Council Regulation (EC) No 1936/2001 of 27 September 2001 laying down control measures applicable to fishing for certain stocks of highly migratory fish
Date: 2001-09-27
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean, administrative sanction, data collection, disclosure of information, fishery management, fishing controls

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I

(Acts whose publication is obligatory)

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 1936/2001

of 27 September 2001

laying down control measures applicable to fishing for certain stocks of highly migratory fish

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Article 37 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (2),

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

The Community has since 14 November 1997 been a
Contracting Party to the International Convention for
the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (3)
(hereinafter
referred to as the ICCAT Convention).

The ICCAT Convention provides a framework for
regional cooperation on the conservation and manage-
ment of resources of tuna and tuna-like fish in the
Atlantic ocean and adjacent seas through an Inter-
national Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic
Tunas (hereinafter referred to as ICCAT), and the adop-
tion of recommendations on conservation and manage-
ment in the Convention area that become obligatory for
Contracting Parties.

ICCAT has adopted a number of recommendations
creating control and surveillance obligations, notably on
the establishment and transmission of statistics, inspec-
tion in port, vessel surveillance by satellite, vessel obser-
vations
and checks on non-
contracting parties and on stateless vessels. These recom-
mendations have become obligatory for the Community
and should therefore be implemented.

and transhipments,

Certain obligations have been transposed by Council
Regulation (EC) No 1351/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying
down certain control measures to ensure compliance
with the measures adopted by ICCAT (4) and into Article
22(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 2742/1999 of 17
December 1999 fixing for 2000 the fishing opportuni-

(1) OJ C 62 E, 27.2.2001, p. 79.
(2) Opinion delivered on 28 February 2001 (not yet published in the

Official Journal).

(3) OJ L 162, 18.6.1986, p. 34.
(4) OJ L 162, 26.6.1999, p. 6.

ties and associated conditions for certain fish stocks and
groups of fish stocks applicable in Community waters
and, for Community vessels, in waters where limitations
in catch are required and amending Regulation (EC) No
66/98 (5). For reasons of clarity these measures should
be incorporated in a single Regulation, repealing and
replacing former Regulations.

For scientific research purposes masters of Community
fishing vessels should be required to comply with the
instructions of the ‘Operational manual for statistics and
tuna and tuna-like fish in the Atlantic
sampling of
Ocean’ published by ICCAT.

referred to as

The Community has approved the Agreement for the
establishment of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (6),
(hereinafter
IOTC). The Agreement
provides a useful
framework for strengthening inter-
national cooperation for the purpose of conserving and
rationally utilising Indian Ocean tuna and related
species, through creation of the IOTC and the adoption
of recommendations on conservation and management
in its area of competence that become binding on
Contracting Parties. The Community should apply the
control measures adopted by the IOTC.

The IOTC has adopted a recommendation on the
recording and exchange of information on tropical tuna.
This is binding on the Community, which should there-
fore implement it.

The Community has fishing interests in the Eastern
Pacific and has initiated the procedure for accession to
the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, (herein-
after referred to as IATTC). Pending accession and in line
with its cooperation requirement arising under
the
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, it
should apply the control measures adopted by the
IATTC.

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(5) OJ L 341, 31.12.1999, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regula-

tion (EC) No 2765/2000 (OJ L 321, 19.12.2000, p. 5).

(6) OJ L 236, 5.10.1995, p. 24.

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(9)

(10)

(11)

The Community, which has signed the Agreement on
the International Dolphin Conservation Programme (1),
has decided by Decision 1999/386/EC (2) to apply it
provisionally pending its approval, and should therefore
apply its control measures.

In order to ensure the respect of the applicable control
measures of the IOTC, IATTC and of the Agreement on
the International Dolphin Conservation Programme,
Member States should take the necessary action.

Council Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 of 12 October
1993 establishing a control system applicable to the
common fisheries policy (3) applies to all fishing activi-
ties and all associated activities carried out on the terri-
tory and in the maritime waters subject to the sover-
eignty or jurisdiction of Member States, including those
of Community fishing vessels operating in the waters of
third countries or on the high seas, without prejudice to
fishery agreements concluded between the Community
and third countries or
international conventions to
which the Community is a Party.

(12)

implementation of

The measures necessary for
this
Regulation should be adopted in accordance with
Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying
down the procedures for exercise of
implementing
powers conferred on the Commission (4),

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Purpose

This Regulation lays down control and inspection measures
relating to fishing for stocks of
the highly migratory fish
species listed in Annex I to this Regulation and shall apply to
vessels flying the flag of Member States and registered in the
Community,
(hereinafter referred to as Community fishing
vessels), operating in one of the zones specified in Article 2.

Article 2

Zones

For the purposes of this Regulation the following marine zones
are specified:

(a) Zone 1:

All waters of the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas included
in the ICCAT Convention area specified in Article I of that
Convention.

(b) Zone 2:

All Indian Ocean waters included in the area of competence
specified in Article II of the Agreement for the establish-
ment of the IOTC.

(1) OJ L 132, 27.5.1999, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 147, 12.6.1999, p. 23.
(3) OJ L 261, 20.10.1993, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regula-

tion (EC) No 2846/98 (OJ L 358, 31.12.1998, p. 5).

(4) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.

(c) Zone 3:

All Eastern Pacific Ocean waters included in the area speci-
fied in Article III of the Agreement on the International
Dolphin Conservation Programme.

Article 3

Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation the following definitions
shall apply:

(a) ‘boarding’: the boarding of a fishing vessel within an orga-
nisation's area of competence by one or more authorised
inspectors in order to make an inspection;

(b) ‘transhipment’: unloading of any quantity of highly migra-
tory fish and/or products from such fish from on board a
fishing vessel to another vessel either at sea or in port,
without the products having been recorded by a port State
as landed;

(c) ‘landing’: unloading of any quantity of highly migratory fish
and/or products from such fish from on board a fishing
vessel to port or to land;

(d) ‘infringement’: any presumed act committed or omitted by
a fishing vessel that is recorded in an inspection report and
gives serious reason for suspecting a breach of the provi-
sions of this Regulation or any other Regulation trans-
posing a recommendation adopted by a regional organ-
isation for one of the zones indicated in Article 2;

(e) ‘vessel of a non-Contracting Party’: vessel observed and
identified as engaged in fishing activities in one of the
zones specified in Article 2 that is flying the flag of a
country that is not a Contracting Party to the relevant
regional organisation;

(f) ‘stateless vessel’: vessel

for which there are reasonable

grounds for suspecting it to be without nationality.

CHAPTER I

CONTROL AND INSPECTION MEASURES APPLICABLE IN
ZONE 1

S e c t i o n 1

C o n t r o l m e a s u r e s

Article 4

Catch sampling

1.
Sampling of catches shall be carried out in accordance
with the provisions laid down in Council Regulation (EC) No
1543/2000 of 29 June 2000 establishing a Community frame-
work for the collection and management of the data needed to
conduct the common fisheries policy (5) and the requirements
of the ‘Field manual for statistics and sampling Atlantic tunas
and tuna-like fishes’ (Third edition, ICCAT, 1990).

(5) OJ L 176, 15.7.2000, p. 1.

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Detailed rules for the application of this Article shall be
2.
adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article
24(2).

Article 5

Catch notification

1. Member States shall transmit to the Commission, which
in turn will transmit to the ICCAT Executive Secretariat, the
annual nominal catch data (task I as defined by ICCAT), for
those species that are indicated in Annex II. In order to fulfil
the requirements of ICCAT, the data transmission from the
Member States to the Commission shall be not later than:

1 March of following year: preliminary estimates for entire
year;

15 April of following year: definitive estimates.

2. Member States shall transmit the following data (task II as
defined by ICCAT) annually before 31 July to the ICCAT
Executive Secretariat with electronic access for the Commis-
sion:

(a) catch and fishing effort data for the previous year, giving a

detailed spatio-temporal breakdown;

(b) any data they have on sport fishing catches of fish of the

species listed in Annex I.

3.
Detailed rules for the application of this Article shall be
adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article
24(2).

Article 6

Information on shark catches

1. Member States shall
transmit any available data on
catches of and trade in sharks to the ICCAT Executive Secre-
tariat with electronic access for the Commission.

2.
Detailed rules for the application of this Article shall be
adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article
24(2).

Article 7

Undeclared catches

For imports of frozen bluefin tuna and bigeye tuna products
fished by long liners greater than 24 metres overall in length, at
the Commission's request Member States shall collect and
examine as much import data as possible and all related infor-
mation such as vessel names, their registration and owner,
species fished and weight, fishing zone and place of export.

Article 8

Observation of vessels

— a stateless vessel likely to be fishing for species listed in

Annex I,

— or a vessel flying the flag of another Contracting Party and
likely to be fishing in breach of ICCAT conservation meas-
ures,

— or a vessel flying the flag of a non-Contracting Party, entity
or fishing entity and likely to be fishing in breach of ICCAT
conservation measures.

2.
The observation shall be transcribed onto a standard
observation form and shall if possible give all the information
for which that form provides.
It may be accompanied by
photographs of the vessel.

3.
Observation forms shall be sent without delay to the
competent authority of the observer's Member State, which
immediately transmit them to the Commission, which
shall
the vessel observed. The
inform the flag country of
shall
Commission shall immediately transmit observation forms to
the ICCAT Executive Secretariat.

A Member State receiving observations on the activity of
4.
a vessel
flying its flag from the competent authority of a
Contracting Party shall immediately notify these and all rele-
vant information to the Commission, which shall notify this
information in due time to the Executive Secretariat for exam-
ination by the Compliance Committee.

5. Masters of Community fishing vessels shall transmit to
their authority any information on vessels assumed to be
fishing for bigeye tuna in the Convention area that are not on
the list drawn up by the ICCAT Executive Secretariat. Member
States shall notify these observations as soon as possible to the
Commission, which shall inform the ICCAT Executive Secre-
tariat.

6.
Detailed rules for the application of this Article on the
layout and the requirements of the observation form referred
to in paragraph 2 shall be adopted in accordance with the
procedure referred to in Article 24(2).

Article 9

Annual report

Before 15 June each year Member States shall send the
1.
Commission a national report, using the layout adopted by
ICCAT and including (a) information on implementation of the
satellite surveillance system and (b) an ‘ICCAT declaration table’
for each fishery accompanied by comments,
inter alia on
the tolerance margins set by ICCAT for the
breaches of
minimum sizes of certain species and the action taken or to be
taken. Member States shall also say how sport fishing for fish
of the species listed in Annex I is regulated and give details of
any transhipment operations involving their vessels during the
previous year.

1.
For the purposes of this Article ‘observation’ means any
observation, by a Member State's vessel, aircraft or competent
authority responsible for inspection at sea, of:

2.
Detailed rules for the application of this Article shall be
adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article
24(2).

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S e c t i o n 2

P o r t

i n s p e c t i o n p r o c e d u r e s

inspector shall indicate in the log book that an inspection has
been made.

Article 10

General

1. Member States shall assign to inspection duties at their
ports inspectors responsible for the surveillance and inspection
of transhipment and landing of the species listed in Annex I.

inspection is non-
2. Member States shall ensure that
discriminatory and in line with ICCAT port inspection arrange-
ments.

3.
The port State may, inter alia, inspect documents, fishing
gear and catch on board fishing vessels, when such vessels are
voluntarily in its ports or at its offshore terminals.

Article 11

Inspectors

1. Member States shall issue a special identification docu-
ment
to each ICCAT inspector which he must carry and
present before making an inspection. The particulars of the
card shall be determined in accordance with the procedure
referred to in Article 24(2). Member States shall notify a list of
their inspectors to the Commission for transmission to the
ICCAT Executive Secretariat.

shall ensure that

2. Member States
ICCAT inspectors
discharge their tasks in conformity with the rules laid down in
Inspectors shall
inspection arrangements.
the ICCAT port
remain under
their competent
the operational control of
authority and be responsible to it for their acts.

Article 12

Inspection procedures

1. Member States shall ensure that their ICCAT inspectors:

— in making their inspections cause minimum disturbance to
the vessel's activities and cause no deterioration in fish
quality,

— draw up an inspection report in line with rules laid down in
accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 24(2)
and transmit it to their authority.

2.
Inspectors have the ability to examine all zones, decks
and chambers of the vessel, catches (processed or not), gear,
equipment and any documentation thought to be needed to
check compliance with the conservation measures adopted by
ICCAT, including the log book and the loading papers in the
case of mother ships and carriers.

3.
Inspectors shall sign their report in the presence of the
master, who shall have the right to add or cause to be added
any information that he considers relevant and sign it. The

Article 13

Master's obligations during inspection

Masters of Community vessels shall:

(a) raise no objection to inspections in national or foreign
ports by authorised inspectors, not try to intimidate them
or incommode them in the course of their work and ensure
their safety;

(b) cooperate in inspection of the vessel performed in accord-
ance with the procedures laid down in this Regulation and
lend their assistance thereto;

(c) afford inspectors the means of examining the zones, decks
and chambers of the vessel, catches (processed or not),
gear, equipment and all documents, including fishing logs
and loading papers.

Article 14

Procedure in event of infringement

1.
If an ICCAT inspector has serious reason to believe that a
fishing vessel has engaged in an activity breaching the conser-
vation measures adopted by ICCAT, he shall:

(a) note the infringement in the inspection report;

(b) take all necessary action to ensure safekeeping of

the

evidence for it;

(c) immediately send the inspection report to his authority.

inspection report

The inspecting Member State shall immediately send the
2.
original
to the Commission, which shall
immediately transmit it, with a copy to the ICCAT Executive
Secretariat, to the competent authority of the flag country of
the inspected vessel.

Article 15

Follow-up of infringements

If a Member State is notified by an ICCAT Contracting
1.
Party or another Member State of an infringement by a vessel
flying its flag,
take speedy action in line with its
national legislation to obtain and examine the evidence, carry
out any necessary investigation and if possible inspect the
vessel.

it shall

2.
Each Member State shall name the authority mandated to
receive evidence of infringements and notify its name, address
and other contact particulars to the Commission.

3.
The flag Member State shall notify the Commission,
which shall in turn notify the ICCAT Executive Secretariat, of
the penalties imposed and measures taken with regard to the
vessel concerned.

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Article 16

(a) the catches on board were taken outside the zone; or

Treatment of inspection reports

(b) the catches on board were taken without infringing the

conservation measures in force.

1.
Each Member State shall attach the same value to reports
made by ICCAT inspectors of other Member States and other
Contracting Parties as to those made by its own inspectors.

2.
Each Member State shall cooperate with the Contracting
Parties concerned by facilitating, in line with its national legisla-
tion, legal or other proceedings arising from a report submitted
by an ICCAT inspector under the ICCAT port
inspection
arrangements.

Article 19

Member States' nationals

Each Member State shall try, as its national legislation permits,
to deter its nationals from participating in activities of non-
Contracting Parties that conflict with implementation of the
ICCAT conservation and management measures.

S e c t i o n 3

CHAPTER II

S t a t e l e s s a n d n o n - c o n t r a c t i n g p a r t i e s ' v e s s e l s

CONTROL AND SURVEILLANCE MEASURES APPLICABLE IN
ZONE 2

Article 17

Transhipment

Article 20

General

Community fishing vessels may not receive tranship-
1.
ments of fish of the species listed in Annex I from stateless
vessels or those flying the flag of a non-Contracting Party that
does not have the status of a cooperating party, entity or
fishing entity.

2.
The list of cooperating parties, entities and fishing entities
adopted by ICCAT is published by the Commission in the
Official Journal of the European Communities C series).

3.
Before 15 September each year Member States shall send
the Commission particulars of transhipments of fish of the
species listed in Annex I made during the previous year
between vessels flying their flag and vessels flying the flag of a
non-Contracting Party enjoying the status of cooperating party,
entity or fishing entity. The Commission shall forward this
information to the ICCAT Executive Secretariat.

Each Member State shall take the action necessary in order that
vessels flying its flag respect the measures applicable in the
zone.

Article 21

Observations

1. Masters of Community vessels authorised to fish in the
zone shall transmit to their national authority their observa-
tions of non-Contracting Parties' vessels presumed or known to
be fishing for bigeye, yellowfin or skipjack tuna in the zone.

2. Member States shall send this information as soon as
possible to the Commission, which shall forward it to the
IOCT.

Article 18

CHAPTER III

Control measures for fishing activities

CONTROL AND SURVEILLANCE MEASURES APPLICABLE IN
ZONE 3

1.
The competent authority of a Member State that has
boarded and/or inspected a stateless vessel shall immediately
inform the Commission of the inspection findings and of any
action it has taken under international law. The Commission
shall send this information as soon as possible to the ICCAT
Executive Secretariat.

2. Member States shall ensure that every stateless or non-
Contracting Party vessel that enters a designated port within
the meaning of Article 28(e)(2) of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/
93 is inspected by their competent authority. Until inspection
is completed the vessel's catches may not be landed or tran-
shipped.

If

inspection reveals

3.
the vessel has on board
that
resources covered by an ICCAT recommendation in force the
Member State shall prohibit their landing or transhipment.

Article 22

General

Each Member State shall take the action necessary in order that
vessels flying its flag respect the IATTC measures transposed
into Community law and the International Dolphin Conserva-
tion Programme Agreement measures applicable.

CHAPTER IV

FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 23

4.
The prohibition referred to in paragraph 3 shall not be
issued if the master of the inspected vessel or his representative
demonstrates to the competent authority's satisfaction that:

The measures necessary for the implementation of Article 4(2),
Article 5(3), Article 6(2), Article 8(6) and Article 9(2) shall be
adopted in accordance with the management procedure
referred to in Article 24(2).

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Article 24

The Commission shall be assisted by the Committee established by Article 17 of Council Regulation

1.
(EEC) No 3760/92.

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph Articles 4 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply.

The period laid down in Article 4(3) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at three months.

3.

The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.

1.

2.

Regulation (EC) No 1351/1999 is hereby repealed.

Article 22(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2742/1999 is hereby repealed.

Article 25

References made to the repealed Regulation (EC) No 1351/1999 shall be construed as being made to

3.
this Regulation, and should be read in accordance with the correlation table in Annex III.

This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following that of its publication in the Official Journal
of the European Communities.

Article 26

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

Done at Brussels, 27 September 2001.

For the Council

The President

R. LANDUYT

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ANNEX I

LIST OF SPECIES REFERRED TO IN THIS REGULATION

— Albacore: Thunnus alalunga

— Bluefin tuna: Thunnus thynnus

— Bigeye tuna: Thunnus obesus

— Skipjack: Katsuwonus pelamis

— Atlantic bonito: Sarda sarda

— Yellowfin tuna: Thunnus albacares

— Blackfin tuna: Thunnus atlanticus

— Little tuna: Euthynnus spp.

— Southern bluefin tuna: Thunnus maccoyii

— Frigate tuna: Auxis spp.

— Oceanic sea bream: Bramidae

— Marlin: Tetrapturus spp.; Makaira spp.

— Sailfish: Istiophorus spp.

— Swordfish: Xiphias gladius

— Sauries: Scomberesox spp.; Cololabis spp

— Dolphinfish; common dolphinfish: Coryphaena hippurus; Coryphaena equiselis.

— Shark: Hexanchus griseus; Cetorhinus maximus; Alopiidae; Rhincodon typus; Carcharhinidae; Sphyrnidae; Isuridae; Lamnidae

— Cetaceans (whales and porpoises): Physeteridae; Belaenopteridae; Balenidae; Eschrichtiidae; Monodontidae; Ziphiidae; Delphi-

nidae.

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ANNEX II

LIST OF SPECIES SUBJECT TO COMMUNICATION TO ICCAT

Latin name

Thunnus thynnus

Thunnus maccoyii

Thunnus albacares

Thunnus alalunga

Thunnus obesus

Thunnus atlanticus

Euthynnus alletteratus

Katsuwonus pelamis

Sarda sarda

Auxis thazard

Orcynopsis unicolor

Acanthocybium solandri

Scomberomorus maculatus

Scomberomorus cavalla

Istiophorus albicans

Makaira indica

Makaira nigricans

Tetrapturus albidus

Xiphias gladius

Tetrapturus pfluegeri

Scomberomorus tritor

Scomberomorus regalis

Auxis rochei

English name

Bluefin tuna

Southern bluefin tuna

Yellowfin tuna

Albacore

Bigeye tuna

Blackfin tuna

Atlantic black skipjack

Skipjack

Atlantic bonito

Frigate tuna

Plain bonito

Wahoo

Spotted Spanish mackerel

King mackerel

Atlantic sailfish

Black marlin

Atlantic blue marlin

Atlantic white marlin

Swordfish

Spearfish

West African Spanish mackerel

Cero

Bullet tuna

Scomberomorus brasiliensis

Serra Spanish mackerel

ANNEX III

CORRELATION TABLE

Regulation (EC) No 1351/1999

This Regulation

Articles 1, 2, 3

Article 4

Article 5

Article 8

Article 18

Article 17