Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A PILOT PROJECT ON SATELLITE TRACKING IN THE NAFO REGULATORY AREA
Date: 1995-12-06
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: North-West Atlantic Fisheries Organisation, data processing, exchange of information, fishing controls, fishing vessel, satellite

COMMISSION  OF THE  EUROPEAN COMMUNINES 

'>'  ii  & 

Brussels,  00  12.1995 
COM(95)  o2«»  luuil 

95/031S  (CNS) 

Proposal  for  a 

COUNCIL  REGULATION  (EC) 

ON THE ESTABLISHMENT  OF  A PILOT  PROJECT  ON 

SATELLITE TRACKING IN THE NAFO  REGULATORY  AREA 

(presented  by the Commission) 

EXPLANATORY  MEMORANDUM 

In  the framework  of  the  17th  Annual  Meeting  of  the Fisheries  Commission  of  NAFO  held 

on 11-15 September  1995 and the Agreement on Fisheries with Canada of 20 April  1995, the 

European  Union agreed to the introduction of a pilot scheme in the installation  and operation 

of  satellite-tracking  on 35 percent  of vessels fishing  in  the NAFO  Regulatory  Area. 

The purpose of the scheme is to generally strengthen control in the NAFO Regulatory  Area 

through  the operation  and  testing of  various types of  satellite  tracking  systems  with  a view 

to deciding  whether  such  systems  improve  compliance  with  conservation  and  enforcement 

measures. 

More specifically,  the pilot scheme should demonstrate  whether  the use of  such  system can 

reduce incidents of misreporting of catches and unannounced entry into the NAFO Regulatory 

Area. 

Each Member  State shall pay all its costs associated  with  the satellite tracking  system. 

The Commission will prepare a report on the efficiency  and effectiveness  of the pilot project. 

I 

PROPOSAL  FOR  A COUNCIL  REGULATION  (EC)  n° 

OF 

DECEMBER  1995 

ON THE ESTABLISHMENT  OF A PILOT  PROJECT  ON 

SATELLITE TRACKING  IN THE NAFO  REGULATORY  AREA. 

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 Commission  (1), 

Having  regard  to the opinion  of  the European  Parliament  ^ 

Whereas  the  Convention  on  Future  Multilateral  Cooperation  in  the  Northwest  Atlantic 
Fisheries was approved by the Council by Regulation  (EEC) n°  3179/78 (3) and entered  into 

force  on  1 January  1979; 

Whereas, with the objective of improving control and enforcement  in the NAFO Regulatory 

Area,  the European  Community  has agreed  in the framework  of  NAFO and  the Agreement 

on  Fisheries  with  Canada  to  install  satellite  tracking  devices  on  at  least  35  %  of  the 

Community  fishing  vessels while engaged  in fishing  activities in the said NAFO Regulatory 

Area  ; 

Whereas  on  15 September  1995,  the  NAFO  Fisheries  Commission  adopted  a  proposal  to 

introduce a system  of  satellite tracking  ; 

a) 

(2) 

Q)  OJL378,  30.12.1978,  p. 1. 

I 
3 

Whereas  pursuant  to Article VI of the NAFO Convention,  the proposal  will,  in the absence 

of objections,  become a measure binding upon the Contracting Parties as from  15 November 

1995 ; 

Whereas  the  scheme is acceptable to the Community  ; 

Whereas provision  should be made for adopting detailed rules for  the implementation  of this 

scheme  ; 

HAS ADOPTED  THIS  REGULATION  : 

Article 1 

Member  States  shall install  satellite-tracking  devices on at  least  35  % of  the vessels  flying 

their flag and fishing in the Regulatory Area, in accordance with the rules and procedures set 

out in  Annex  I. 

Article 2 

This regulation  shall enter  into force  on  1 January  1996. 

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

Done at Brussels 

For  the Council, 

The President 

U 

ANNEX I 

1. 

The competent  authority  responsible  for  carrying  out  the  Pilot  Project  for  satellite-

tracking  shall  be designated  by each  Member  State,  which  shall  communicate  to the 

Commission,  no later than seven days after  this Regulation  has entered  into force,  the 

name,  address,  telephone  number  and  fax  number  of  that  authority. 

2. 

Each  Member  State  shall  take  the  necessary  steps  to  ensure  that  the  competent 

authority  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  is  equipped  with  computerized  installations 

facilitating  the  processing  of  the  data  transmitted  by  or  received  from  the  fishing 

vessels  referred  to in  which  satellite-tracking  devices are  installed. 

3. 

The  satellite  tracking  devices  referred  to  in  Article  1  shall  ensure  the  automatic 

transmission, on an hourly basis, of data relating to the position of the vessel on which 

they  are  installed,  with  a  position  error  which  must  be  less  that  500  metres  and  a 

confidence  interval  of  99  %,  and  the  date  and  time  of  the  recording  of  the  said 

position,  to the competent authority of the flag Member State and to the Commission. 

4. 

The  installation  referred  to  in  paragraph  2  shall  allow  the  continuous  position 

monitoring,  of the vessels flying  the flag  of the Member  State concerned,  regardless 

the maritime waters  in which  they are operating  or  the port  they  are  in.  They  must 

enable the flag  Member  State,  whatever  the system  used,  to : 

a) 

collect,  process,  record  and  centralize  in  computer-readable  form,  the  date 

referred  to in paragraph  3 ; 

b) 

communicate in an automatic  way the data transmitted  by or  recovered  from 

its vessel  to the Commission. 

5. 

Each Member  State shall forward  to the Commission,  no later  than  seven days after 

this Regulation  has entered  into force,  the following  information  : 

a) 

the number of vessels concerned and their technical description  (internal  fleet 

register number, name, external identification  number, length, tonnage, engine 

r 

register number, name, external identification  number,  length, tonnage engine 

power,  radio call  sign,  type of vessel); 

b) 

the technical characteristics of the equipment and  the installations  referred  to 

in paragraphs  2 and 3. 

6. 

Member  States shall inform  the Commission  regularly of the implementation  of their 

Pilot  Project. 

7. 

In  the  event  of  a  vessel  having  to  be  added,  withdrawn  or  replaced,  or  the  date 

relating  to  a  vessel  having  to  be  altered,  the  Member  State  whose  flag  the  vessel 

concerned  is  flying,  shall inform  the Commission  thereof. 

8. 

The Commission  shall cooperate with other NAFO Contracting Parties which  have a 

NAFO  inspection  vessel  or  aircraft  in  the  NAFO  Convention  Area  in  order  to 

exchange information  on a real-time basis on the geographical  distribution  of  fishing 

vessels equipped  with satellite-tracking  devices and,  on specific  request,  information 

related  to the identification  of a vessel. 

9. 

The  data  communicated  or  acquired  in  whatever  form  by  virtue  of  paragraph  3 is 

covered by professional  secrecy and shall benefit  from  the same protection granted to 

similar  data  by  the national legislation  of  member  States  receiving  them  and  by  the 

corresponding  provisions applicable to Community  institutions. 

10. 

Each Member State shall pay all its costs associated with the satellite tracking system. 

11. 

The  Commission  shall prepare  a report  on  the results  of  the  Pilot  Project  from  the 

perspective of efficiency  and effectiveness,  including  : 

a) 

overall  effectiveness  of  the  Project  in  improving  compliance  with  NAFO 

Conservation  and  Enforcement  Measures  ; 

the effectiveness  of the different  components  of  the  Project; 

costs associated  with  satellite tracking; 

b) 

c) 

c 

d) 

estimations of fishing efforts from observers as compared to initial estimation 

by satellite monitoring ; 

e) 

analysis of the efficiency  in terms of cost/benefit,  the latter being expressed in 

terms  of  compliance  with  rules  and  volume  of  data  received  for  fisheries 

management. 

To that end, the Commission may request all relevant  information from the Member 

States. 

12. 

The  report  shall  be  submitted  to  the  NAFO  Executive  Secretary  in  time  for  its 

consideration  at the NAFO Annual  Meeting of September  1997. 

?} 

ISSN 0254-1475 

COM(95) 620  final 

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ISBN 92-77-97116-9 

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