Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) on the allocation of fishing possibilities for certain fish stocks and amending regulation (EC) No 48/1999 fixing, for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks, the total allowable catches for 1999 and certain conditions under which they may be fished

(presented by the Commission)

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

The objective of the present proposal is to fix fishing possibilities for certain stocks of fish and to allocate these equitably to Member States. The fixing and the sharing of possibilities for fishing fall exclusively within the competence of the Community and arise from obligations set out in Article 8(4) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 3760/92 of 20 December 1992, establishing a Community system for fisheries and aquaculture.

According to scientific information, the stocks of spurdog and northern prawn in the North Sea, which at present constitute an important by-catch in traditional fisheries, could be in the near future subject to an increased exploitation which may put them in biological risk. It would be therefore desirable to set limits to their catch in order that, without being necessarily restrictive in the short term, they would prevent an uncontrolled expansion of exploitation rates. These catch limits should be allocated among Member States.

Moreover, the Community fisheries for blue whiting in areas Vb (EC zone), VI, VII and VIIIab have not yet been subjected to allocation among Member States. Developments in 1998 have resulted in the need to have a better monitoring of these fisheries by means of an allocation of the respective TAC's in separate fish quotas for each Member State. In order to prevent any likely misreporting of catches, it is also proposed to include adjacent zones (ICES areas XII, XIV and VIIIe) in the above mentioned management areas.

Quota allocations must, in accordance with the second sub-paragraph of Article 8(4) of Regulation (EEC) No 3760/92, ensure relative stability of fishing activities. The proposal intends to distribute fishing opportunities between Member States in a manner that reflects the historical patterns of fishing activities for each Member State, as shown by the catches over recent and representative periods (1988-1998).

For all above mentioned quotas, it is considered convenient to describe in detail the method of allocation, in order to improve the transparency for interested parties and with a view to future allocations.

Moreover, as a great deal of the catch in 1999 for all the above-mentioned species will have been taken at the time of adoption of this regulation, it is appropriate to exclude these catches from the application of the inter-annual flexibility provided by Regulation (EC) No 847/96.

Finally, within the framework of the bilateral consultations on the reciprocal fishing rights between the Community and Poland for 1999, the Community share for Baltic sprat has been modified.

This proposal intends to address these matters by modifying Council Regulation (EC) No 48/1999.

Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) on the allocation of fishing possibilities for certain fish stocks and amending regulation (EC) No 48/1999 fixing, for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks, the total allowable catches for 1999 and certain conditions under which they may be fished

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No. 3760/92 (1) of 20 December 1992 establishing a Community system for fisheries and aquaculture as amended by the Act of Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden, and in particular Article 8 (4) thereof,

(1) OJ L 389, 31.12.1992, p. 1.

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

(1) Whereas Regulation (EC) No. 48/1999 (2) fixes, for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks, the TACs for 1998 and certain conditions under which they may be fished;

(2) OJ L 13, 18.1.1999, p. 1.

(2) Whereas, in order to prevent overexploitation, it is desirable to set new TACs for 1999 in order to limit the catches of the stocks of spurdog and northern prawn in the North Sea; whereas the shares of these TACs available to the Community should be allocated among Member States;

(3) Whereas, in order to prevent overfishing, the Community fisheries for blue whiting in areas Vb (EC zone), VI and VII, and VIIIabd should be subject to allocation among Member States so as these fisheries are properly monitored;

(4) Whereas the above-mentioned allocations should be made in accordance with the second sub-paragraph of Article 8(4) of Regulation (EEC) No 3760/92;

(5) Whereas, in order to improve transparency for interested parties, and with a view to future allocations, it is convenient to describe the method used in the present allocation;

(6) Whereas all or a great deal of the allowed catches in 1999 for all the above mentioned species is likely to have been taken at the time of adoption of this regulation; whereas it is therefore appropriate to exclude these catches from the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 847/96 of 6 May 1996 introducing additional conditions for year-to-year management of TACs and quotas (3);

(3) OJ L 115, 9.5.1996, p. 3.

(7) Whereas within the framework of the bilateral consultations on the reciprocal fishing rights between the Community and Poland for 1999, the Community share for Baltic sprat has been modified;

(8) Whereas Council Regulation (EC) No. 48/1999 should therefore be amended accordingly,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Allocation of the Community shares of the TACs for spurdog and northern prawn in Community waters of the North Sea and for blue whiting in ICES areas Vb (Community waters), VI, VII, XII and XIV, and VIIIabde, shall be as follows:

1) Spurdog in the north Sea (Community waters):

Member State Allocation in %

Belgium 1.6911Germany 1.7587Denmark 9.7294France 3.1116Sweden 0.1353The Netherlands 2.6607United Kingdom 80.9132

2) Northern prawn in the north Sea (Community waters):

Member State Allocation in %

Denmark 66.9860Sweden 4.5114The Netherlands 0.7272United Kingdom 27.7754

3) Blue whiting in ICES areas Vb (Community waters), VI, VII, XII and XIV

Member State Allocation in %

Germany 1.8447Denmark 8.7711Spain 15.0376France 12.2336Ireland 10.7845The Netherlands 27.5763Portugal 1.1278United Kingdom 22.6244

4) Blue whiting in ICES area VIIIabde:

Member State Allocation in %

Spain 37.7358France 29.2778Portugal 5.6604United Kingdom 27.3260

Allocations shall be made to the nearest tonne. Whenever, due to rounding effects, the sum of the allocations differs from the share of the TAC available to the Community, the highest quota shall be modify in order to achieve an adequate matching.

Article 2

Regulation (EC) No 48/1999 is modified as follows:

1) In annex I:

a) the tables "Blue whiting in area Vb(Community waters),VI, VII " , "Blue whiting in area VIIIabd" and "Sprat in area IIIbcd (Community waters)" shall be replaced by the corresponding tables in annex I;

b) the table "Blue whiting in area VIIIe" is deleted;

c) the tables in annex II to this Regulation shall be inserted.

2) In annex III:

a) the zone "VIIIabd" corresponding to blue whiting shall be replaced by "VIIIabde";

b) the entries corresponding to blue whiting in area VIIIe shall be removed;

c) the entries in annex III to this Regulation shall be inserted.

Article 3

Article 5 paragraph 1 of Council Regulation (EC) No 847/96 shall not apply to landings of the stocks mentioned in Article 1.

Article 4

This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

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

Done at Brussels,

For the Council

The President