2002/70/EC: Council Decision of 28 January 2002 amending Decision 97/413/EC concerning the objectives and detailed rules for restructuring the Community fisheries sector for the period from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2001 with a view to achieving a balance on a sustainable basis between resources and their exploitation
Date: 2002-01-28
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: common fisheries policy, conservation of resources, exhaustion of resources, fishing fleet, fishing industry, management of resources, structural policy

1.2.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 31/77

II

(Acts whose publication is not obligatory)

COUNCIL

COUNCIL DECISION

of 28 January 2002

amending Decision 97/413/EC concerning the objectives and detailed rules for restructuring the
Community fisheries sector for the period from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2001 with a view
to achieving a balance on a sustainable basis between resources and their exploitation

(2002/70/EC)

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 establishing a Community system for fisheries
and aquaculture (1), and in particular Article 11 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (2),

registered of an overall length of less than 12 metres
other than trawlers.

(4)

Decision 97/413/EC should therefore be amended
accordingly,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (3),

Article 1

Whereas:

Decision 97/413/EC is hereby amended as follows:

(1)

(2)

(3)

The Common Fisheries Policy will be reviewed before 1
January 2003. In order to ensure consistency between
the policy for restructuring the fisheries sector and the
rest of the Common Fisheries Policy it is therefore neces-
sary to prolong the period of application of Decision
97/413/EC (4) until 31 December 2002.

In order to make further progress towards achieving a
balance between fisheries resources and their exploita-
tion, the fishing effort of the Community fleet should
continue to be reduced during the prolongation year.

Measures to improve safety, navigation at sea, hygiene,
product quality and working conditions should not lead
to an increase in fishing effort and such measures should
therefore be applied within the existing capacity objec-
tives for the fleet, with the exception of vessels already

(1) OJ L 389, 31.12.1992, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regula-

tion (EC) No 1181/98 (OJ L 164, 9.6.1998, p. 1).

(2) OJ C 270 E, 25.9.2001, p. 79.
(3) Opinion delivered on 25 October 2001 (not yet published in the

Official Journal).

(4) OJ L 175, 3.7.1997, p. 27.

1. Paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 4 of Article 2 shall be replaced by

the following:

‘1.
By 31 December 2002 at the latest, the fishing effort
of each Member State shall be reduced, taking the levels
defined in Article 7(1) as a starting point, on the basis of the
reduction rates in fishing effort which are required to be
achieved in relation to the critical stocks set out in Annex I.

2.

The pilot reduction rates shall be as follows:

— 36 % for the stocks defined as depletion risk in Annex I,

— 24 % for the stocks defined as overfished in Annex I.

In the case of stocks defined as fully exploited in
3.
Annex I, there shall be no increase in fishing effort for the
period 1997 to 2002.

4.
In respect of stocks other than those referred to in
paragraphs 2 and 3, including stocks for which the situation
is insufficiently known, there shall be no increase in fishing
effort for the period 1997 to 2002. In specific cases where
Member States can identify additional fishing opportunities
on these stocks, a level of additional fishing effort for the
fleet segments fishing these stocks may be decided.’

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Official Journal of the European Communities

1.2.2002

2. Article 3 shall be replaced by the following:

‘Article 3
A Member State may exempt fishing vessels of its fleet of
less than 12 metres overall, other than trawlers, from the
provisions of Article 2. In this case, the aggregate capacity
of this fleet segment, expressed in GT tonnage and in kW
power, shall not increase beyond the level at 1 January
1997, or beyond the level corresponding to the objectives
of MAGP III, for the period to 31 December 2002 except
for vessels already registered in the Fishing Vessel Register
of the Community, in the framework of programmes for
improving safety, navigation at sea, hygiene, product quality
and working conditions.’

3. Article 4(2) shall be deleted.

4. In Article 7, ‘31 December 2001’ shall be replaced by ‘31

December 2002’.

5. Article 9 shall be replaced by the following:

‘Article 9
The implementation of the objectives and detailed rules of
this Decision shall be carried out by the Commission in
accordance with Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 2792/
1999 (*). The Commission shall modify, in accordance with
this Decision, the Multiannual Guidance Programmes for

fishing fleets of

individual Member States. The
the
programmes shall be prolonged to cover the period from 1
January 1997 to 31 December 2002 and shall be progres-
sively achieved by reference to annual intermediate objec-
tives.

(*) OJ L 337, 30.12.1999, p. 10. Regulation as

amended by Regulation (EC) No 1451/2001 (OJ L
198, 21.7.2001, p. 9).’

6. Annex II shall be replaced by the Annex to this Decision.

Article 2

This Decision shall apply as from 1 January 2002.

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Article 3

Done at Brussels, 28 January 2002.

For the Council

The President

J. PIQUÉ I CAMPS

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Official Journal of the European Communities

L 31/79

ANNEX

‘ANNEX ΙΙ

Effort Reduction Targets

1. The Effort Reduction Target (ERT) for a Member State's fleet segment or fishery shall be calculated in accordance with

the following formula:

where:

ERT =

Effort Reduction Target

RR = Reduction Rates as in Article 2

ERT = RR × W

W =

the percentage of the catch of a fleet segment or fishery which comprises depletion risk and overfished
stocks.

2. The reduction rate for a fleet segment or fishery shall be determined in accordance with the following table by
reference to the composition of its catch as between depletion risk, overfished, fully exploited or other stocks.

Depletion risk stocks

Overfished stocks

Fully exploited stocks

Other stocks

(cid:1)

×

(cid:1)

×

×

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

×

(cid:1) or ×

(cid:1) or ×

(cid:1) or ×

(cid:1)

(cid:1) or ×

(cid:1) or ×

(cid:1) or ×

(cid:1) or ×

Reduction rate
(%)

36

24

30 (1)

0

(1) Where depletion risk stocks exceed 5 % of the catch of the fleet segment or fishery, the reduction rate shall be 36 %.

Key:
(cid:1) =
× =

present in the catch of the fleet segment or fishery
absent in the catch of the fleet segment or fishery’