Proposal for a Council Regulation Amending, for the second time, Regulation (EC) No 2555/2001 fixing for 2002 the fishing opportunities 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
Date: 2002-11-28
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Community fisheries, EU waters, catch quota, fishing agreement, fishing regulations

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

Brussels, 28.11.2002
COM(2002) 659 final

Proposal for a

COUNCIL REGULATION

Amending, for the second time, Regulation (EC) No 2555/2001 fixing for 2002 the fishing
opportunities 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

(presented by the Commission)

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  2555/2001  fixes  the  fishing  opportunities  and  associated
conditions for certain fish stocks and  groups  of stocks  applicable in Community waters  and
for  Community  vessels,  in  waters  where  limitations  in  catch  are  required  for  2002.
Amendments  of  the  Regulation  are  required  following  decisions  recently  reached  in
international fora and as a consequence of international Agreements:

(1)

(2)

(3)

Various conservation and enforcement measures to be applied in the Baltic Sea fishery
are  laid  down  in  the  Regulation.  These  measures  are  recommended  by  the
International  Baltic  Sea  Fishery  Commission  (IBSFC).  The  Community  as  a
Contracting  Party  has  to  implement  them.  The  IBSFC  has  by  postal  vote  adopted  a
Recommendation 7 June 2002 that the TAC for herring during 2002 can be increased
from 60 000 tonnes to 64 000 tonnes in Management Unit 3.

The definitive TAC for capelin in the North Atlantic in 2001 has been  fixed  and the
definitive Community quota for this stock in the waters of Greenland can therefore be
established.

Article  2  (b)  of  the  Agreement  on  Fisheries  between  the  European  Economic
Community,  of  the  one  part,  and  the  Government  of  Denmark  and  the  Home
Government  of  the  Faroe  Islands,  of  the  other  part  oblige  the  Parties  to  the
Agreement  to  aim  at  the  realisation  of  a  satisfactory  balance  between  their  fishing
possibilities  in their respective fishing zones. The European Community has decided
not  to  give  the  Faroe  Islands  access  to  fishery  for  blue  whiting  in  the  Community
waters  within  the  framework  of  the  Agreed  Record  of  conclusions  of  fisheries
consultations  between  the  European  Community  and  the  Faroe  Islands  of  14
December 2001. Following that decision an imbalance in the fishing possibilities has
occurred which will be corrected by the Community reducing its fishing possibilities
for redfish and flatfish in zone Vb (Faroese waters).

(4)

The  Inter-American  Tropical  Tuna  Commission  has  adopted,  at  its  annual  meeting
held in June 2001, catch limitations for yellowfin tuna to be applied already in 2002.

The  Council  is  requested  to  adopt  this  proposal  as  soon  as  possible  in  order  to  allow
fishermen to plan their activities for this fishing season.

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Proposal for a

COUNCIL REGULATION

Amending, for the second time, Regulation (EC) No 2555/2001 fixing for 2002 the fishing
opportunities 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

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 aquaculture1, and in particular Article 8(4) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission2,

Whereas:

(1) 

(2) 

International  Baltic  Sea  Fishery  Commission 

The 
(IBSFC),  adopted  a
Recommendation 7 June 2002 to increase the TAC for herring in Management Unit III
during 2002.

A  definitive  catch  limitation  for  capelin  in  the  North  Atlantic  has  been  fixed  and,
consequently, the definitive Community catch quota for this stock within the waters of
Greenland should be fixed.

(3)  Within the framework of the Agreed Record of conclusions of fisheries consultations
between  the  European  Community  and  the  Faroe  Islands  of  14  December  2001  the
European Community has decided not to  give the Faroe Islands access to fishery  for
blue  whiting  in  the  Community  waters.  Following  that  decision  an  imbalance  in  the
fishing  possibilities  in  favour  of  the  Community  has  occurred,  which  should  be
corrected by the Community reducing its fishing possibilities for redfish and flatfish in
zone Vb (Faroese waters).

(4) 

The  Inter-American  Tropical  Tuna  Commission  (IATTC)  adopted,  at  its  annual
meeting in June 2002, catch limitations for yellowfin tuna; although the Community is
not a member of this organisation, it is necessary to implement those catch limitations
to ensure sustainable management of this fish resource.

(5)

Regulation (EC) No 2555/2001 should therefore be amended accordingly,

1

2

OJ  L  389,  31.12.1992, p.  1.  Regulation  as  last  amended  by  Regulation  (EC)  No  1181/98  (OJ  L  164,
9.6.1998, p. 1).
OJ C , , p. .

3

                                                
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EC) No 2555/2001 is amended as follows:

(1)

Annex 1A is amended in accordance with Annex I to this Regulation.

(2)

Annex 1C is amended in accordance with Annex II to this Regulation.

(3)

In Annex V, the following point 10 is inserted:

“ (10) Purse  seines  in  the  Eastern  Pacific  Ocean  (Regulatory  Area  of  the  Intern-American
Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC)).

All fishing for Yellowfin Tuna (Thunnus albacora) and Bigeye Tuna (Thunnus obesus) shall
be  prohibited  from  1  December  to  31  December  2002,  within  the  area  bounded  by  the
following co-ordinates:

–  the Pacific coastlines of the Americas,

–  longitude 150° W,

–  latitude 40° N,

–  latitude 40° S.

As  of  the  date  of  application  of  this  Regulation  purse  seiners  fishing  for  tuna  in  the
Regulatory  Area of  the  Inter-American Tropical  Tuna Commission  shall  retain  on  board  all
the  bigeye,  skipjack  and  yellowfin  tuna  caught,  except  fish  considered  unfit  for  human
consumption for reasons other than size, in order to provide a disincentive to the capture of
these  small  fish.  A  single  exception  shall  be  the  final  set  of  a  trip,  when  there  may  be
insufficient well space remaining to accommodate all the tuna caught in that set.

Purse seine vessels shall promptly release unharmed, to the extent practicable, all sea turtles,
sharks, billfishes, rays, mahi-mahi and other non-target species. Fishermen are encouraged to
develop and use techniques and equipment to facilitate the rapid and safe release of any such
animals.

The following specific measures to encircled or entangled sea turtles shall apply:

–  Whenever a sea turtle is sighted in the net, all reasonable efforts should be made to rescue
the turtle before it becomes entangled in the net, including, if necessary, the deployment of
a speedboat.

–  If a turtle is entangled in the net, net roll should stop as soon as the turtle comes out of the

water and should not start again until the turtle has been disentangled and released.

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–  If a turtle is brought on board a vessel, all appropriate methods to assist in the recovery of

the turtle should be made before returning it to the water.

–  Tuna-fishing  vessels shall  be prohibited from disposing  of salt  bags  or  any  other  type  of

plastic rubbish at sea.”

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

Article 2

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

Done at Brussels,

For the Council
The President

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In Annex 1A to Regulation (EC) No 2555/2001, the entry concerning the species Herring in
zone “Management Unit 3” is replaced by the following:

ANNEX I

Zone:

Management Unit 3

Species:

Finland
Sweden
EC

TAC

Herring
Clupea harengus
52 474
11 526
64 000

64 000

Special conditions
Within the limits of the abovementioned quotas, no more than the quantities given below may be taken in the zones
specified:

Sweden                                                                                8 000

IIIbcd except Management Unit 3

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ANNEX II

In Annex 1C to Regulation (EC) No 2555/2001, the entries concerning the species Capelin in
zone  V,  XIV  (Greenland  waters),  the  species  Redfish  in  zone  Vb  (Faroese  waters)  and
Flatfish in zone Vb (Faroese waters) are replaced by the following:

Species:

EC

TAC

Species:

Capelin
Mallotus villosus

49 285(1) (2)

95 985

Redfish
Sebastes spp.

Zone:

V, XIV (Greenland waters),

(1) Available to all Member States
(2) Of which 6 700 tonnes are allocated to Norway, 30 000
tonnes to Iceland and 10 000 tonnes to the Faroe Islands. The
Community share represents 70% of the Greenland share of the
TAC for capelin.

Zone:

Vb (Faroese waters)

Belgium
Germany
France
United Kingdom
EC

15
1 932
131
22
2 100

TAC

Not relevant

Species:

Flatfish

Zone:

Vb (Faroese waters)

(1)Including Greenland halibut.

Germany
France
United Kingdom
EC

98
77
373
548 (1)

TAC

Not relevant

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