P6_TA(2005)0130

Establishing meaures for the recovery of the Southern hake and Norway lobster *

European Parliament legislative resolution on the proposal for a Council regulation establishing measures for the recovery of the Southern hake and Norway lobster stocks in the Cantabrian Sea and Western Iberian peninsula and amending Regulation (EC) No 850/98 (COM(2003)0818 — C5-0042/2004 — 2003/0318(CNS))

(Consultation procedure)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Commission proposal to the Council (COM(2003)0818) [1],

- having regard to Article 37 of the EC Treaty, pursuant to which the Council consulted Parliament (C5-0042/2004),

- having regard to Rule 51 of its Rules of Procedure,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Fisheries (A6-0051/2005),

1. Approves the Commission proposal as amended;

2. Calls on the Commission to alter its proposal accordingly, pursuant to Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty;

3. Calls on the Council to notify Parliament if it intends to depart from the text approved by Parliament;

4. Asks the Council to consult Parliament again if it intends to amend the Commission proposal substantially;

5. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and Commission.

TEXT PROPOSED BY THE COMMISSION | AMENDMENTS BY PARLIAMENT |

Amendment 1

RECITAL 1

(1) Recent scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) has indicated that the Southern hake and Norway lobster stocks in ICES Divisions VIIIc and IXa have been subjected to levels of mortality by fishing which have eroded the quantities of mature individuals in the sea to the point at which the stocks may not be able to replenish themselves by reproduction and that the stocks are therefore threatened with collapse. | (1) Recent scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) has indicated that the Southern hake and Norway lobster stocks in ICES Divisions VIIIc and IXa, excluding the Gulf of Cadiz, have been subjected to levels of mortality by fishing which have eroded the quantities of mature individuals in the sea to the point at which the stocks may not be able to replenish themselves by reproduction and that the stocks are therefore threatened with collapse. |

Amendment 2

RECITAL 3

(3) The objectives of the plans should be to rebuild these stocks to safe biological limits within five to ten years. | (3) The objectives of the plans should be to rebuild these stocks to safe biological limits within ten years. |

Amendment 3

RECITAL 4a (new)

| (4a) The adoption of the measures needed for the recovery of these stocks makes it necessary to adopt socio-economic measures to mitigate the impact on those affected by measures to restrict fishing capacity. It is therefore necessary to make provision for sufficient appropriations in the Community budget to deal with this situation. |

Amendment 4

RECITAL 5

(5) The absolute sizes of the stocks concerned as estimated by STECF and ICES are too uncertain to be used as targets for recovery and the targets should be expressed in terms of fishing mortality rates. | Deleted |

Amendment 5

RECITAL 6

(6) In order to achieve that objective, the levels of the fishing mortality rates need to be controlled so that it is highly likely that those rates are reduced from year to year. | (6) In order to achieve that objective, the fishing mortality rates need to be controlled so that it is highly likely that the quantities of mature individuals in the sea increase from year to year. |

Amendment 6

RECITAL 7

(7) Such control of the fishing mortality rates can be achieved by establishing an appropriate method for the establishment of the level of Total Allowable Catches (TACs) of the stocks concerned, and a system including closed areas and limitations on kilowatt-days whereby fishing efforts on those stocks are restricted to levels at which the TACs are unlikely to be exceeded. | (7) Such control of the fishing mortality rates can be achieved by establishing an appropriate method for the establishment of the level of Total Allowable Catches (TACs) of the stocks concerned, and limitations on fishing effort on those stocks so that it is restricted to levels at which the TACs are unlikely to be exceeded. |

Amendment 7

RECITAL 10

(10) The recovery of Norway lobster stocks requires certain areas of reproduction of the species to be protected from fishing. Therefore Council Regulation (EC) No 850/98 of 30 March 1998 for the conservation of fishery resources through technical conservation measures for the protection of juveniles of marine organisms should be amended accordingly, | Deleted |

Amendment 8

ARTICLE 1, POINT A

(a)the Southern hake stock which inhabits Divisions VIIIc and IXa, as delineated by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES); | (a)the Southern hake stock which inhabits Divisions VIIIc and IXa, as delineated by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), excluding the Gulf of Cadiz; |

Amendment 9

ARTICLE 1, POINT C

(c)the Norway lobster stock which inhabits ICES Division IXa. | (c)the Norway lobster stock which inhabits ICES Division IXa, excluding the Gulf of Cadiz. |

Amendment 10

ARTICLE 2

The recovery plan shall aim to rebuild the stocks concerned to within safe biological limits. | The recovery plan shall aim to rebuild the stocks concerned to within safe biological limits, in a sufficient period of time, in keeping with ICES information. This will mean: (a)as regards the stocks referred to in Article 1(a), reaching a spawning stock biomass of 35000 tonnes of hake during two consecutive years, according to the available scientific reports, or increasing the quantities of mature individuals within a period of ten years so that values are reached equal to or higher than 35000 tonnes. This figure shall be adjusted in the light of new scientific data from the STECF;(b)as regards the stocks referred to in Article 1(b) and (c), rebuilding the stocks concerned to within safe biological limits within a period of ten years. |

Amendment 11

ARTICLE 5, PARAGRAPH 1

1. Where the fishing mortality rate for the Southern hake stock has been estimated by the STECF in the light of the most recent report of ICES to be above 0,17 per year, the TAC shall not exceed a level of catches which, according to a scientific evaluation carried out by the STECF in the light of the most recent report of ICES, will result in a reduction of 10 % in the fishing mortality rate in the year of its application as compared with the fishing mortality rate estimated for the preceding year. | 1. Where the fishing mortality rate for the Southern hake stock has been estimated by the STECF in the light of the most recent report of ICES to be above 0,27 per year, the TAC shall not exceed a level of catches which, according to a scientific evaluation carried out by the STECF in the light of the most recent report of ICES, will result in a reduction of 10 % in the fishing mortality rate in the year of its application as compared with the fishing mortality rate estimated for the preceding year. |

Amendment 12

ARTICLE 5, PARAGRAPH 2

2. Where the fishing mortality rate for the Southern hake stock has been estimated by the STECF in the light of the most recent report of ICES to be equal to or below 0,17 per year, the TAC shall be set at a level of catches which, according to a scientific evaluation carried out by the STECF in the light of the most recent report of ICES, will result in a fishing mortality rate of 0,15 per year in the year of its application. | 2. Where the fishing mortality rate for the Southern hake stock has been estimated by the STECF in the light of the most recent report of ICES to be equal to or below 0,27 per year, the TAC shall be set at a level of catches which, according to a scientific evaluation carried out by the STECF in the light of the most recent report of ICES, will result in a fishing mortality rate of 0,27 per year in the year of its application. |

Amendment 13

ARTICLE 7, PARAGRAPH 1

1. In the first year of application of this Regulation, the following rules shall apply: (a)where application of Article 5 or Article 6 would result in a TAC which exceeds the TAC of the preceding year by more than 25 %, the Council shall adopt a TAC which shall not be more than 25 % greater than the TAC of that year;(b)where application of Article 5 or Article 6 would result in a TAC which is more than 25 % less than the TAC of the preceding year, the Council shall adopt a TAC which is not more than 25 % less than the TAC of that year. | Deleted |

Amendment 14

ARTICLE 7, PARAGRAPH 2, INTRODUCTORY PART

2. Starting with the second year of application of this Regulation, the following rules shall apply: | 2. As from the first year of application of this Regulation, the following rules shall apply: |

Amendment 15

ARTICLE 7, PARAGRAPH 2, POINT A

(a)where application of Article 5 or Article 6 would result in a TAC which exceeds the TAC of the preceding year by more than 15 %, the Council shall adopt a TAC which shall not be more than 15 % greater than the TAC of that year; | (a)where application of Article 5 or Article 6 would result in a TAC which exceeds the TAC of the preceding year by more than 10 %, the Council shall adopt a TAC which shall not be more than 10 % greater than the TAC of that year; |

Amendment 16

ARTICLE 7, PARAGRAPH 2, POINT B

(b)where application of Article 5 or Article 6 would result in a TAC which is more than 15 % less than the TAC of the preceding year, the Council shall adopt a TAC which is not more than 15 % less than the TAC of that year. | (b)where application of Article 5 or Article 6 would result in a TAC which is more than 10 % less than the TAC of the preceding year, the Council shall adopt a TAC which is not more than 10 % less than the TAC of that year. |

Amendment 27

ARTICLE 7A (new)

| Article 7a Reduction of fishing effort The Member States shall have flexibility in applying the fishing effort reduction scheme through the implementation of national plans geared to the specific situation in the various Member States. Those plans should be sent by the Member States and approved by the Commission. |

Amendment 18

CHAPTER III

| This chapter is deleted. |

Amendment 19

ARTICLE 16

Article 16 Effort messages Notwithstanding Article 19a of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93, Articles 19b, 19c, 19d and 19e and 19j of that Regulation shall apply to vessels included in the database provided for in Article 9 operating in the geographical areas referred to in Article 1. | Deleted |

Amendment 20

ARTICLE 17

By way of derogation from Article 5(2) of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2807/83 of 22 September 1983 laying down detailed rules for recording information on Member States' catches of fish, the permitted margin of tolerance, in estimation of quantities, in kilograms retained on board of vessels shall be 5 % of the logbook figure. | By way of derogation from Article 5(2) of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2807/83 of 22 September 1983 laying down detailed rules for recording information on Member States' catches of fish, the permitted margin of tolerance, in estimation of quantities of hake, in kilograms retained on board of vessels shall be 8% of the logbook figure. In the event that no conversion factor is laid down in Community legislation, the conversion factor adopted by the Member State whose flag the vessel is flying shall apply. |

Amendment 21

ARTICLE 18

The competent authorities of a Member State shall ensure that any quantity of southern hake exceeding 50 kg and/or 50 kg of Norway lobster caught in any of the areas referred to in Article 1 shall be weighed using auction room scales before sale. | The competent authorities of a Member State shall ensure that any quantity of southern hake exceeding 300 kg and/or 150 kg of Norway lobster caught in any of the geographical areas referred to in Article 1 shall be weighed using auction room scales before sale. |

Amendment 22

ARTICLE 20, PARAGRAPH 1

1. The competent authorities of a Member State may require that any quantity of Southern hake exceeding 50 kg or Norway lobster exceeding 50 kg caught in any of the geographical areas referred to in Article 1 and first landed in that Member State is weighed before being transported elsewhere from the port of first landing. | 1. The competent authorities of a Member State may require that any quantity of Southern hake exceeding 300 kg or Norway lobster exceeding 150 kg caught in any of the geographical areas referred to in Article 1 and first landed in that Member State is weighed before being transported elsewhere from the port of first landing. |

Amendment 23

ARTICLE 20, PARAGRAPH 2

2. By way of derogation from Article 13 of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93, quantities bigger than 50 kg of southern hake or Norway lobster which are transported to a place other than that of landing or import shall be accompanied by a copy of one of the declarations provided for in Article 8(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 pertaining to the quantities of these species transported. The exemption provided for in Article 13 (4)(b) of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 shall not apply. | 2. By way of derogation from Article 13 of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93, quantities of Southern hake exceeding 300 kg or Norway lobster exceeding 150 kg which are transported to a place other than that of landing or import shall be accompanied by a copy of one of the declarations provided for in Article 8(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 pertaining to the quantities of these species transported. The exemption provided for in Article 13(4)(b) of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 shall not apply. |

Amendment 24

CHAPTER V, ARTICLE 22Article 29b (Regulation (EC) No 850/98)

CHAPTER V Amendments to Regulation (EC) No 850/98 Article 22 Restrictions on fishing for Norway lobster Regulation (EC) No 850/98 is amended as follows: The following article shall be inserted after Article 29a: Article 29b Restrictions on fishing for Norway lobster Fishing with bottom trawls and creels shall be prohibited in the geographical areas bounded by a line joining the following co-ordinates: Box 1: Latitude 43° 35′N, longitude 004° 45′WLatitude 43° 45′N, longitude 004° 45′WLatitude 43° 37′N, longitude 005° 20′WLatitude 43° 55′N, longitude 005° 20′WBox 2: Latitude 43° 37′N, longitude 006° 15′WLatitude 43° 50′N, longitude 006° 15′WLatitude 44° 00′N, longitude 006° 45′WLatitude 43° 34′N, longitude 006° 45′WBox 3: Latitude 42° 00′N, longitude 009° 00′WLatitude 42° 27′N, longitude 009° 00′WLatitude 42° 27′N, longitude 009° 30′WLatitude 42° 00′N, longitude 009° 30′WBox 4: Latitude 37° 45′N, longitude 009° 00′WLatitude 38° 10′N, longitude 009° 00′WLatitude 38° 10′N, longitude 009° 15′WLatitude 37° 45′N, longitude 009° 20′WBox 5: Latitude 36° 05′N, longitude 007° 00′WLatitude 36° 35′N, longitude 007° 00′WLatitude 36° 45′N, longitude 007° 18′WLatitude 36° 50′N, longitude 007° 50′WLatitude 36° 25′N, longitude 007° 50′W | Deleted |

Amendment 25

ARTICLE 22A (new)

| Article 22a Report on the recovery plan The Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament and the Council setting out the conclusions relating to the application of the recovery plan for the Southern hake and Norway lobster stocks, including socio-economic data linked to the plan. This report shall be submitted two years after the entry into force of this Regulation. |

Amendment 26

ANNEX

| This annex is deleted. |

[1] Not yet published in OJ.

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