WRITTEN QUESTION E-2517/02 by Daniel Varela Suanzes-Carpegna (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Shetland Box.
Date: 2002-09-10
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Belgium, France, Germany, United Kingdom, fishing area, fishing fleet, fishing regulations, fishing statistics, fishing vessel, quantity of fish landed

C 110 E/64

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

8.5.2003

(2003/C 110 E/066)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2517/02

by Daniel Varela Suanzes-Carpegna (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(10 September 2002)

Subject: Shetland Box

Under Article 18 of the Commission proposal for a regulation on the conservation and sustainable
exploitation of fisheries resources, reforming the CFP, particular rules are still to be applied to the ‘Shetland
Box’. Under these rules, authorisation to fish in that area for demersal species other than Norway pout and
blue whiting will only be granted, in the case of vessels of a length of 26 metres and over, to 52 vessels
from France, 62 from the United Kingdom, 12 from Germany and 2 from Belgium.

1.
Can the Commission provide information on the use of this fishing area by authorised vessels from
each of these countries over the last five years, indicating the names of the vessels, the flags under which
they were sailing, the species and quantities taken and the fishing activities that they carried on outside the
Shetland Box?

Can it give a detailed explanation as to why the current arrangements for this area are to be

2.
extended?

Can it provide information on the dependency of local vessels on fishing in this area, indicating the

3.
number of vessels, the species they take and the quantities landed in local ports?

4.

Can it explain the current reasons for the exclusion of blue whiting and Norway pout?

5. Might it be possible for Community vessels other than those with express authorisation under
Article 18 to fish in the area for species other than those fished for by the authorised vessels?

Can the Commission call on scientific studies of the state of resources in the area? Could scientific
6.
research be conducted into the possibility of fishing for species other than those fished for by the
authorised vessels?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(21 October 2002)

Fishing activity in the Shetland area is governed by a licensing system managed by the Commission on
behalf of the Community. The Commission must see to it that the number of vessels authorised to fish in
the area in question does not exceed each week the maximum number of vessels from each Member State
with authorisation to fish. This maximum number is given in Annex II to Council Regulation (EEC)
No 3760/92 of 20 December 1992 establishing a Community system for fisheries and aquaculture (1).
Since the vessels operating in the Shetland area can change weekly, the Commission does not have detailed
information concerning them.

Regarding the species and quantities taken by individual vessels in the area, the Commission is unable to
provide such information since the Member States report their catch data aggregated for the whole of area
IVa, under the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) classification system, which is
much larger than the Shetland area.

Regulation (EEC) No 3760/92 states that the management arrangements in the Shetland Islands area were
established ‘for species of special importance in that region which are biologically sensitive by reason of
their exploitation characteristics’. In view of the state of exploitation of stocks in the region and adjacent
regions, the Commission considered it inappropriate to relax the existing exploitation conditions before
embarking on a thorough analysis of the biological risks. This analysis is planned for 2003.

The Commission does not have details of the activities of local vessels in the Shetland Islands area which
would allow it to comment on the dependency of local vessels on resources since the Member States are
not usually supposed to report this type of information to the Commission. For example, the United

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Kingdom reports the landings of its vessels in its territory each month but without detailing the home
ports of the vessels or the ports of landing. As for local vessels, 222 are currently entered in the
Community fishing vessel register, including 176 of under 15 metres (m), 35 measuring from 15 m to
24 m and 11 of over 24 m.

As for the exclusion of blue whiting and Norway pout, this is purely to clarify what is covered by ‘fishing
for demersal species’. The biological behaviour of these two species resembles that of benthic species
(living on the sea bottom) but they are normally taken using different techniques closer to those used in
pelagic fishing. Fishing for these two species is subject also to other restrictions, including the ‘Norway
pout box’, special mesh sizes, by-catches and consequently does not need to be covered by the licensing
system applied to the Shetland Islands.

It is quite possible for vessels not expressly authorised under Article 18 of the proposal for a Council
Regulation on the conservation and sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources under the common
fisheries policy (2) to fish lawfully, for example, for blue whiting or for non-demersal species such as
mackerel or herring.

The majority of studies available to the Commission concern stocks occurring both in the Shetland Box
and in adjacent waters but do not deal specifically with the state of stocks in that area. These studies can
be consulted on the ICES internet site at the following address: www.ices.dk.

(1) OJ L 389, 31.12.1992.
(2) OJ C 203 E, 27.8.2002.

(2003/C 110 E/067)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2525/02

by Colette Flesch (ELDR) to the Commission

(11 September 2002)

Subject: Reorganisation of the Enterprise DG’s Innovation Directorate

Can the Commission provide details of its plans for the reorganisation of the Innovation Directorate of the
Directorate-General for Enterprise?

In particular, are there plans to transfer units between Brussels and Luxembourg? If so, which units?

Are there plans to transfer units to other institutions or departments? If so, which units?

Are there plans to abolish any A-grade posts? If so, which posts?

Are the measures planned consistent with the decisions of the Member States’ governments of 8 April
1965 and the Commission’s commitments to the Luxembourg authorities?

Reply given by M. Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(28 October 2002)

As announced in the policy paper ‘Future of the Luxembourg site’ presented by the Commission in
January 2001, the Commission is re-examining in depth the organisation (cid:1) including the location (cid:1) of
certain departments based in Luxembourg such as the Innovation Directorate of Directorate General
(DG) Enterprise.

In making this examination, the Commission works on the basis of the guidelines set out in the 2001
policy paper:

(cid:1) to consolidate the Luxembourg site as one of the Commission’s seats;

(cid:1) to establish a link between the setting up of new activities in Luxembourg and the transfer of small
units to Brussels; these changes should be determined in such a way as to maximise the operational
efficiency of the Commission’s departments while keeping both budgetary costs and, above all, the
transfer of persons to a minimum; provisions should be established to provide relevant professional