Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) laying down for 1997 certain conservation and management measures for fishery resources in the Convention Area as defined in the Convention on Future Multilateral Co-operation in the North-East Atlantic
Date: 1996-12-12
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, authorised catch, conservation of fish stocks, fishery management, fishery resources

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN  COMMUNITIES 

Brussels,  12.12  1996 
COM(96) 668 final 

Proposal  for  a 

COUNCIL  REGULATION  (EC) 

laying  down  for  1997  certain  conservation  and  management  measures  for  fishery 
resources  in the  Convention  Area  as  defined  in the  Convention  on  Future  Multilateral 
Co-operation  in the  North-East  Atlantic 

(presented  by  the  Commission) 

EXPLANATORY  MEMORANDUM 

At  its  Annual  Meeting  from  20  to  22  November  1996,  the  North-East  Atlantic  Fisheries 
Commission  (NEAFC)  has  adopted  a  recommendation  of  conservation  and  management 
measures for oceanic-type redfish for  1997. That recommendation was adopted by a qualified 
majority  of  the  Contracting  Parties  of  NEAFC,  including  the  Community. 

The recommended measures consist of a total allowable catch (TAC) of 153,000 tonnes which 
covers oceanic-type  redfish  in its entire area of distribution and which is allocated among the 
Contracting  Parties  concerned.  Within  this  TAC,  a  share  of  23,000  tonnes  has  become 
available  to  the  Community.  Furthermore,  Denmark  (on  behalf  of  the  Faroe  Islands  and 
Greenland) committed  itself to transfer  to the Community a further  4,000 tonnes. This results 
in a total  27,000  tonnes  of  oceanic-type  redfish  available  to  the  Community  in  1997. 

Furthermore,  NEAFC  adopted  a  recommendation 
introducing  provisional  minimum 
notification  and reporting  requirements for both oceanic-type  redfish  and Norwegian  spring-
spawning  herring  (Atlanto-Scandian  herring)  for  1997. 

As these  recommendations  have been adopted  with  the full  support  of the Community,  they 
have  to  be  implemented  by  the  Community. 

Proposal  for  a 

COUNCIL  REGULATION  (EC)  No 

/96 

of 

1996 

laying  down  for  1997 certain  conservation  and  management  measures  for  fishery 
resources  in the  Convention  Area  as defined  in the  Convention  on  Future  Multilateral 
Co-operation  in the  North-East  Atlantic 

THE  COUNCIL  OF THE  EUROPEAN  UNION, 

Having  regard  to the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Community, 

Having  regard  to Council  Regulation  (EEC) No. 3760/92 of 20 December  1992 estbalishing 
a Community  system  for  fisheries  and  aquaculture  (1),  as amended  by  the  Act  of  Accession 
of  Austria,  Finland  and  Sweden,  and  in particular  Article  8 (4)  thereof, 

Having regard  to Council Regulation (EC) No  1627/94 of 27 June  1994 laying down general 
provisions  concerning  special  fishing  permits  (2),  and  in particular  Article  7 (2)  thereof, 

Having  regard  to  the  proposal  from  the  Commission, 

Whereas  the  Community  has signed  the United  Nations  Convention  on the  Law  of  the  Sea, 
which contains principles and rules relating to the conservation and management of the living 
resources  within  the  exclusive  economic  zones  of  the  coastal  States  and  on the  high  seas; 

Whereas  the Convention  on Multilateral  Co-operation  in the  North-East  Atlantic,  hereafter 
referred  to  as  the  "NEAFC  Convention",  was  approved  by  the  Council  in  Decision 
81/608/EEC  of  13 July  1981  (3) and  entered  into  force  on  17 March  1982; 

Whereas  the  NEAFC  Convention  establishes  a  suitable  framework  for  multilateral  co 
operation  in the rational conservation and the optimum utilization  of the fishery  resources of 
the  Convention  Area  as defined  therein; 

Whereas  the  North-East  Atlantic  Fisheries  Commission  adopted  on  22  November  1996 
recommendations  limiting  the  catches  of  redfish  in  the  Convention  Area  and  introducing 
minimum  notification  and  reporting  requirements  for  catches  of  redfish  and  Norwegian 
spring-spawning  (Atlanto-Scandian  herring)  for  1997;  whereas  it  is  appropriate  that  these 
recommendations  be  implemented  by  the  Community; 

(1) 

(2) 

,3) 

O.J.  No.  L 389,  31.12.1992,  p. 1 

O.J.  No  L  171, 6.7.1994,  p.l 

O.J.  No.  L227,  12.8.1981, p. 21 

«£ 

Whereas,  in  accordance  with  Article  8  of  Regulation  (EEC)  No.  3760/92,  it  falls  to  the 
Council to establish for each fishery  or group of fisheries  the total allowable catch (TAC) and 
the  share  available  to the Community  and  to allocate  the  share  available  to the  Community 
among  the  Member  States; 

Whereas  in  order  to  ensure  full  compliance  with  applicable  conservation  and  management 
measures while supplementing the control measures provided for in Council Regulation (EEC) 
No  2847/93  (4),  certain  specific  control  measures  are  to  be  defined  concerning  the 
authorisation  of  fishing  vessels,  their  notification  and  the  declaration  of  catches; 

Whereas  the relevant TAC and quotas have been established  on an annual basis and may not 
be exceeded  and,  therefore,  they  may not be subject  to the provisions of Council  Regulation 
(EC)  No  847/96  of  6  May  1996  introducing  additional  conditions  for  year-to-year 
management  of  TACs  and  quotas  (5), 

HAS  ADOPTED  THIS  REGULATION: 

Article 1 

Catches  in  1997 of  redfish  by  Community  fishing  vessels  shall  be  limited  to the  quotas  set 
out  in  the  Annex. 

Article 2 

Member  States  shall  issue  special  fishing  permits  for  their  vessels  engaging  in  the 
fishery  of oceanic-type redfish  and shall notify  these permits to the Commission prior 
to the commencement  of the vessel's activity,  in accordance with Council  Regulation 
(EC)  No  1627/94.  By  way  of  derogation  from  Article  7 of  that  regulation,  permits 
will only become  valid  if the Commission has not objected  within five  working  days 
following  the  notification. 

Member  States shall  report to the Commission every  Wednesday  before  12 noon  for 
the week ending at 12 midnight on the previous Sunday both the quantities of oceanic-
type redfish  caught by their vessels as well as the number of their  vessels engaged  in 
this  fishery. 

(4) 

(5) 

OJ  No L 261, 20.10.1993, p. 1 

OJ  No  L  115, 9.5.1996,  p. 3 

Article 3 

The provisions of Article 2 shall apply mutatis mutandis to herring  (Clupea harengus) which 
is  caught  in  ICES  zones  I  and  II  (Norwegian  spring-spawning  herring  - Atlanto-Scandian 
herring). 

Article 4 

Fishing  quotas  set  out  in  the  Annex  shall  not  be  subject  to  the  conditions  laid  down  in 
Articles  2,  3 and  5 (2)  of  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No 847/96. 

This  regulation  shall  enter  into  force  on  1 January  1997. 

Article 5 

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

Done  at  Brussels, 

1996 

For  the  Council 
The  President 

L,,,l* 

ANNEX 

Stock 

Member  State 

1996  quota 

Species 

Geographical  area 

Redfish 
{Sebasies mentella, 
oceanic-type)  <0 

ICES  XIV/XII/V  (2) 

Austria 
Belgium 
Denmark 
Finland 
Germany 
Greece 
France 
Ireland 
Italy 
Luxembourg 
the  Netherlands 
Portugal 
Spain 
Sweden 
the  United  Kingdom 

EC total 

18,220 

1,700 
4 

8 
3,824 
3,200 

44 

27,000  (3) 

Fished with pelagic trawls, excluding discards but including the fish above as well as below the acoustic 
layer 
Community  fishing  waters  and  areas  beyond  fisheries  jurisdiction  of  the other  coastal  States 
Includes  a transfer  of  4,000  tonnes  from  Denmark  (on  behalf  of  the  Faroe  Islands  and  Greenland) 

£~ 

ISSN 0254-1475 

COM(96) 668  final 

DOCUMENTS 

EN 

03  15  11 

Catalogue number  :  CB-CO-96-680-EN-C 

ISBN 92-78-13408-2 

Office  for Official  Publications of the European Communities 

L-2985 Luxembourg 

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