COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
C0M(93) 544 final 
Brussels, 9 November 1993 
Proposal for a 
COUNCIL DECISION 
relating to the objectives and detailed rules for restructuring 
the Community fisheries sector over the period 
1 January 1994 to 31 December 1996 with a view to achieving a 
lasting balance between the resources and their exploitation 
K-(presented by the Commission) 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM <d 
Reference : Implementation of article 11 of Regulation (EEC) No. 3760/92 of 20 
December 1992 
1. Legal obligation 
In the application of the provisions of article 11 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 
3760/92 dated 20 December 1992, the Council is required to fix by a procedure 
established by article 43 of the treaty, on a multiannual basis and for the first time by 1 
January 1994 at the latest, the objectives and detailed rules for restructuring the 
Community fisheries sector with a view to achieving a balance on a sustainable basis 
between resources and their exploitation. 
2. Constraining fishing effort 
The disquieting report on the state of certain fish stocks, especially demersal, led the 
Council during its meeting of 23.11.92 to propose a certain number of guidelines 
concerning measures to limit fishing effort, normally adopted by the Commission, 
under the Multiannual Guidance Programmes for the fishing fleet. 
These programmes fix for a five-yearly period the objectives for the limitation of the 
capacity of the Community fleet in order to reduce its tonnage and power to a level 
compatible with exploitation rates on stocks which are as close as possible to those for 
optimum economic exploitation. 
On the 21.12.1992, taking into account the guidelines recommended by the Council, 
the Commission adopted eleven Decisions constraining the fishing effort of the 
different $eg«*ents making up the fleets of the Member States of the Community. 
3. Content of the proposed draft Decision. 
The provisions of article 11 of Regulation (EEC) 3760/92 from now on give the 
Council the responsibility of fixing, for the first time before 1.1.1994, the objectives 
and detailed rules constraining fishing effort that were previously allotted to the 
Commission. 
This responsibility gives the measures to reduce fishing effort a more restrictive 
character, allowing the objectives fixed by the Multiannual Guidance Programmes for 
the fishing fleet to be more easily attained. 
For this reason it is proposed that the Council: 
• Set in a Decision the guidelines for a five-year period that it itself recommended 
during its meeting of 23.11.1992, namely: 
a decrease of 20% in the fishing effort applied to demersal fisheries, 
a decrease of 15% in the fishing effort applied to benthic fisheries, 
a stabilisation of fishing effortapplied to other fisheries, 
• recognise and confirm the provisions of the Multiannual Guidance Programmes for 
the fishing fleet adopted by the Commission on 21.12.92 by translating these 
guidelines into objectives and detailed rules for the reduction of fishing effort by 
theCommumtyfleet to be realised by 31.12.1996 at the latest, 
• ensure transparency ki the implementation and the follow «p of the programmes 
until their expiry in 1996 by annual communications from titejCosimission to the > 
Council on their progress. 3 
V 
COUNCIL DECISION 
relating to the objectives and detailed rules for restructuring 
the Community fisheries sector over the period 
1 January 1994 to 31 December 1996 with a view to achieving a 
lasting balance between the resources and their exploitation. 
(93/ / EEC) 
THE COUNCIL OP THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY 
having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic 
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 Regulation (EEC) n°3760/92 (1) pertaining to a community 
system for fisheries and aquaculture and in particular Article 11 
thereof establishes provisions aiming to ensure that the fisheries 
sector is restructured so as to take account of the available and 
accessible resources, taking into account the characteristics of each 
fishery as well as the possible economic and social consequences, 
whereas it is therefore appropriate that the aims and procedures 
to restructure the Community fleet are established by fishery or 
group of fisheries, 
(1) O.J.n°L 3*9 au 31.12.1992, P.l 
whereas, on the basis of a disquieting official report on the state 
of the resources accessible to Community vessels, the Council agreed 
that it was necessary to ensure a limitation of the fishing effort of 
the various segments of the Community fleets by a concerted 
programme of action, equitable between the various Member States 
but also differentiated according to the fisheries, 
whereas on the basis of this official report the Council defined 
objectives for the Multiannual Guidance Programmes for the fishing 
fleet over the period 1993/96, which served as a basis for the 
development of these programmes and which consequently reflect the 
objectives and procedures to restructure the fishing fleet over the 
period 1993/96; whereas the implementation of Article 11 of Council 
regulation (EEC) n°3760/92 makes these objectives obligatory, 
whereas the provisions adopted under the Decisions concerning the 
Multiannual Guidance Programmes for the fishing fleets do not 
prejudge any provisions which may be implemented under technical 
measures aiming to reduce the fishing mortality due to fleets using 
static gears. 
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION 
Article 1 
1. By 31.12.1996 at the latest, and in relation to the objectives fixed 
in the transitional guidance programmes (2) for 31.12.1991, the 
fishing effort of the fleet of each Community Member State must have 
decreased by: 
- 20% for trawlers bottom trawling for demersal stocks, 
- 15% for dredgers and beam trawlers targeting benthic stocks, 
- 0% x.e. no increase for the other segments of fleet, 
2. At least 55% of the required effort reductions must be purely by 
capacity reductions. 
Article 2 
The implementation of the objectives and procedures referred to in 
Article 1 is ensured by the Commission under the Multiannual 
Guideline plans for the fishing fleet as approved by the Commisson 
Decisions of 21 December 1992 (1) and possibly amended within the 
framework of the same procedure provided that these changes were 
made before 31.12.1993. 
(1) OJ n° 401 of 31.12.92, p.3 
(2) OJ n° L193 of 13.7.92, pp.1 to 52 
Article 3 
By 31.12.1996 at the latest, the Council will fix the objectives and 
procedures provided for, on an annual or multiannual basis, in 
accordance with the provisions of Article 11 of Regulation (EEC) 
n°3760/92. G 
Article 4 
The Commission will submit an annual report to the Council on the 
progress of the Multiannual Guidance Programmes for the fishing fleet 
Article 5 
This Decision is addressed to the Member States. 
Done at Brusse1, 
For the Council 
The President 
} 
ISSN 0254-1475 
COM(93) 544 final 
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