Commission Regulation (EC) No 1162/2001 of 14 June 2001 establishing measures for the recovery of the stock of hake in ICES sub-areas III, IV, V, VI and VII and ICES divisions VIII a, b, d, e and associated conditions for the control of activities of fishing vessels
Date: 2001-06-14
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: fishery management, fishery resources, fishing area, fishing controls, fishing regulations, technical standard

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1162/2001

of 14 June 2001

establishing measures for the recovery of the stock of hake in ICES sub-areas III, IV, V, VI and VII
and ICES divisions VIII a, b, d, e and associated conditions for the control of activities of fishing
vessels

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

(6)

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 3760/92 of 20
December 1992 establishing a Community system for fisheries
and aquaculture (1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No
1181/98 (2), and in particular Article 15(1) thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

In November 2000, the International Council for the
Exploration of the Sea indicated that the stock of hake in
ICES sub-areas III, IV, V, VI and VII and ICES divisions
VIII a, b, d, e is at serious risk of collapse.

The majority of this stock of hake inhabits ICES sub-
areas V, VI and VII and ICES divisions VIII a, b, d, e.

At the Council meeting of 14 and 15 December 2000,
the Commission and the Council noted the urgent
requirement to establish a recovery plan for this stock of
hake.

Control measures additional
to those laid down in
Council Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 of 12 October
1993 establishing a control system applicable to the
common fisheries policy (5), as last amended by Regula-
tion (EC) No 2846/98 (6),
control
programmes defined according to Article 34c of the said
Regulation are required to ensure compliance with the
measures laid down in this Regulation.

specific

and

(7)

Further conservation measures affecting fishing for
Nephrops, which involves significants by-catches of
hake, may be proposed in the light of recent scientific
advice from ICES and the results of trials of more selec-
tive fishing gear that are currently being conducted.

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

This Regulation shall apply to fishing vessels operating within
ICES sub-areas V and VI and ICES divisions VII b, c, f, g, h, j, k
and ICES divisions VIII a, b, d, e.

(4)

The immediate requirement is to reduce catches of juve-
nile hake by:

Article 2

— establishing a general increase in the mesh size of
towed nets used to catch hake to which end it is
necessary to derogate from conditions regarding
mesh sizes of towed gears laid down in Annexes I
and II to Council Regulation (EC) No 850/98 of 30
March 1998 for the conservation of fishery resources
through technical measures for the protection of
juveniles of marine organisms (3) as last amended by
Regulation 973/2001 (4),

— establishing geographical areas in which juvenile
hake occur in high abundance and specifying that
fishing with towed nets may take place in these areas
only if these nets are of high mesh size,

— establishing additional conditions to ensure that
capture of juvenile hake by beam trawls is reduced.

(5)

To provide information on catches of juvenile hake by
some vessels
targeting hake and by other vessels
targeting Norway lobsters, observers should be placed
on board vessels engaged in such activities, taking into
account the level of fishing activity by each Member
State fishing in the appropriate areas.

(1) OJ L 389, 31.12.1992, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 164, 9.6.1998, p. 1.
(3) OJ L 125, 27.4.1998, p. 1.
(4) OJ L 137, 19.5.2001, p. 1.

1.
Notwithstanding the conditions laid down in Article 4(4)
and Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 850/98, catches of hake
(Merluccius merluccius) retained on board any vessel carrying any
towed gear of mesh size 55 mm to 99 mm may not be in
excess of 20 % of the weight of the total catch of marine
organism retained on board.

2.
The conditions of paragraph 1 shall not apply to any
vessel of length less than 12 metres overall which returns to
port within 24 hours of its most recent departure from port.

Article 3

It shall be prohibited to use:

(a) except in ICES sub-areas V and VI, any cod-end and/or
extension piece of any towed nets except beam trawls of
mesh size greater than 55 mm which is not constructed of
single-twine netting material of which no twine is of thick-
than 6 mm or of double-twine netting
ness greater
material of which no twine is of thickness greater than
4 mm;

(5) OJ L 261, 20.10.1993, p. 1.
(6) OJ L 358, 31.12.1998, p. 5.

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(b) any demersal towed net other than beam trawl incorpor-
ating a cod-end of mesh size range 70 mm to 89 mm
having more than 120 meshes in any circumference of the
said cod-end excluding the joinings and selvedges;

(c) any demersal

towed net which includes any individual
quadrilateral mesh of which the bars of the mesh are not of
approximately equal

length;

(d) any demersal towed net to which a cod-end of mesh size
less than 100 mm is attached by any means other than
being sewn into that part of
the net anterior to the
cod-end.

Article 4

It shall be prohibited to carry on board or deploy any beam
trawl of mesh size equal to or greater than 70 mm unless the
entire upper half of the anterior part of such a net consists of a
panel of netting material of which no individual mesh is of
mesh size less than 180 mm attached:

— directly to the headline, or

— to no more than three rows of netting material of any mesh

size attached directly to the headline.

The panel of netting shall extend towards the posterior of the
net for at least the number of meshes determined by:

(a) dividing the length in metres of the beam of the net by 12;

51° 00(cid:1)N, 10° 30(cid:1)W

51° 30(cid:1)N, 11° 00(cid:1)W

53° 30(cid:1)N, 11° 00(cid:1)W;

(b) the area enclosed by straight lines sequentially joining the
following geographical coordinates and excluding any part
of that area situated within the limit of 12 nautical miles
calculated from the baselines of France:

48° 00(cid:1)N, 06° 00(cid:1)W

48° 00(cid:1)N, 07° 00(cid:1)W

45° 00(cid:1)N, 02° 00(cid:1)W

44° 00(cid:1)N, 02° 00(cid:1)W

a point on the coast of France at 44° 00(cid:1)N

a point on the coast of France at 45° 30(cid:1)N

45° 30(cid:1)N, 02° 00(cid:1)W

45° 45(cid:1)N, 02° 00(cid:1)W

48° 00(cid:1)N, 06° 00(cid:1)W.

For indicative purposes, a map of the abovementioned areas is
provided in Annex I.

(b) multiplying the result obtained in (a) by 5,400;

2. Within the areas defined in paragraph 1:

(c) dividing the result obtained in (b) by the mesh size,

in

millimetres, of the smallest mesh in the panel;

(d) ignoring any decimal or other fractions in the result

obtained in (c).

Article 5

For the purposes of paragraph 2, the following geograph-

1.
ical areas are defined:

(a) the area enclosed by straight lines sequentially joining the
following geographical coordinates and excluding any part
of that area situated within the limit of 12 nautical miles
calculated from the baselines of Ireland:

53° 30(cid:1)N, 11° 00(cid:1)W

53° 30(cid:1)N, 12° 00(cid:1)W

53° 00(cid:1)N, 12° 00(cid:1)W

51° 00(cid:1)N, 11° 00(cid:1)W

49° 30(cid:1)N, 11° 00(cid:1)W

49° 30(cid:1)N, 07° 00(cid:1)W

51° 00(cid:1)N, 07° 00(cid:1)W

— it is prohibited to conduct any fishing activity using any
towed net of mesh size range 55 mm to 99 mm,

— it is prohibited to immerse, partially or wholly, or other-
wise deploy for any purpose any towed net which is of
mesh size range 55 mm to 99 mm,

— all towed nets of mesh size range 55 mm to 99 mm shall
be lashed and stowed in accordance with the provisions
laid down in Article 20(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93.

Within the area defined in paragraph 1(a):

— it is prohibited to conduct any fishing activity using any

fixed gear of mesh size less than 120 mm,

— it is prohibited to immerse, partially or wholly, or other-
wise deploy for any purpose, any fixed gear of mesh size
less than 120 mm,

— all fixed gears of mesh size less than 120 mm shall be
lasted and stowed in accordance with the provisions laid
down in Article 20(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93.

Within the area defined in paragraph 1(b):

— it is prohibited to conduct any fishing activity using any

fixed gear of mesh size less than 100 mm,

— it is prohibited to immerse, partially or wholly, or other-
wise deploy for any purpose any fixed gear of mesh size
less than 100 mm,

— all fixed gears of mesh size less than 100 mm shall be
lashed and stowed in accordance with the provisions laid
down in Article 20(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93.

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Article 6

For indicative purposes, the areas referred to in paragraph

6.
1 are indicated in the Annex.

1. Member States shall ensure that for the duration of the
number of voyages indicated in Annex II, at least one observer
shall be on board Community fishing vessels flying their flag
and which deploy towed nets of mesh size range 70 mm to
99 mm in each of the geographical areas enclosed by straight
lines sequentially joining the following geographical coordi-
nates:

(a) a point on the coast of Ireland at 53° 30(cid:1)N

53° 30(cid:1)N, 11° 00(cid:1)W

51° 30(cid:1)N, 11° 00(cid:1)W

51° 00(cid:1)N, 10° 30(cid:1)W

51° 00(cid:1)N, 07° 00(cid:1)W

Article 7

1.
The Member States shall ensure that on the number of
occasions indicated in Annex III, the landings of vessels which
have operated with towed nets of mesh size range 70 mm to
99 mm in the areas defined in Article 6, paragraph 1 with no
observer on board shall be sampled immediately after landing.

To this end, each Member State shall establish a sampling plan,
inter alia, the distribution of samples from each
indicating,
to the Commission for
geographical area, and transmit
approval.

it

2.

The sampling shall be designed to provide estimates of:

a point on the coast of Ireland at 07° 00(cid:1)W;

(a) the total quantity of hake, of Norway lobster and of all

(b) a point on the coast of France at 48° 00(cid:1)N

48° 00(cid:1)N, 06° 00(cid:1)W

45° 45(cid:1)N, 02° 00(cid:1)W

45° 30(cid:1)N, 02° 00(cid:1)W

a point on the coast of France at 45° 30(cid:1)N.

2. Member States concerned shall ensure that for the dura-
tion of at least 10 voyages one or more observers are on board,
both inside and outside the geographical areas defined in
Article 5, a Community fishing vessel flying their flag and
fishing with a demersal trawl
in which at least one row of
meshes of mesh size greater than 350 mm is attached imme-
diately to the headline and which is towed simultaneously by
two fishing vessels.

3.
Each Member State shall establish a sampling plan to
implement the conditions laid down in paragraphs 1 and 2,
indicating, inter alia, the distribution of observers among the
geographical areas, and transmit it to the Commission for
approval.

4.
The observers shall record for each operation of the
fishing gear, the mesh size of the trawl and the geographical
location of the operation and shall implement an appropriately
designed sampling procedure to estimate:

(a) the total quantity by weight of hake, of Norway lobsters
and of all other marine organisms caught by each opera-
tion of the fishing gear;

(b) the length to the nearest centimetre below the absolute
length of the hake caught by each operation of the fishing
gear;

(c) the total quantity by weight of hake, of Norway lobsters

and of all other marine organisms landed;

(d) the length to the nearest centimetre below the absolute

length of the hake landed.

5.
The master of a Community fishing vessel designated to
receive an observer on board shall facilitate the arrival and
departure of the observer and shall provide the observer with
appropriate facilities for accommodation and work.

other marine organisms landed;

(b) the length to the nearest centimetre below the absolute

length of the hake landed.

Article 8

Member States shall send to the Commission within 220 days
of the date of entry into force of this Regulation, a compre-
hensive report of the activities and findings of the observers
assigned to Community vessels flying their flag and of their
sampling of landings.

Article 9

1.
Each Member State shall take the necessary action to
make it compulsory for a master or his representative of a
fishing vessels flying its flag which intend to fish or which have
completed fishing under conditions laid down in Article 5 to
communicate details of entry into and exit from the areas
defined in Article 5, paragraph 1.

The communication referred to in paragraph 1 shall

2.
include:
— the name of the vessel,
— the code (entry ‘in’, exit ‘out’),
— the date, time and geographical
— the name of the master.

location,

A master of a Community fishing vessels shall record this
information and the time of transmission of such a communi-
cation in the logbook.

A vessel equipped with a functioning real-time automatic
3.
monitoring system recognised under Community legislation
shall be exempt from the conditions laid down in paragraph 1.

4.
The communication referred to in paragraph 1 shall be
made by the master or representative of the vessel concerned
simultaneously to the flag State and the coastal Member State
or Member States responsible for monitoring activities where
the vessel will carry out its fishing activities in waters under the
sovereignty or jurisdiction of
that Member State or those
Member States.

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Article 10

1.
It is prohibited to retain on board a Community fishing
vessel any quantity of hake mixed or in association with any
other species of marine organism.

2. Masters of Community fishing vessels shall provide the
necessary assistance to inspectors of Member States to enable
the quantities declared in the logbook and the catches of hake
retained on board to be
cross-checked for verification
purposes.

Article 11

1.
The master of a Community fishing vessel, or his repres-
entative, who wishes on any occasion to land 250 kg or more
of hake in any Member State shall inform, at least four hours in
advance of landing, the competent authorities of that Member
State of:
— the landing location,
— the estimated time of arrival at that location,
— the quantities of hake retained on board,
— the quantities of hake to be landed.

2. Whenever on any occasion more than 500 kg of hake
are to be landed from a Community fishing vessel, the master
of the said vessel shall ensure that such landings are made only
at ports designated under the conditions laid down in Article
12.

The competent authorities of a Member State in which a
3.
landing of hake of 250 kg or more is to be made, may require
that the discharge does not commence until authorised by the
said authorities.

Article 12

Each Member State shall designate ports into which any

1.
landing of hake in excess of 500 kg shall take place.

2.
Each Member State shall transmit to the Commission
within 15 days of the date of entry into force of this Regulation
the list of designated ports and, within 30 days thereafter,
associated inspection and surveillance procedures including the

terms and conditions for recording and reporting the quantities
of hake within each landing. The Commission will transmit this
information to all Member States.

Article 13

1. Where landings of hake are not offered for sale for the
first time by sale at auction, as provided for by Article 9(2) of
Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93, Member States shall ensure that:
— the location where the weight of the quantities of hake
landed is determined shall be designated by the competent
authorities of the Member State into which the landing
takes place,

— the quantities involved are immediately notified to the
auction centres or any other body designated by the
competent authorities.

2.
The competent authorities of a Member State may require
that any quantity of hake first landed in that Member State is
weighed before being transported elsewhere.

3.
Notwithstanding the conditions laid down in Article 13
of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93, all quantities of hake which
are transported to a place other than that of landing or import
shall be accompanied by a copy of one of the declarations
provided for in Article 8(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93
pertaining to the quantities of hake transported. It is prohibited
to use a copy of document T2M as mentioned in Article 13,
paragraph 4(b) of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 in the case of
transport of quantities of hake.

Article 14

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

However:
— Articles 10 and 11 shall be applicable from the fifteenth
day following the publication of this Regulation in the
Official Journal of the European Communities,

— Articles 2, 3, 4, 5 and 9 shall be applicable from 1

September 2001.

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

Done at Brussels, 14 June 2001.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission

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ANNEX I

HAKE BOXES

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MINIMUM NUMBER OF VOYAGES ON WHICH OBSERVERS ARE TO BE PLACED

ANNEX II

Belgium

France

Ireland

Netherlands

Spain

United Kingdom

5

50

50

5

20

20

MINIMUM NUMBER OF OCCASIONS ON WHICH SAMPLES OF LANDINGS SHALL BE TAKEN

ANNEX III

Belgium

France

Ireland

Netherlands

Spain

United Kingdom

10

100

100

10

40

40