Council Regulation (EC) No 669/2003 of 8 April 2003 amending Regulation (EC) No 1035/2001 establishing a catch documentation scheme for Dissostichus spp.
Date: 2003-04-08
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: Atlantic Ocean, authorised catch, document, fishing regulations, protection of animal life, sea fish

15.4.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 97/1

I

(Acts whose publication is obligatory)

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 669/2003

of 8 April 2003

amending Regulation (EC) No 1035/2001 establishing a catch documentation scheme for Dissosti-
chus spp.

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

(b) imported into, or exported or re-exported from the

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Commu-
nity, 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)

spp. (3)

implements

Council Regulation (EC) No 1035/2001 of 22 May
establishing a catch documentation scheme for Dissosti-
catch documentation
chus
scheme adopted by the Commission for the Conserva-
tion of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, hereinafter
referred to as ‘CCAMLR’, at its 18th annual meeting in
November 1999.

the

At its 20th annual meeting in November 2001 and its
21st annual meeting in November 2002, CCAMLR
adopted a number of amendments to the scheme in
inter alia, combat misreporting and improve
order to,
export control and introduced a procedure to deal with
the sale or disposal of seized and confiscated catches.

(3)

Regulation (EC) No 1035/2001 therefore should be
amended accordingly,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Community.

2.
This Regulation shall not apply to by-catches of
Dissostichus spp. taken by trawlers fishing on the high seas
outside the CCAMLR area.

For the purpose of this paragraph, a by-catch of Dissosti-
chus spp. means a quantity of Dissostichus spp. representing
no more than 5 % of the total catch of all species and no
more than 50 tonnes for an entire fishing trip by a vessel.

3.
The second subparagraph of paragraph 2 may be
amended to apply CCAMLR conservation measures which
become obligatory for the Community, in accordance with
the procedure laid down in Article 25(3).’;

2. Article 9(1) shall be replaced by the following:

After having verified, by the use of data reports
‘1.
obtained through an automated tamper-proof
satellite
linked vessel monitoring system (VMS), that the area fished
and the catch to be landed or transhipped as reported by
its vessel
is accurately recorded and consistent with its
authorisation to fish, the Flag Member State shall convey a
confirmation number to the master by the most rapid elec-
tronic means.

The master shall enter the confirmation number on the
catch document’;

Article 1

3. Article 13 shall be replaced by the following:

Regulation (EC) No 1035/2001 is hereby amended as follows:

‘Article 13

1. Article 2 shall be replaced by the following:

‘Article 2

Sc ope

within

This Regulation shall apply to all Dissostichus spp.
0302 69 88 00,
and

1.
falling
0303 79 88 10,
0304 20 88 00:
(a) landed or transhipped by Community fishing vessels;

0303 79 88 90,

0304 20 88 10

TARIC

codes

or

(1) OJ C 291 E, 26.11.2002, p. 217.
(2) Opinion delivered on 12 February 2003 (not yet published in the

Official Journal).

(3) OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 1.

1. Member States shall take the measures necessary to
identify the origin of all Dissostichus spp. imported into or
exported from their territory and to determine whether the
Dissostichus spp. harvested in the CCAMLR area was caught
in a manner consistent with the CCAMLR conservation
measures.

2.
If a Member State has reasons to believe that landings
or imports of Dissostichus spp. declared as having been
caught on the high seas outside the CCAMLR area consist
in actual fact of Dissostichus spp. caught in the CCAMLR
area, the Member State shall request the Flag State to carry
out an additional verification of the catch document by the
use of, inter alia, data reports provided through an auto-
mated satellite-linked VMS.

L 97/2

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

15.4.2003

If the Flag State despite this request fails to demonstrate
that the catch document was verified with the use of VMS
data, the catch document shall be considered as void ab
initio and the importation and exportation of the Dissosti-
chus spp. shall be prohibited.

shall, without delay,

3. Member States
inform the
Commission and the other Member States of any instance
where the results of the additional verification referred to
in paragraph 2 indicate that the catches were not caught
in a manner consistent with the CCAMLR conservation
measures and of the measures taken by the Member State
in this regard.’;

6. Article 20 shall be replaced by the following:

‘Article 20

1.
The Flag Member State shall convey immediately to
the CCAMLR Secretariat, by the most rapid electronic
means available, and with a copy to the Commission, the
copies referred to in Articles 10 and 12.

immediately transmit

to the
2. Member States shall
Secretariat, by the most rapid electronic means available,
and with a copy to the Commission, a copy of the export
validated or re-export-validated catch documents as well as
the documents referred to in Article 22a.’;

4. Article 15 shall be replaced by the following:

7. Article 22 shall be replaced by the following:

‘Article 15

1. Member States shall take all necessary measures to
ensure that each shipment of Dissostichus spp.
imported
into or exported from their territory is accompanied by
the export-validated or re-export-validated catch document
or documents corresponding to the total quantity of
Dissostichus spp. contained in the shipment.

2. Member States shall ensure that their customs autho-
rities or other competent official agents
request and
examine the documentation of each shipment of Dissosti-
chus spp. imported into or exported from their territory in
order to verify that it includes the export-validated or re-
export-validated catch document or the documents corre-
sponding to the
spp.
contained in the shipment. These authorities or agents
may also examine the content of any shipment in order to
verify the information contained in the catch document or
documents.

total quantity of Dissostichus

3. Member States shall inform the Commission of any
instance where the results of the verifications referred to in
paragraphs 1 and 2 indicate that
the documentation
requirements set out in this Regulation have not been met.

An export-validated Dissostichus spp. catch document

4.
is one that:

(a) includes all the information specified in Annex I and

all the necessary signatures; and

(b) includes a certificate signed and stamped by an official
agent of the exporting State, attesting to the accuracy
of the information contained in the document.’;

5. Article 17 shall be replaced by the following:

‘Article 22

By 15 March, 15 June, 15 September and 15 December of
each year Member States shall report to the Commission
data drawn from the catch documents on the origin, desti-
nation and quantity of Dissostichus spp. imported into or
exported from their territory.

the Commission shall

Each year
forward the data
concerning the origin and the quantity to the CCAMLR
Secretariat.’;

8. The following Chapter VIa shall be inserted:

‘CHAPTER VIa

Sale of seized or confiscated fish

Article 22a

If a Member State has cause to sell or dispose of seized or
confiscated Dissostichus spp., it shall issue a specially vali-
dated catch document. This catch document shall include a
statement specifying the reasons for that validation and
describe the circumstances under which the seized or
confiscated fish are moving into trade. To the extent prac-
ticable, Member States shall ensure that no financial benefit
from the sale or disposal of this fish accrue to the perpe-
trators of the illegal fishing activities.’;

9.

in Article 24, the first subparagraph shall be replaced by
the following:

‘The measures necessary for the implementation of Article
8(2)(d), Article 9, Article 10(3), Article 11, Article 12(3),
Article 13(2) and Article 15 shall be adopted in accordance
with the procedure referred to in Article 25(2).’;

10. Annex II shall be replaced by the Annex to this Regula-

tion.

‘Article 17

Article 2

The importation and exportation of Dissostichus spp.
is
prohibited if the batch concerned is not accompanied by a
catch document.’;

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

15.4.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 97/3

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

Done at Luxembourg, 8 April 2003.

For the Council

The President

G. DRYS

L 97/4

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

15.4.2003

ANNEX

‘ANNEX II

15.4.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 97/5