Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) laying down certain monitoring measures applicable to fishing activities carried out in the waters of the Baltic Sea, the Belts and the Sound
Date: 1995-09-06
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Baltic Sea, authorised catch, fishing agreement, fishing area, fishing controls, fishing regulations

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN  COMMUNITIES 

Brussels,  06.09.1995 
COM(95) 249  final 

95/0223  (CNS) 

Proposal  for  a 

COUNCIL  REGULATION  (EC) 

laying down certain monitoring measures applicable to fishing  activities 

canied out in the wateis of the Baltic Sea, the Belts and the Sound 

(presented  by the  Commission) 

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

This proposal  for  a Council  Regulation  lays down certain  additional  monitoring measures 

applicable to fishing activities carried out in the waters of the Baltic, the Belts and the Sound. 

By its Decision No 83/414/EEC^, the Council approved the accession of the Community to 

the Convention on Fishing and Conservation of the Living Resources in the Baltic Sea. Under 

Article X of the said Convention, the International Baltic Sea Fishery Commission, as set up 

by the Gdansk Convention, is competent to make recommendations applicable to the  fishing 

operations carried out in that Sea. Under Article XI of the said Convention, the Contracting 

Parties  -  of  which  the  Community  is  one  -  are  under  the  obligation  to  implement  the 

recommendations made by the Baltic Commission, subject to the objection procedure provided 

for in the same Article. 

At  its twentieth  session,  which  took  place from 12 to  16 September  1994 at  Gdynia,  the 

Baltic Commission adopted certain recommendations  in the light of which the Community 

must  lay  down  certain  additional  monitoring  measures  applicable to the fishing activities 

carried out in the Baltic. 

These measures relate to: 

(a) 

the forwarding to the Commission of a list of the Community fishing vessels fishing for 

cod; 

(b)  the monthly notification  to the Commission of the landings made by each individual 

fishing vessel flying the flag of a Member State or of the other Contracting Parties to 

the Baltic Convention; 

(c) 

the ban on the transshipment of cod caught in the Baltic in the absence of monitoring 

by the authorities; 

(i)  OJ No L 237, 26.8.1983, p.4. 

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. 

(d)  the ban on the landing or transshipment of catches taken by vessels flying the flag of 

another Contracting Party after the national quota has been used up. 

Provision  is  not  made  for  these  measures  in  Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  2847/93 

establishing  a control  system  applicable to the common fisheries policy,  the provisions  of 

which  apply without prejudice to International  Conventions  to  which the  Community  is  a 

party. It therefore falls to the Council to adopt the monitoring measures in question so that 

the international obligations entered into under the Baltic Convention may be  fulfilled. 

p:\c31\reg\bal\exp\en 

^t_VTn  S 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 

/95 

of 

1995 

laying down certain monitoring measures applicable to fishing activities carried out in the 

waters of the Baltic Sea, the Belts and the Sound 

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 Commission0), 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament, 

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee'3), 

Whereas Council Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 of  12 October  1993 establishing a control 
system applicable to the common fisheries policy4) applies to all fishing activities and to all 
associated activities carried out within the territory and within the maritime waters subject to 

the  sovereignty  or jurisdiction  of the Member  States  and  also  applies to  the  activities  of 

Community fishing vessels which operate in the waters of third countries or on the high seas, 

without prejudice to the fisheries agreements concluded between the Community and third 

countries and to International Conventions to which the Community is a party; 

Whereas, by virtue of Council Decision 83/414/EEC, the Community is a Contracting Party 

to the Convention on Fishing and Conservation of the Living Resources in the Baltic Sea, the 

Belts and the Sound, hereinafter  referred to as "the Baltic Convention"; 

OJ No L 261, 20.10.1993, p.l. 

p:\c31\reg\bal\regWwi 

J 

Whereas the  International  Baltic  Sea Fishery  Commission, hereinafter  referred  to  as  "the 

Baltic Commission",  set up by the Gdansk Convention, adopts rules  applicable to  fishing 

activities carried out in that Sea; 

Whereas  during  its  twentieth  session  which  took  place  in  Gdynia  from  12  to 

16 September  1994, the Baltic Commission adopted a number of recommendations relating 

to monitoring measures applicable in the Baltic; 

Whereas, under paragraph  1 of Article XI of the Baltic Convention, the Community must 

incorporate these recommendations  into Community  legislation,  subject  to  any  objections 

lodged in accordance with the procedure laid down in the aforementioned  Article; whereas 

there are no grounds for raising objections; 

Whereas it  is therefore  necessary,  on the basis of the recommendations  formulated  by the 

Baltic Commission, for certain monitoring measures to be laid down which supplement the 

monitoring measures laid down in Regulation (EC) No 2847/93, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Article 1 

Scope 

1. 

This  Regulation  lays  down  certain  monitoring  measures  relating  to  catches  and 

landings of fishery resources found in the waters of the Baltic Sea, the Belts and the 

Sound bounded to the west by a line drawn from Hasenore Head to Gniben Point, 

from  Korshage to Spodsbjerg and from Gilbyerg Head to the Kullen. It shall not apply 

to waters within the baselines. 

2. 

It shall apply to: 

Community fishing vessels in the geographical area described in paragraph 1; 

all fishing vessels flying the flag of a third country present in the maritime waters 

of this  area which  are subject  to the sovereignty  or jurisdiction  of the Member 

States. 

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2  WNS 

Article 2 
Vessels fishing for cod 

1.  Member  States  shall  each year  forward  to the  Commission,  at the  latest  one month 

before the beginning of fishing operations, a list of all the Community fishing vessels 

flying  their flag or registered in their ports whose main or secondary activity is  fishing 

for  cod in the area defined  in Article  1(1) and shall  immediately notify  any changes 

made to that list during the year. 

2.  The list shall mention, in particular, the internal numbers of the vessels referred to in 

the preceding paragraph, in accordance with Article 1  of Commission Regulation (EC) 

No  109/94  of  19 January  1994  œnceming  the  fishing  vessel  register  of  the 

Community^. 

3.  The list and any change made thereto in the course of the year shall be communicated 

by computer data transmission and preferably  by electronic mail. 

4.  The Commission shall each year, within 15 days of receipt of the notifications from the 

Member States, communicate to the Baltic Commission the information referred to in 

paragraph 1. 

Only the  Community fishing vessels figuring on the  list  referred  to  in Article 2  shall  be 

authorized to take part in the activities of fishing for cod in the area defined in Article 1(1). 

Article 3 

(5)  OJ No L 19, 22.1.1994, p.5. 

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Article 4 
landing declarations 

1.  Each Member State shall notify the Commission, in accordance with the procedure laid 

down  in  the  first  subparagraph  of  Article 15(1)  of  Council Regulation  (EEC) 

No 2847/93,  of  the  catches  taken  on  stocks  or  groups  of  stocks  subject  to  catch 

limitations  recommended  by  the  Baltic Commission,  broken  down  by  individual 

Community fishing vessel, and landed at the ports of that Member State. 

2.  The Commission shall, before the end of the month and in respect of the landings made 

the preceding month, communicate to the Baltic Commission the information received 

pursuant to the preceding paragraph. 

Article 5 
1.  On  the  basis  of  the  declarations  submitted  pursuant  to  Article 10(l)(b)  of  Council 

Regulation  (EEC) No 2847/93, Member  States  shall  notify  the  Commission,  on the 

fifteenth  of each month and in respect of each vessel, of the landings of fishing vessels 

flying the flag of,  or registered in, a Contracting Party to the Baltic Convention. 

2.  The Commission  shall, before the end of each month and  in respect  of the  landings 

made the preceding month, communicate to the Baltic Commission and to the relevant 

Contracting Party to the Baltic Convention, the information  received pursuant  to the 

preceding paragraph. 

Article 6 
Transshipment of  cod 

1. 

It shall be prohibited for vessels to transship or receive quantities of cod caught in the 

area described in Article  1(1) without prior authorization from the competent authorities 

of the  Member State of the place of transshipment. 

2.  The master of a fishing vessel wishing to transship in a port or in a place designated by 

the  competent  authorities  situated  in  the  maritime  waters  under  the  sovereignty  or 

jurisdiction of the Member State concerned, shall inform the competent authorities of 

the place of transshipment at least 24 hours in advance. 

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Article 7 

Ban on landings 

1.  Following  a notification from the Baltic Commission to the Commission that a quota 

allocated to another Contracting Party to the Baltic Convention has been used up, any 

landings or transshipments of catches of the stock or group of stock subject to that quota 

made by fishing vessels flying the flag of the  Contracting Party to which that quota is 

allocated shall be prohibited from the date fixed by that Contracting Party. 

2.  The Commission shall  immediately forward a copy of that notification to the Member 

States. 

This  Regulation  shall  enter  into  force  on the  seventh  day  following  its  publication  in the 

Official  Journal of the  European Communities. 

Article 8 

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. 

Done at 

For the Council, 

The President 

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ISSN 0254-1475 

COM(95) 249  final 

DOCUMENTS 

EN 

03  11  13 

Catalogue number  : CB-CO-95-422-EN-C 

ISBN 92-77-92591-4 

Office for Official Publications of the European Communities 

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