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
Date: 1993-11-09
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Community fisheries, exploitation of resources, fishery management, fishery resources, fishing fleet, production capacity

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: 

3 

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. 

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 
is restructured  so as  to take account of the  available  and 
sector 
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 
Member  States 
programme  of  action,  equitable  between  the  various 
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 
under  technical 
prejudge  any  provisions  which  may  be  implemented 
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 
within  the 
Decisions  of  21  December  1992  (1) and  possibly  amended 
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 

G 

By  31.12.1996  at  the  latest,  the  Council  will  fix  the  objectives  and 
in 
procedures  provided  for,  on  an  annual  or  multiannual  basis, 
accordance  with  the  provisions  of  Article  11  of  Regulation  (EEC) 
n°3760/92. 

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 

DOCUMENTS 

EN 

03 

Catalogue number : CB-CO-93-580-EN-C 

ISBN 92-77-60665-7 

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