Council Regulation (EC) No 2723/1999 of 17 December 1999 amending Regulation (EC) No 850/98 for the conservation of fishery resources through technical measures for the protection of juveniles of marine organisms
Date: 1999-12-17
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: breeding animal, conservation of fish stocks, fishery resources, fishing area, fishing net, protection of animal life

22. 12. 1999

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 328/9

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 2723/1999

of 17 December 1999

amending Regulation (EC) No 850/98 for the conservation of fishery resources through technical
measures for the protection of juveniles of marine organisms

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Article 43 thereof,

Article 1

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Regulation (EC) No 850/98 is hereby amended as follows:

Having regard to the Opinion of the European Parliament (1),

1. In Article 20(1), subparagraph (f) shall be replaced by the

following:

Having regard to the Opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee (2),

‘(f)

(i) from 21 September to 15 November, within the
part of ICES Division VIIa bounded by the coast of
the Isle of Man and straight lines drawn consecu-
tively between the following coordinates:

Whereas:

— latitude 54°20(cid:1)00(cid:2) N,

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

The area where, and the time-period during which,
spawning of a certain herring stock has changed and
therefore the special provisions relating to fishing in the
said area and during the said time-period have also to be
changed;

Article 29 of Regulation (EC) No 850/98 (3) contains a
number of exemptions for the use of specific fishing
gears;
these exemptions should apply equally to the
gear-type Danish seine; as on oversight, exemptions for
this gear were not originally included in that Article;
therefore, Danish seine should be included among the
exemptions of Article 29;

Article 33 of Regulation (EC) No 850/98 prohibits the
use of purse seines on schools of fish found in associa-
tion with marine mammals; such use would be accept-
able in the case of fishing vessels operating under the
conditions agreed within the Agreement for the Inter-
national Dolphin Conservation Program, which the
Community has decided to apply provisionally by
Council Decision 1999/386/EC (4); therefore, an exemp-
tion clause to that effect should be added to Article 33;

Annex VI establishes categories of mesh sizes for fixed
gears to be used for catching certain species or groups of
species;
in the light of data made available to the
Commission, the mesh size categories for two species of
spotted dogfish should be revised;

and
latitude
03°57(cid:1)02(cid:2) W,

longitude 04°25(cid:1)05(cid:2) W
longitude

54°20(cid:1)00(cid:2) N,

— latitude 54°20(cid:1)00(cid:2) N,

longitude 03°57(cid:1)02(cid:2) W
longitude

54°17(cid:1)05(cid:2) N,

latitude
and
03°56(cid:1)08(cid:2) W,

— latitude 54°17(cid:1)05(cid:2) N,

longitude 03°56(cid:1)08(cid:2) W
longitude

54°14(cid:1)06(cid:2) N,

and
latitude
03°57(cid:1)05(cid:2) W,

— latitude 54°14(cid:1)06(cid:2) N,

longitude 03°57(cid:1)05(cid:2) W
longitude

54°00(cid:1)00(cid:2) N,

and
latitude
04°07(cid:1)05(cid:2) W,

— latitude 54°00(cid:1)00(cid:2) N,

longitude 04°07(cid:1)05(cid:2) W
longitude

53°51(cid:1)05(cid:2) N,

and
latitude
04°27(cid:1)08(cid:2) W,

— latitude 53°51(cid:1)05(cid:2) N,

longitude 04°27(cid:1)08(cid:2) W
longitude

53°48(cid:1)00(cid:2) N,

latitude
and
04°50(cid:1)00(cid:2) W,

— latitude 53°48(cid:1)05(cid:2) N,

longitude 04°50(cid:1)00(cid:2) W
longitude

54°04(cid:1)05(cid:2) N,

and
latitude
04°50(cid:1)00(cid:2) W;

(ii) from 21 September to 31 December, within the part
ICES Division VIIa bounded by the following

of
coordinates:

— the east coast of Northern Ireland at latitude

54°15(cid:1) N,

— latitude 54° 15(cid:1) N,

longitude 5°15(cid:1) W,

— latitude 53°50(cid:1) N,

longitude 5°50(cid:1) W,

— the east coast of Ireland at latitude 53°50(cid:1) N;’;

(5)

Regulation (EC) No 805/98 should therefore be
amended,

2. Article 29(4) shall be amended as follows:

(1) Opinion delivered on 2 December 1999 (not yet published in the

Official Journal).

(2) OJ C 209, 27.7.1999.
(3) OJ L 125, 27.4.1998, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regula-

tion (EC) No 1459/1999 (OJ L 168, 3.7.1999, p. 1).

(4) OJ L 147, 12.6.1999, p. 23.

(a) In subparagraph (a), first indent, the words ‘shall be
authorised to fish in the areas referred to in that para-
graph using demersal otter trawls’ shall be replaced by:
‘shall be authorised to fish in the areas referred to in
that paragraph using demersal otter trawls or Danish
seine’.

L 328/10

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

22. 12. 1999

(b) Subparagraph (b) shall be amended as follows:

(i) The introductory phrase shall be replaced by the

replaced by: ‘Within areas where beam trawls, otter trawls,
bottom pair trawls or Danish seine may not be used’;

following:

4. In Article 33, the following paragraph shall be added:

‘(i) However, vessels whose engine power exceeds
221 kW shall be permitted to use demersal
otter trawls or Danish seine, or paired vessels
whose
exceeds
engine
221 kW shall be permitted to use demersal pair
trawls, provided that:’;

combined

power

(ii) In point (ii) the first indent shall be replaced by the

following:

‘— in the case of demersal otter trawls or demersal
pair trawls, the mesh size used is at least 100
millimetres, and’;

(iii) A new point shall be added as follows:

‘(iv) in the case of Danish seine, the mesh size used

is at least 100 millimetres’;

3. In Article 29(5), the words ‘Within areas where beam trawls,
otter trawls or bottom pair trawls may not be used’ shall be

on

the

International Dolphin

‘3.
However, paragraph 1 shall not apply to those vessels
operating under the conditions agreed within the Agree-
ment
Conservation
Programme (Washington, 15 May 1998) and signed by the
Community on 12 May 1999. The names and technical
characteristics of those vessels shall be contained on a list
which shall be drawn up by the Commission in accordance
with the procedure referred to in Article 48.’;

5. Annex VI shall be replaced by the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day
following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the
European Communities.

It shall apply from 1 January 2000.

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

Done at Brussels, 17 December 1999.

For the Council

The President

K. HEMILÄ

22. 12. 1999

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 328/11

ANNEX

‘ANNEX VI

FIXED GEARS: Regions 1 and 2

mesh

10-30
mm

50-70
mm

90-99
mm

100-119
mm

120-219
mm

≥ 220 mm

Species

Sardine (Sardina pilchardus)
Eel (Anguilla anguilla)
Sprat (Sprattus sprattus)

Horse mackerel (Trachurus spp.)
Herring (Clupea harengus)
Mackerel (Scomber spp.)
Red mullets (Mullidae)
Garfish (Belone spp.)

Sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax)
Grey mullets (Mugilidae)
Lesser spotted dogfish (Scyliorhinus canicula)

Dab (Limanda limanda)
Haddock (Meglanogrammus aeglefinus)
Whiting (Merlangius merlangus) (2)
Flounder (Platichthys flesus)
Sole (Solea vulgaris)
Plaice (Pleuronectes platessa)
Cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis)

Cod (Gadus morhua)
Pollack (Pollachius pollachius) (3)
Ling (Molva molva)
Saithe (Pollachius virens)
Hake (Merluccius merluccius) (3)
Picked dogfish (Squalus acanthias)
Greater spotted dogfish (Scyliorhinus stellaris)
Megrim (Lepidorhombus spp.)
Lumpsucker (Cyclopterus lumpus)

All other marine organisms

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* (1)

(1) Catches of anglerfish (Lophius spp.) taken from ICES Sub-areas VI and VII and retained on board in excess of 30 % of the catch on board

from those areas must be taken with a minimum mesh size of 250 mm or greater.

(2) In ICES divisions VIIe and VIId, with effect from 31 December 1999, the minimum size will be 90 mm.
(3) In ICES divisions VIIe and VIId, with effect from 31 December 1999, the minimum size will be 110 mm.’