COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
Brussels, 17.06.1996 
COM(%) 272 final 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL 
Results of the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1093/94 setting the terms 
under which fishing vessels of a third country may land directly and market their 
catches at Community ports. 

CONTENTS 
Preamble 
I. Background to Regulation (EC) No 1093/94 
A. Market situation and objectives of the Regulation 
B. Situation with regard to direct landings in some other countries 
C. Compatibility of Regulation (EC) No 1093/94 with the Community's 
international commitments: 
- WTO 
-EEA 
II Results of the application of Regulation (EC) No 1093/94 
A. Organization of health checks 
B. Landing statement 
C. Compliance with marketing rules 
D. Quantities involved 
E. General 
Conclusion 
Annex: statistics 
Article 8 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1093/94 of 6 May 1994 setting the terms under 
which fishing vessels of a third country may land directly and market their catches at 
Community ports1 lays down that 
"Before 1 July 1996, the Commission shall submit to the Council a report on the results 
of the application of this Regulation, accompanied, if need be, by appropriate proposals." 
This report has been drawn up in response to this instruction, on the basis of Member 
States' replies to a Commission questionnaire on the application of the various provisions 
of the Regulation from its entry into force up to 31 December 1995. 
Eight Member States replied to the questionnaire, four of them reporting direct landings. 
The figures sent to the Commission with Member States' replies are contained in the 
Annex. 
Before actually examining the results of the application of Regulation (EC) No 1093/94, 
the Commission considers it would be useful to outline the background and the objectives 
which led to the adoption of the Regulation and thus place it in its international legal 
context. 
OJNoL 121, 12.5.1994, p. 3. 
I. The background to Regulation (EO No 1093/94 
Regulation (EC) No 1093/94 was adopted against the background of a major crisis on the 
Community market in fishery products, to prevent certain practices liable to disrupt a 
vulnerable market, in the absence of international legislation on direct landings. 
A. Market situation and the objectives of the Regulation 
The crisis situation at the beginning of 1993 on the Community market in fishery 
products, affecting the main white fish species in particular, was diagnosed and analysed 
in depth by the Commission2 and also by the Member States and trade circles. It forced 
prices down on a market which was very sensitive to various cyclical factors. 
In such a context, it is evident that direct landings by vessels of non-member countries, 
in the absence of appropriate legislation, present a serious risk that new disturbances will 
be triggered by the introduction to the market of very low-priced fish competing directly 
with Community production on the fresh fish market and, above all, threaten to 
undermine market management measures taken by producers' organizations, with the 
support of Community or national budgets. 
Direct landings involve fish being imported by a fishing vessels which is not only the 
means of transport but also the means by which the fish was caught. Such a practice, on 
the one hand, avoids all controls by the authorities of the country of origin of the 
products and, on the other hand, saves on transport, inspection, packing and even fiscal 
and parafiscal costs as compared with other means of transport (whether by sea, air or 
land). Direct landings are therefore liable to lead to situations of unfair competition in 
relation to Community production. 
Regulation (EC) No 1093/94 was thus adopted by the Council, acting on a proposal from 
the Commission, to authorize the principle of direct landings subject to certain 
requirements being met and under conditions which were no less stringent than those 
applying to Community production. 
These conditions relate to the following: 
drawing up a list of authorized ports which have facilities for carrying out the 
requisite health checks, whereas previously there were no restrictions except 
national ones on access to ports of fishing vessels of non-member countries 
(Article 3); 
the submission to the competent authorities of a statement by the master of the 
vessel concerning the origin and quantities of products (Article 4); 
See communication on the crisis in the Community's fishing industry (COM(94) 335 final, 
19.7.1994). 
the obligation, in the case of disposal of fresh fish, to comply with any rules 
decided on and implemented in the area of activity of a producers' organization 
(Article 5). 
These rules can be regarded as quite liberal compared with those in force in some 
countries. 
B. Situation with regard to direct landings in some other countries 
On a general note, it should be mentioned that the United Nations Convention on the Law 
of the Sea expressly recognizes the. right of coastal states to regulate unilaterally 
conditions of access to their inshore waters and port facilities; and no distinction is made 
between fishing vessels as the means of transport of their own catches and other cargo 
vessels used for commercial purposes. 
The following are a few examples of the legislation on direct landings in force in some 
countries: 
USA: ban 
Australia: ban, except with ministerial authorization 
Canada: authorization on a case by case basis for vessels flying the flag of 
countries with which Canada has good fisheries relations 
Chile: health certificate required from the competent authority in the 
country of origin for any goods, even those in transit, entering 
Chile, regardless of the access route. 
In such a context the legislation adopted by the Community does not appear to be open 
to dispute and has indeed not been disputed, in particular from the point of view of the 
Community's international commitments. 
C. Compatibility of Regulation (EO No 1093/94 with the Community's 
international commitments 
Regulation (EC) No 1093/94 does not disregard the rules in force in connection with the 
WTO, nor does it apply to vessels flying the flag of countries or groups of countries with 
which the Community has concluded an agreement dealing expressly with direct landings, 
which is the case only for the Agreement on the European Economic Area. 
WTO 
Regulation (EC) No 1093/94 does not impose discriminatory conditions on vessels of 
non-Community countries making direct landings as compared with Community 
production. On the contrary, its purpose is to subject such vessels to equivalent conditions 
to those which apply to Community production with regard to the landing and marketing 
of fishery products. 
The compatibility of Regulation (EC) No 1093/94 with the 1994 GATT rules was not 
called into question when the WTO was established on 1 January 1995. 
European Economic Area (EEA) 
Regulation (EC) No 1093/94 is not applicable to vessels flying the flags of countries 
which are signatories of the EEA Agreement since Article 5 of Protocol 9 to the 
Agreement expressly regulates the question of access to ports by fishing vessels. 
The Regulation does, however, apply to all other countries. 
European Economic Area (EEA) 
Regulation (EC) No 1093/94 is not applicable to vessels flying the flags of countries 
which are signatories of the EEA Agreement since Article 5 of Protocol 9 to the 
Agreement expressly regulates the question of access to ports by fishing vessels. 
The Regulation does, however, apply to all other countries. 
IL Results of the application of Regulation (EO No 1093/94 
It is difficult to speak of "results" in the strict sense of the application of Regulation (EC) 
No 1093/94 since the measures in question are essentially of a preventive nature, so no 
quantifiable effect can be expected. 
The Regulation therefore needs to be looked at rather from the angle of its general impact 
and any difficulties of application. 
The three main provisions of the Regulation are dealt with separately below, followed by 
some general points. 
A. Organization of health checks (Article 3) 
The list of authorized ports sent in to the Commission by each of the Member States was 
published in the C series of the Official Journal on 28 May 1994, followed by the Finnish 
and Swedish lists on 29 December 1994. 
None of the Member States reported any difficulties in this connection. 
It emerged from the actual health checks carried out that the standards in force were 
generally met during the reference period; rejections for non-compliance were the 
exception (one case in Denmark and one in France, both involving small quantities). 
B. Landing statement (Article 4) 
No particular problems with this were reported; some Member States underlined the 
advantage of this procedure, without which no checks or action on infringement would 
be possible. 
One Member State expressed the view that the time limit for prior notification (72 hours) 
sometimes seemed excessive, but this rule derives from Regulation (EEC) No 2874/93 
establishing a control system and does not therefore relate specifically to direct landings 
by fishing vessels of non-Community countries. 
C. Compliance with marketing rules (Article 5) 
Only those quantities intended for direct marketing required to meet certain marketing 
requirements. 
In actual fact these quantities are marginal, except in Spain, since most direct landings 
involve fish intended for processing and are not therefore covered by this provision; 
No Member State reported difficulties in implementing this provision. 
D. Quantities involved 
The table in the Annex shows the quantities reported by five Member States for the years 
1994 and 1995. The figures are therefore incomplete. 
The quantities concerned are mainly concentrated in two Member States - Denmark and 
Spain - plus some in Germany and France. 
Almost all the direct landings in the northern ports, including France, are intended for the 
processing industry and involve large tonnages of a small number of species. 
As regards Spain, the majority of direct landings are in the Canary Islands and involve 
a large variety of fresh and frozen products, mainly for direct marketing. 
Between 1994 and 1995 there was a marked decrease in the tonnage landed in Germany, 
Denmark and France and an increase in the case of Spain. 
It can also be said that in all cases the number of landings decreased substantially, while 
the average quantity per landing increased markedly. It should be pointed out that the 
figures relate to only two years and cannot therefore be regarded as very significant. 
E. General 
Most of the Member States which replied to the Commission questionnaire expressed 
satisfaction with the existence and implementation of Regulation (EC) No 1093/94. There 
were no suggestions for amendments or improvements. No difficulties of application were. 
mentioned. 
CONCLUSION 
Of the eight Member States which replied to the Commission questionnaire, two said they 
were still opposed to the principle of the Regulation, four said they were pleased with it, 
and two made no particular comment. 
Generally speaking, having regard to the small amount of information supplied by the 
Member States, the Commission finds it difficult to make an overall assessment of the 
implementation of Regulation (EC) No 1093/94. Several Member States failed to reply 
at all to the Commission and those that did supply information made no mention of how 
often or what kinds of checks were carried out to implement the Regulation. 
On this point, therefore, the Commission would refer to the comments it makes in the 
parallel report to the Council on the monitoring of fishing vessels of other countries 
operating in the Community fishing area, which it undertook to produce at the Council 
meeting in December. 
It can state the following, however: 
The measures in question are generally perceived as having a positive impact. 
No particular disadvantages have come to light as regards administration or 
market supply and operation. 
No action has been taken by a non-Community country, nor have any comments 
been received since the measure entered into force. 
The Commission would also point out that one of the main attributes of Regulation (EC) 
No 1093/94 is that it is a preventive measure, and if it did not exist, the market would 
probably be adversely affected. 
Lastly, the Commission would point out that it has always taken the view that the 
question of direct landings ought to be dealt with on a multilateral international basis and 
that in that connection it is important to have an internal legal instrument serving as a 
reference point for future international negotiations, to show the role the Community is 
playing in ensuring responsible fishing without undermining the principle of free trade. 
It is symptomatic of the situation that some states, particularly coastal states, wish to 
open the debate in some regional marine resource management organizations on the 
possibility of prohibiting landings by fishing vessels of non-contracting parties not 
observing the management and conservation rules laid down by those organizations. This 
approach needs to be addressed in the context of the code of conduct on responsible 
fishing and also the United Nations Agreement on straddling stocks and highly migratory 
species. The Commission will present guidelines to the Council on this matter at a later 
date. 
In the light of the foregoing, the Commission takes the view that there are no grounds 
for amending Regulation (EC) No 1093/94 by either restricting or expanding its scope. 
It will not therefore be putting any such proposal to the Council but rather recommends 
maintaining the status quo. 
Annex: Quantity (tonnes) and number of vessels involved in direct landings (figures for 1995 provisional) 
1994 
1995 Germany 
Q 
1928 
536 N 
286 
56 Denmark 
Q 
48157 
25642 N 
5889 
1818 Spain 
Q 
43449 
67854 N 
623 
428 France 
Q 
9892 
4733 N 
11 
8 Greece 
Q 
}30' N 
}20' Total 
Q 
103426 
98795 N 
6809 
2310 
1 for the two years. 
10 
ISSN 0254-1475 
COM(96) 272 final 
DOCUMENTS 
EN 11 03 02 
Catalogue number : CB-CO-96-282-EN-C 
ISBN 92-78-05479-8 
Office for Official Publications of the European Communities 
L-2985 Luxembourg 
M