Proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) establishing the rules for access to certain Community fishing areas and resources (94/C 247/04) (Text with EEA relevance) COM(94) 308 final - 94/0172/CNS)

(Submitted by the Commission on 18 August 1994)

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 Article 4 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 3760/92 of 20 December 1992 establishing a Community system for fisheries and aquaculture (1) provides that it is the Council's responsibility to establish Community measures laying down the conditions of access to waters and resources and of the pursuit of fishing activities;

Whereas Council Regulation (EC) No 1275/94 of 30 May 1994 on adjustments to the arrangements in the fisheries chapters of the Act of Accession of Spain and Portugal (2) provides, with regard to the adjustment and incorporation into Community measures of the arrangements regarding access to waters and resources laid down in the Act of Accession of Spain and Portugal, that the Council is to adopt, before 1 January 1995, the measures to be taken in accordance with Article 3 thereof;

Whereas it is necessary to safeguard present balances and to observe fully the acquis communautaire, particularly the principle of relative stability;

Whereas it is necessary to ensure that there is no increase in the overall levels of existing fishing effort within the areas and stocks covered by the Act of Accession of Spain and Portugal, and to provide for a reduction of this fishing effort if changes in resources make it necessary to introduce a general reduction of fishing opportunities;

Whereas, in addition to laying down the overall fishing effort, it is necessary to take account of the complexity of fishing activities and the biological, geographical and geomorphological characteristics of the resources; whereas particular note should be taken of the need to preserve the balance of those resources in highly sensitive areas;

Whereas it is the responsibility of flag Member States to implement restrictions on fishing effort; whereas, as a result, it is necessary to ensure the transparency of the methods of allocation;

Whereas the effectiveness of measures to manage fishing effort in each fishery depends on the measures to monitor and control fishing activities as defined in the relevant provisions of the common fisheries policy, in particular those laid down in Council Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 (3), as amended by (. . .);

Whereas, to ensure sustainable management of fishing effort in certain fisheries, it is necessary for the Member States to ensure a consistent and transparent management of fishing capacities and corresponding levels of activity,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

1. Without prejudice to the provisions of the common fisheries policy laying down in particular the authorized size of catches, this Regulation establishes the conditions of access to areas and resources applicable from 1 January 1996 to fishing activities exercised in the fisheries defined in Annex I and located in ICES divisions Vb, VI, VII, VIII, IX and X and Cecaf areas.

2. In the light of the biological, socio-economic and technical analyses available, the Council shall, where necessary, make technical adjustments to the information given in Annex I, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 8 (4) of Regulation (EEC) No 3760/92.

Article 2

1. For the purposes of this Regulation, the fishing effort of a vessel shall be expressed as a number of 'standard-vessel days` hereinafter referred to as 'SVDs`, and shall be defined as the product of the following:

- the fishing power, expressed on the basis of a standard vessel as defined in Annex II,

and

- the time spent by the vessel in the area covered by the fishery, or, in the case of passive gear, the time spent by the gear in the area, calculated from the day of entry into the area in question up to the day that area is left.

The fishing effort of a group of vessels for a given fishery shall be the sum of the 'SVDs` of each vessel.

2. Any adjustments to be made to the criteria defining fishing power as laid down in paragraph 1, in particular to take account of technical developments, shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 18 of Regulation (EEC) No 3760/92, provided these adjustments do not entail an increase in mortality by fishing in any of the fisheries in question.

Article 3

Save as otherwise provided for in Annex I, the monthly fishing effort for any fishery shall not exceed one-eighth of the total annual fishing effort for each fishery as set out in Annex I.

Article 4

1. Each Member State shall convert the authorized fishing effort, expressed in 'SVDs`, into a number of days in the area within the meaning of Article 19b of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 in order to distribute it among the vessels flying its flag, each of which must hold a special fishing permit, or, where necessary, among groups of vessels flying its flag, to which special fishing permits are not applicable.

2. Member States may, after notification to the Commission, exchange all or part of their fishing effort as laid down in Annex I.

3. Each year, and for the first time before 1 January 1996, Member States shall inform the Commission of the measures they have adopted to implement restrictions of fishing effort.

4. The measures referred to in paragraph 3 shall comply with the provisions of the common fisheries policy, including those relating to monitoring 'SVDs`, in particular for vessels of less than 10 metres.

Article 5

1. From 1 January 1996, for each homogeneous group of vessels corresponding to the fisheries defined in Annex I, and in compliance with the levels of fishing effort laid down in that Annex and in accordance with the relevant provisions taken pursuant to Article 11 of Regulation (EEC) No 3760/92, Member States shall establish a programme of fishing-effort limitation comprising national regulatory measures covering the fishing activities of the vessels concerned.

2. No less than two months before the beginning of the period covered by the programme of fishing-effort limitation, Member States shall submit the programme to the Commission in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 4 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 109/94 (4).

Article 6

This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January 1995.

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

(1) OJ No L 389, 31. 12. 1992, p. 1.

(2) OJ No L 140, 3. 6. 1994, p. 1.

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

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

ANNEX I

CONDITIONS FOR ACCESS TO WATERS AND RESOURCES IN ICES AND CECAF AREAS

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ANNEX II

DEFINITION OF STANDARD VESSEL

For the purposes of this Regulation, 'standard vessel` shall mean a vessel with a power of 511 kW, calculated in accordance with Article 5 of Regulation (EEC) No 2930/86 (1).

The conversion rate applicable to vessels with a different power shall be:

Conversion rate = Installed engine power (kW)

511 kW

(1) OJ No L 274, 25. 9. 1986, p. 1.