Proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) amending, for the 17th time, Regulation (EEC) No 3094/86 laying down certain technical measures for the conservation of fishery resources (94/C 348/07) (Text with EEA relevance) COM(94) 481 final - 94/0253(CNS)

(Submitted by the Commission on 9 November 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 pursuant to Articles 2 and 4 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 3760/92 of 20 December 1992 establishing a Community system for fisheries and aquaculture (1), the Council must adopt, in the light of available scientific opinion, the conservation measures needed to guarantee the rational and responsible exploitation of living marine aquatic resources on a sustainable basis; whereas, to this end, the Council may establish technical measures regarding fishing gear and methods of using it;

Whereas it is necessary to define principles and certain procedures for establishing these technical measures at Community level, so that each Member State can manage fishing activities in the maritime waters under its jurisdiction or sovereignty;

Whereas Council Regulation (EEC) No 3094/86 (2), as last amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 1796/94 (3), lays down the general technical rules for catching and landing biological resources in the waters which it defines;

Whereas fishing activities using passive gear, in particular bottom set gillnets, entangling nets and trammel nets, have increased sharply over recent decades in the waters of the European Union;

Whereas there is an increasing tendency to use smaller and smaller mesh sizes for bottom set gillnets, entangling nets and trammel nets, which is resulting in increasing mortality rates for juveniles of the target species of the fisheries concerned;

Whereas this trend should be checked and the mesh sizes used for passive gear such as bottom set gillnets, entangling nets and trammel nets should be designed to achieve selective catches of the target species or group of target species;

Whereas under Article 9 (3) and (4) of Regulation (EEC) No 3094/86, only Community beam trawlers meeting certain criteria may be entered on a list authorizing them to fish in the flatfish protected area;

Whereas one of these criteria is the restriction of engine power and it is now necessary, in order to enforce compliance with this criterion, to ban beam trawlers whose engine power exceeds the levels authorized in paragraphs 3 and 4 of Article 9 after they have been entered on the list from fishing in the fishing area referred to in that Article;

Whereas, in the light of scientific opinion certain derogations from technical measures established in Annex I to Regulation (EEC) No 3094/86, decided on an annual basis, may now be permanently incorporated into that Annex;

Whereas Regulation (EEC) No 3094/86 should therefore be amended,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EEC) No 3094/86 is hereby amended as follows:

1. The following paragraph 12 is added to Article 2:

'12. (a) When catches are made in regions 1 and/or 2 by Community fishing vessels using bottom set gillnets, entangling nets and/or trammel nets with mesh sizes corresponding to one of the categories set out in Annex VI, the percentage of quantities landed expressed in live weight, for one or any combination of species or groups of species mentioned in the corresponding mesh size category, may not be less than 70 %.

(b) When catches have been made in region 3 by Community fishing vessels using bottom set gillnets, entangling nets and/or trammel nets with mesh sizes corresponding to one of the categories set out in Annex VII, the percentage of quantities landed expressed in live weight, for one or any combination of species or groups of species mentioned in the corresponding mesh size category, may not be less than 70 %.

(c) Bottom set gillnets, entangling nets and trammel nets with mesh sizes that do not correspond to any of the categories set out in Annexes VI or VII are prohibited and may not be kept on board Community fishing vessels.

(d) For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply:

(i) "bottom set gillnets or entangling nets" are any gear made up of a single piece of net, fixed by any means to the bottom of the sea and deployed at right angles to the bottom;

(ii) "trammel nets" are any gear made up of two or more pieces of net one on top of the other, fixed by any means to the bottom of the sea and deployed at right angles to the bottom.

(e) Letters (a), (b), (c) and (d) do not apply to catches of salmon or sea trout.`

2. The following subparagraph 4 (a) is inserted in Article 9:

'4 (a) Fishing vessels which do not satisfy the criteria permitting them to be entered on the lists established pursuant to paragraphs 3 and 4 shall be forbidden to engage in the fishing activities referred to in those paragraphs.`

3. Annex I is amended in accordance with Annex A to this Regulation.

4. Annexes VI and VII are added in accordance with Annex B to this Regulation.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following 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.

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

(2) OJ No L 288, 11. 10. 1986, p. 1.

(3) OJ No L 187, 22. 7. 1994, p. 1.

ANNEX A

In Annex I:

(a) The sixth, seventh and eighth headings of the section 'Regions 1 and 2` are replaced by the following text:

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(b) Footnotes (14), (15) and (16) become (11), (12) and (13).

ANNEX B

'ANNEX VI

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ANNEX VII

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