WRITTEN QUESTION E-2517/02

by Daniel Varela Suanzes-Carpegna (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(10 September 2002)

Subject: Shetland Box

Under Article 18 of the Commission proposal for a regulation on the conservation and sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources, reforming the CFP, particular rules are still to be applied to the Shetland Box. Under these rules, authorisation to fish in that area for demersal species other than Norway pout and blue whiting will only be granted, in the case of vessels of a length of 26 metres and over, to 52 vessels from France, 62 from the United Kingdom, 12 from Germany and 2 from Belgium.

1. Can the Commission provide information on the use of this fishing area by authorised vessels from each of these countries over the last five years, indicating the names of the vessels, the flags under which they were sailing, the species and quantities taken and the fishing activities that they carried on outside the Shetland Box?

2. Can it give a detailed explanation as to why the current arrangements for this area are to be extended?

3. Can it provide information on the dependency of local vessels on fishing in this area, indicating the number of vessels, the species they take and the quantities landed in local ports?

4. Can it explain the current reasons for the exclusion of blue whiting and Norway pout?

5. Might it be possible for Community vessels other than those with express authorisation under Article 18 to fish in the area for species other than those fished for by the authorised vessels?

6. Can the Commission call on scientific studies of the state of resources in the area? Could scientific research be conducted into the possibility of fishing for species other than those fished for by the authorised vessels?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(21 October 2002)

Fishing activity in the Shetland area is governed by a licensing system managed by the Commission on behalf of the Community. The Commission must see to it that the number of vessels authorised to fish in the area in question does not exceed each week the maximum number of vessels from each Member State with authorisation to fish. This maximum number is given in Annex II to Council Regulation (EEC) No 3760/92 of 20 December 1992 establishing a Community system for fisheries and aquaculture(1). Since the vessels operating in the Shetland area can change weekly, the Commission does not have detailed information concerning them.

Regarding the species and quantities taken by individual vessels in the area, the Commission is unable to provide such information since the Member States report their catch data aggregated for the whole of area IVa, under the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) classification system, which is much larger than the Shetland area.

Regulation (EEC) No 3760/92 states that the management arrangements in the Shetland Islands area were established for species of special importance in that region which are biologically sensitive by reason of their exploitation characteristics. In view of the state of exploitation of stocks in the region and adjacent regions, the Commission considered it inappropriate to relax the existing exploitation conditions before embarking on a thorough analysis of the biological risks. This analysis is planned for 2003.

The Commission does not have details of the activities of local vessels in the Shetland Islands area which would allow it to comment on the dependency of local vessels on resources since the Member States are not usually supposed to report this type of information to the

Commission. For example, the United Kingdom reports the landings of its vessels in its territory each month but without detailing the home ports of the vessels or the ports of landing. As for local vessels, 222 are currently entered in the Community fishing vessel register, including 176 of under 15 metres (m), 35 measuring from 15 m to 24 m and 11 of over 24 m.

As for the exclusion of blue whiting and Norway pout, this is purely to clarify what is covered by fishing for demersal species. The biological behaviour of these two species resembles that of benthic species (living on the sea bottom) but they are normally taken using different techniques closer to those used in pelagic fishing. Fishing for these two species is subject also to other restrictions, including the Norway pout box, special mesh sizes, by-catches and consequently does not need to be covered by the licensing system applied to the Shetland Islands.

It is quite possible for vessels not expressly authorised under Article 18 of the proposal for a Council Regulation on the conservation and sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources under the common fisheries policy(2) to fish lawfully, for example, for blue whiting or for non-demersal species such as mackerel or herring.

The majority of studies available to the Commission concern stocks occurring both in the Shetland Box and in adjacent waters but do not deal specifically with the state of stocks in that area. These studies can be consulted on the ICES internet site at the following address: www.ices.dk.

(1) OJ L 389, 31.12.1992.

(2) OJ C 203 E, 27.8.2002.