which the vessels flying its flag or registered in its territory shall be deemed to have reached the maximum fishing effort level in a fishing area as laid down in Regulation (EC) No . . ./95.

As from that date it shall provisionally prohibit the fishing activities of the said vessels in that area.

The Commission shall be notified forthwith of this measure and shall then inform the other Member States.

Article 21b

Where vessels flying the flag of a Member State are deemed to have exhausted 70 % of the maximum fishing effort in a fishing area as fixed in Regulation (EC) No . . ./95, the Member State concerned shall notify the Commission of the measures adopted pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 7 (1) of Regulation (EC) No 685/95.

Article 21c

1. On the basis of the information referred to in Article 19j, the Commission shall ensure that the maximum fishing effort levels as fixed in Regulation (EC) No . . ./95 are complied with.

2. Following notification pursuant to Article 21a or on its own initiative, the Commission shall fix, on the basis of available information, the date on which the maximum fishing effort level of a Member State for a fishing area is deemed to have been reached. From that date on, vessels flying the flag of that Member State shall have no further access to the fishing area concerned.`

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January 1996.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

(1) OJ No L 71, 31. 3. 1995, p. 5.

(1) OJ No L 261, 20. 10. 1993, p. 1.