Commission Regulation (EC) No 26/2004 of 30 December 2003 on the Community fishing fleet register
Date: 2003-12-30
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, common fisheries policy, data collection, fishing fleet

9.1.2004

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COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 26/2004

of 30 December 2003

on the Community fishing fleet register

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 of 20
December 2002 on the conservation and sustainable exploita-
tion of
common fisheries
resources under
policy (1), and in particular Article 15(3) and (4) thereof,

fisheries

the

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

For the application of the rules of the common fisheries
policy, in accordance with Article 15 of Regulation (EC)
No 2371/2002, each Member State is required to keep a
register of vessels flying its flag and the Commission is
required to set up a Community fishing fleet register on
the basis of the national registers.

If it is to be an effective and comprehensive tool for
implementing the rules of the common fisheries policy,
the Community fishing fleet register should include all
Community fishing vessels, including those used exclu-
sively in aquaculture.

In order to have available the information essential for
the management of the capacity of fishing fleets and
their activity, the information on vessel characteristics
which has to appear in the register for each Member
State in accordance with Article 15(1) of Regulation (EC)
No 2371/2002 should be identified.

The definition of the procedures for forwarding to the
Commission the data appearing in the register of each
Member State is needed to ensure a regular updating of
the Community fishing fleet register.

The characteristics and external markings recorded in
the register kept by each Member State should be speci-
fied in accordance with Council Regulation (EEC) 2930/
86 of 22 September 1986 defining characteristics for
fishing vessels (2), as amended by Regulation (EC) No
3259/94 (3), and with Commission Regulation (EEC) No
1381/87 of 20 May 1987 establishing detailed rules
concerning the marking and documentation of fishing
vessels (4).

should constantly monitor

The Member States
the
quality of the information given in their national regis-
ters and ensure that it is checked by the Commission as
soon as it is received.

(7)

(8)

(9)

In order to monitor the movements of vessels between
Member States and to ensure an unequivocal
link
between the information contained in the Community
fishing fleet register and the data from other information
systems relating to fishing activities, it is important to
allocate a unique identification number to each Com-
munity fishing vessel, which under no circumstances
may be reassigned or altered.

To ensure the effective application of this Regulation
and to simplify data management, the communication
tools to be used between Member States and the
Commission should be defined.

It should be stipulated that the Commission is to ensure
access by the Member States to all the information in
the Community fishing fleet register in compliance with
the provisions relating to the protection of personal data
set out in Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European
Parliament and of the Council (5).

(10)

In the light of the changes made by Article 15 of Regu-
lation (EC) No 2371/2002 to the method for managing
fishing vessel registers, Commission Regulation (EC) No
2090/98 of 30 September 1998 concerning the fishing
the Community (6), as amended by
vessel register of
Regulation (EC) No 839/2002 (7), should be repealed.

(11)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in
accordance with the opinion of Committee for Fisheries
and Aquaculture,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Subject

1.

This Regulation:

(a) determines the minimum information on vessel characteris-
tics and activity which must figure in the register which
each Member State keeps of the fishing vessels flying its
flag (hereinafter called ‘the national register’);

(b) lays down the obligations of Member States regarding the
collection, validation and transmission of the data from
their national register to the Commission;

(c) lays down the obligations of the Commission regarding the
management of the Community fishing fleet register (here-
inafter called ‘the Community register’).

(1) OJ L 358, 31.12.2002, p. 59.
(2) OJ L 274, 25.9.1986, p. 1.
(3) OJ L 339, 29.12.1994, p. 11.
(4) OJ L 132, 21.5.1987, p. 9.

(5) OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1.
(6) OJ L 266, 1.10.1998, p. 27.
(7) OJ L 134, 22.5.2002, p. 5.

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The data from the Community register shall serve as
2.
reference for the application of the rules of the common fish-
eries policy.

Article 7

Recording in the Community register

Article 2

Scope

This Regulation shall apply to all Community fishing vessels,
including those used exclusively in aquaculture as defined in
point 2.2 of Annex III to Council Regulation (EC) No 2792/
1999 (1).

Article 3

Definitions

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

1.

2.

3.

‘event’: any entry to or exit from the fleet of a vessel or
registration or change in one of its characteristics as defined
in Annex I;

‘transmission’: digital transfer of one or more events on the
telecommunications network set up between the national
administrations and the Commission;

‘snapshot’: all the events recorded for the vessels comprising
the fleet of a Member State between the date of the census
referred to in Annex I and the date of transmission;

4.

‘personal data’: the names and addresses of the agents and
owners of fishing vessels.

Article 4

Data collection

Each Member State shall collect without delay the data referred
to in Annex II for the Community fishing vessels flying its flag.

Article 5

Recording in the national register

On receiving the snapshot, the Commission shall check
1.
the data it contains and enter them in the Community register.
If no error is detected this snapshot shall replace the previous
one.

If errors are detected, the Commission shall send its observa-
tions to the Member State which shall make the necessary
corrections in its national register and send the Commission a
new snapshot within 10 working days of the Commission's
notification.

After

receiving and checking the new snapshot,

2.
the
Commission shall register or reject it if the snapshot contains
errors not compatible with the correct implementation of the
common fisheries policy.

If the snapshot accepted still contains errors, they shall be noti-
fied to the Member State which shall undertake to correct them
forthwith in accordance with the procedure laid down in
Article 8.

3.
The Community register shall be available to the Member
States, in accordance with the rules established by Article 11,
some 20 working days after the snapshot's periodic transmis-
sion date.

Article 8

Interim transmission

1. Where the implementation of special measures under the
common fisheries policy so requires, a Member State, either of
its own accord, or at the Commission's request, shall transmit
without delay from its national register the updated data for
the vessels concerned.

2.
The data transmitted must contain for each vessel particu-
lars of all the events from the date of its entry to the fleet up to
the transmission date.

On receiving the snapshot, the Commission shall check

3.
the data and substitute them in the Community register.

Each Member State shall validate the data collected in accord-
ance with Article 4 and record them in its national register.

Article 9

Article 6

Periodic transmission

Each Member State shall transmit a snapshot to the Commis-
sion on the first working day of March, June, September and
December each year.

(1) OJ L 337, 30.12.1999, p. 10.

Communication tools between the Commission and the
Member States

1.
The transmission of data between the Commission and
the Member States shall be managed by means of an IT applica-
tion developed by the Commission.

2.
The Community register and the data concerning the
checks and the monitoring of transmissions shall be accessible
to the Member States on the Internet.

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Article 10

‘CFR’ identification number

The CFR number referred to in Annex I shall identify fishing
vessels in a unique way. It shall be included in all transmissions
of data between the Member States and the Commission
concerning the characteristics and activities of fishing vessels.

The number shall be assigned definitively when a vessel is first
registered in a national register. It may not be altered or reas-
signed to another vessel.

Article 11

Access

1.
The Member States shall have access to all the informa-
tion contained in the Community register on condition that
they comply with the provisions relating to the protection of
personal data arising from Regulation (EC) No 45/2001, and in
particular Article 8 thereof.

The public shall have access to a version of the Com-

2.
munity register which does not contain personal data.

3.
Requests for access to personal data in the Community
register shall be dealt with by the Commission in accordance
with the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 45/2001.

Article 12

Repeal

Commission Regulation (EC) No 2090/98 is hereby repealed.

Article 13

Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 September 2004.

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

Done at Brussels, 30 December 2003.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission

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ANNEX I

DEFINITION OF DATA AND DESCRIPTION OF A REGISTRATION

Name of zone

Maximum
number of
characters

Alignment (1)
L(eft)/R(ight)

Definition and comments

Country of registration

3

CFR (2)

Event code

Date of event (3)

Licence indicator

Registration number

External marking

Name of vessel

Port of registration

IRCS indicator

IRCS

VMS indicator

Main fishing gear (5)

Subsidiary fishing gear

LOA

LBP

12

3

8

1

14

14

40

5

1

7

1

3

3

6

6

—

—

—

—

—

L

L

L

L

—

L

—

L

L

R

R

Member State (Alpha—3 ISO code) in which vessel is
registered for fishing pursuant to Regulation (EC) No
2371/2002.
Always the reporting country.

(Community fleet register number).
Unique identification number of a fishing vessel.
Member State (Alpha—3 ISO code) followed by an
identifying series (nine characters). Where a series has
fewer than nine characters, additional zeros must be
inserted on the left hand side.

Code identifying the type of event reported.
(Table 1)

Date (YYYYMMDD) on which event occurred

Vessel with a fishing licence according to Regulation
(EC) No 3690/93:
Y(yes)/N(No)

Pursuant to Regulation (EEC) No 1381/87

National code (4)

Vessel with an international radio on board:
Y(Yes)/N(No)/U(Unknown) (7)

(International radio call sign).
International radio call sign

(Vessel monitoring system)
Vessel with a satellite monitoring system in accordance
with Article 22 of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002:
Y(yes)/N(No)

Code of main gear (Table 3)

Code of subsidiary gear (Table 3)

(Length over all)
Length over all in metres, defined in accordance with
Regulation (EEC) No 2930/86.

(Length between perpendiculars)
Length between perpendiculars in metres, defined in
accordance with Regulation (EEC) No 2930/86.

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Name of zone

Maximum
number of
characters

Alignment (1)
L(eft)/R(ight)

Definition and comments

Tonnage GT

Other tonnage (6)

GTs (6)

Power of main engine (6)

Power of auxiliary engine (6)

Hull material

Year of commissioning

Month of commissioning

Day of commissioning

Segment

Country of importation/
exportation

Type of export

Code for public aid

Date of administrative deci-
sion

Segment covered by admin-
istrative decision

Year of construction

Place of construction

Name of vessel agent

8

8

7

8

8

1

4

2

2

3

3

2

2

8

3

4

100

100

Address of vessel agent

100

R

R

R

R

R

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

L

L

L

In GT, defined in accordance with Regulation (EEC) No
2930/86.

In tonnes according to the Oslo Convention or in
accordance with a definition to be laid down by the
Member State.

In GT, an increase in tonnage permitted on grounds of
safety pursuant to Article 11 of Regulation (EC) No
2371/2002.

In kW, in accordance with Regulation (EEC) No 2930/
86.

In kW. Includes all installed engine power not included
under the heading ‘Power of main engine.’

Code (Table 4)

In accordance with Regulation (EEC) No 2930/86.

In accordance with Regulation (EEC) No 2930/86.

In accordance with Regulation (EEC) No 2930/86.

Code (Table 5)

Alpha—3 ISO code for the importing or exporting
country.

Code (Table 6)

Code (Table 7)

the administrative decision
Date (YYYYMMDD) of
referred to in Regulation (EC) No 1438/2003, Article
6.

Code of MAGP segment to be notified in accordance
with Regulation (EC) No 1438/2003.

Free text. Name of shipyard, town and country where
hull was built.

Vessel agent:
Natural person: name, first name
Legal person: name

Free text. The address must be sufficiently clear for the
agent to be contacted: street, number, box, postal code,
town and country.

Indicator of owner

1

—

Vessel of which agent is also owner
Y(yes)/N(No)

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Name of zone

Name of owner

Maximum
number of
characters

100

Address of owner

100

Alignment (1)
L(eft)/R(ight)

Definition and comments

L

L

Owner of vessel:
Natural person: name, first name
Legal person: name

Free text. The address must be sufficiently clear for the
owner to be contacted: street, number, box, postal
code, town and country.

(1) Relevant information for transmission of data by fixed—length formatting
(2) Formerly Internal No.
(3)

In the case of a fleet census, this is the date of the census in the Member State (Table 2). For all other types of event, the date of the
official document recording the event must be notified.

(4) All national code changes require Commission approval.
(5) Fishing gear considered to be the one most frequently used on board the vessel for a fishing period of a year or for a fishing

campaign.

(6) Numeric value with two optional decimal places. The separator for the decimal places is the point. No separator accepted for thou-

sands.

(7) Not valid for all vessels in fleet or reported from 1 January 2003.

CEN

CST

CHA

IMP

MOD

DES

RET

EXP

Table 1

Code for type of event

Entry to fleet

Census

New construction

Change of activity

Intra-Community import, transfer

Within fleet

Modification

Exit from fleet

Break-up, shipwreck

Change of activity

Intra-Community export, transfer

Table 2

Date of census fixed by country

BEL, DNK, FRA, GBR, PRT

NLD

DEU, ESP

IRL

ITA

GRC

SWE, FIN

CYP, EST, LTU, LVA, MLT, POL, SVN

1.1.1989

1.9.1989

1.1.1990

1.10.1990

1.1.1991

1.7.1991

1.1.1995

1.5.2004

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Table 3

Code for fishing gear

Gear category

Gear

Code

Static (S) or
towed gear
(T)

Pelagic (P) or
demersal (D)

Surrounding nets

Purse seines

Lampara nets

Seines

Beach seines

Danish seines

Scottish seines

Pair seines

Trawls

Beam trawl

Bottom otter trawl

Bottom pair trawls

Midwater otter trawls

Pelagic pair trawls

Otter twin trawls

Dredges

Boat dredges

PS

LA

SB

SDN

SSC

SPR

TBB

OTB

PTB

OTM

PTM

OTT

DRB

Hand dredges used on board a vessel

DRH

Mechanised dredges including suction dredges HMD

Lift nets

Boat operated lift nets

Shore operated stationary lift nets

Gill nets and entangling
nets

Set (anchored) gillnets

Driftnet

Encircling gillnets

Trammel nets

Combined trammel and gillnets

Traps

Pots (traps)

LNB

LNS

GNS

GND

GNC

GTR

GTN

FPO

T

T

T

T

T

T

T

T

T

T

T

T

T

T

T

S

S

S

S

S

S

S

S

P

P

D/P

D/P

D/P

D/P

D

D

D

D/P

D/P

D/P

D

D

D

P

P

D

D/P

D/P

D/P

D/P

D

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Gear category

Gear

Code

Static (S) or
towed gear
(T)

Pelagic (P) or
demersal (D)

Hooks and lines

Hand lines and pole lines (hand operated)

LHP

Hand lines and pole lines (mechanised)

LHM

Set longlines

Longlines (drifting)

Troll lines

Gear unknown (1)

No gear (2)

(1) Not valid for all vessels in fleet or reported from 1 January 2003.
(2) Valid only for subsidiary fishing gear.

LLS

LLD

LTL

NK

NO

S

S

S

S

T

D/P

D/P

D

P

P

Table 4

Code for hull material

1

2

3

4

5

Wood

Metal

Fibreglass/plastic

Other

Unknown (1)

(1) Not valid for all vessels in fleet or reported from 1 January 2003.

Table 5

Segmentation codes

of

Date
31.12.2002

Date
1.1.2003

of

event

before

MAGP codes

event

from

Mainland fleet

Outermost region (1)

Aquaculture

MFL

France

Portugal

Spain

AQU

Code MAGP IV

Code MAGP IV

CAN1 à CANn

(1) Provisional codes subject to the adoption of a segmentation for the Canary Islands and segmentations different from those of MAGPs
IV for the outermost regions of France and Portugal following the adoption of the draft Council regulation on the management of
fleets registered in the outermost regions (COM(2003) 175 final).

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Intra-Community export or transfer

Exportation within a joint venture

Table 6

Codes for types of export

Table 7

Codes for public aid

Aid not part-financed by the Community

Aid part-financed by the Community pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 2792/
1999

No public aid

EX

SM

AE

AC

PA

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DATA TO BE PROVIDED DEPENDING ON THE TYPE OF EVENT DEFINED IN ANNEX I, TABLE I

ANNEX II

Entry to fleet

Within
fleet

Exit from fleet

CEN

CST

CHA

IMP

MOD

DES

RET

EXP

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

—

—

—

—

—

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

(1)

(1)

(1)

X

—

—

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

(1)

(1)

(1)

X

—

—

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

(1)

(1)

(1)

X

X

—

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

—

—

(11)

—

—

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

—

—

X

—

—

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

—

—

X

—

—

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

—

—

Country of registration

CFR

Event code

Date of event

Licence indicator (1)

Registration number

External marking

Name of vessel

Port of registration

IRCS indicator

IRCS (2)

VMS indicator (1)

Main fishing gear

Subsidiary fishing gear

LOA (1) (3)

LBP (3)

Gross tonnage GT (4) (5)

Other tonnage (4)

GTs

Power of main engine

Power of auxiliary engine

Hull material

Year of commissioning (6)

Month of commissioning

Day of commissioning

Segment

Country of importation/exportation

Type of export (1)

Code for public aid

Date of administrative decision (12)

Segment covered by administrative deci-
sion (10)

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Year of construction (6)

Place of construction (5) (8)

Name of agent (5) (7)

Address of agent (5) (7)

Indicator of owner

Name of owner (5) (8) (9)

Address of owner (5) (8) (9)

Entry to fleet

Within
fleet

Exit from fleet

CEN

CST

CHA

IMP

MOD

DES

RET

EXP

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

Field empty if ‘IRCS indicator’ is ‘N’.

(1) Data mandatory for all vessels in fleet or reported from 1 January 2003.
(2)
(3) One of two lengths must be reported for all events before 31 December 2002.
(4) One of two gross tonnages must be reported for all events before 31 December 2003.
(5) Data mandatory for all vessels in fleet or reported from 1 January 2004.
(6)
(7) Data mandatory for all vessels in fleet or reported from 1 January 2003 with an overall length of not less than 15 metres or a length

The year of commissioning or of construction must be reported for all events before 31 December 2002.

between perpendiculars of not less than 12 metres.

(8) Data mandatory for all vessels in fleet or reported from 1 January 2003 with an overall length of not less than 27 metres or a length

between perpendiculars of not less than 24 metres.
Field empty if‘ Owner indicator’ is ‘Y’.

(9)
(10) To be completed only for entries to fleet from 1 January 2003 following an administrative decision taken between 1 January 2000

and 31 December 2002.

(11) Data mandatory only where an increase in tonnage is authorised on grounds of safety.
(12) To be completed only for entries to fleet from 1 January 2003 following an administrative decision taken as from 1 January 2000.