Proposal for a Council Regulation prohibiting imports of Atlantic bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) originating in Bolivia, Cambodia, Equatorial Guinea, Georgia and Sierra Leone and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1036/2001
Date: 2004-02-20
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Baltic Sea, Bolivia, Cambodia, Equatorial Guinea, Georgia, Sierra Leone, import restriction, originating product, sea fish

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 20.2.2004 
COM(2004) 122 final 

2004/0043 (ACC) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

prohibiting imports of Atlantic bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) originating in Bolivia, 
Cambodia, Equatorial Guinea, Georgia and Sierra Leone and repealing Regulation 
(EC) No 1036/2001 

(presented by the Commission) 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
 
  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) is responsible 
for  the  conservation  of  tuna  stocks  in  the  Atlantic  Ocean  and  adjacent  seas.  It  enforces  the 
proper management of tuna stocks by imposing trade sanctions on any party that proves to be 
in breach of its measures. As a contracting party to ICCAT, the Community has to ensure that 
the  organisation's  recommendations  concerning 
into 
Community law.  

trade  sanctions  are 

transposed 

On  22 May  2001  the  Council  adopted  Regulation  (EC)  No  1036/2001  transposing  into 
Community law the ICCAT recommendation on the prohibition of imports of Atlantic bigeye 
tuna originating in Belize, Cambodia, Equatorial Guinea, Honduras and Saint Vincent and the 
Grenadines.  ICCAT  has  since  adopted  further  recommendations  concerning  the  importation 
of Atlantic bigeye tuna from these five countries and others. Community law should therefore 
be adapted to take account of the latest recommendations, which are set out below. 

At  its  November  2002  general  meeting  ICCAT  adopted  a  recommendation  lifting,  as  of 
3 June 2003, the prohibition on imports by contracting parties of Atlantic bigeye tuna in any 
form from Honduras following the country's decision to cooperate with ICCAT and join the 
organisation.  

At  the  same  meeting  ICCAT  adopted  two  recommendations prohibiting, as of  3 June 2003, 
the  import  by  its  contracting  parties  of  Atlantic  bigeye  tuna  in  any  form  from  Bolivia  and 
Sierra Leone. These recommendations were upheld when ICCAT met in November 2003.  

At that meeting ICCAT recommended the lifting, as of 1 January 2004, of the prohibition on 
the import by its contracting parties of Atlantic bigeye tuna in any form from Belize and Saint 
Vincent and the Grenadines. 

At  the  same  meeting  ICCAT  also  adopted  a  recommendation  prohibiting  the  import  by  its 
contracting parties of Atlantic bigeye tuna in any form from Georgia.  

The  import  prohibitions  applying  to  Cambodia  and  Equatorial  Guinea  were  upheld  at 
ICCAT’s 2002 and 2003 meetings. 

The European Community has been a contracting party to ICCAT since 14 November 1997, 
and, under the common commercial policy, these import prohibitions have to be implemented 
at  Community  level.  As  with  the  adoption  of  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  1036/2001,  the 
Community considers these measures to be fully compatible both with its WTO obligations 
under Article XX(g) of GATT-1994, which allows for trade measures to protect exhaustible 
resources, and, as regards Equatorial Guinea and Sierra Leone, with Article 2(2) of Annex V 
to the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement signed in Cotonou. 

In view of the various ICCAT recommendations, it is proposed that Council Regulation (EC) 
No 1036/2001 be repealed and replaced by the proposed Regulation. 

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2004/0043 (ACC) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

prohibiting imports of Atlantic bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) originating in Bolivia, 
Cambodia, Equatorial Guinea, Georgia and Sierra Leone and repealing Regulation 
(EC) No 1036/2001 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 
133 thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

Fishery resources, which are an exhaustible natural resource, must be protected in the 
interests of biological balances and global food security. 

In  1998  the  International  Commission  for  the  Conservation  of  Atlantic  Tunas 
(ICCAT), to which the European Community is a contracting party, adopted resolution 
98-18 concerning unreported and unregulated catches of tuna by large-scale longline 
vessels in the Convention area. 

The  stocks  concerned  cannot  be  managed  effectively  by  the  ICCAT  contracting 
parties,  whose  fishermen  are  obliged  to  reduce  their  catches  of  tuna,  unless  all  non-
contracting  parties  fishing  Atlantic  bigeye  tuna  cooperate  with  ICCAT  and  comply 
with its conservation and management measures. 

ICCAT  has  identified  Belize,  Bolivia,  Cambodia,  Equatorial  Guinea,  Georgia, 
Honduras,  Saint  Vincent  and  the  Grenadines  and  Sierra  Leone  as  countries  whose 
vessels fish Atlantic bigeye tuna in a manner which diminishes the effectiveness of the 
organisation's  tuna  conservation  measures,  substantiating  its  findings  with  data 
concerning catches, trade and the activities of vessels. 

Imports  of  Atlantic  bigeye  tuna  originating  in  Belize,  Cambodia,  Equatorial  Guinea, 
Honduras  and  Saint  Vincent  and  the  Grenadines  are  currently  prohibited  by 
Regulation (EC) No 1036/2001.1 

ICCAT  has  taken  note  of  the  strengthening  of  cooperation  with  Honduras  for  the 
conservation of Atlantic bigeye tuna. At its 2002 annual meeting it recommended the 
lifting of the prohibition of imports of Atlantic bigeye tuna in any form imposed by the 
contracting parties on Honduras. 

1  

OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 10. 

3 

 
 
  
 
                                                 
(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

ICCAT  has  taken  note  of  the  progress  of  cooperation  with  Belize  and  Saint  Vincent 
and  the  Grenadines  for  the  conservation  of  Atlantic  bigeye  tuna.  At  its  2003  annual 
meeting  it lifted, as of 1 January 2004, the prohibition of imports of  Atlantic bigeye 
tuna in any form imposed by the contracting parties on Belize and Saint Vincent and 
the Grenadines. 

ICCAT's  attempts  to  encourage  Bolivia,  Cambodia,  Equatorial  Guinea,  Georgia  and 
Sierra  Leone  to  comply  with  measures  for  the  conservation  and  management  of 
Atlantic bigeye tuna have been to no avail. 

ICCAT has recommended its contracting parties to take appropriate steps to prohibit 
imports of Atlantic bigeye tuna products in any form from Bolivia, Georgia and Sierra 
Leone  and  to  continue  prohibiting  such  imports  from  Cambodia  and  Equatorial 
Guinea. These measures will be lifted as soon as it is established that the countries in 
question have brought their fishing practices into line with ICCAT's measures. These 
measures  should  therefore  be  implemented  by  the  Community,  which  has  sole 
competence  in  this  matter.  However,  in  view  of  the  notification  periods  required  by 
ICCAT, the ban on imports from Georgia should not enter into force until 1 July 2004. 

(10)  For the sake of transparency, Regulation (EC) No 1036/2001 should be repealed and 

replaced by this Regulation. 

(11)  These  measures  are  compatible  with  the  Community's  obligations  under  other 

international agreements, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

For the purposes of this Regulation, “importation” means the customs procedures referred to 
in Article 4(15)(a), (15)(b) and (16)(a) to (16)(f) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92.2 

Article 1 

Article 2 

1. 

2. 

3. 

The  importation  into  the  Community  of  Atlantic  bigeye  tuna  (Thunnus  obesus) 
originating  in  Bolivia,  Cambodia,  Equatorial  Guinea  and  Sierra  Leone  and  falling 
within CN codes ex 0301 99 90, 0302 34 00, 0303 44 00, ex 0304 10 38, ex 0304 10 
98, ex 0304 20 45, ex 0304 90 97, ex 0305 20 00, ex 0305 30 90, ex 0305 49 80, ex 
0305 59 80 and ex 0305 69 80 is prohibited. 

The  importation  of  any  processed  product  derived  from  the  Atlantic  bigeye  tuna 
referred to in paragraph 1 and falling within codes ex 1604 14 11, ex 1604 14 16 and 
ex 1604 14 18 and ex 1604 20 70 is prohibited. 

The  importation  into  the  Community  of  Atlantic  bigeye  tuna  (Thunnus  obesus) 
originating in Georgia and falling within CN codes ex 0301 99 90, 0302 34 00, 0303 
44 00, ex 0304 10 38, ex 0304 10 98, ex 0304 20 45, ex 0304 90 97, ex 0305 20 00, 
ex 0305 30 90, ex 0305 49 80, ex 0305 59 80 and ex 0305 69 80 is prohibited. 

2 

OJ L 302, 19.10.1992, p. 1. 

4 

 
 
  
 
                                                 
4. 

The  importation  of  any  processed  product  derived  from  the  Atlantic  bigeye  tuna 
referred to in paragraph 3 and falling within codes ex 1604 14 11, ex 1604 14 16 and 
ex 1604 14 18 and ex 1604 20 70 is prohibited. 

Article 3 

This  Regulation  shall  not  apply  to  quantities  of  the  products  referred  to  in  Article  2  and 
originating in Bolivia, Georgia and Sierra Leone which can be shown to the satisfaction of the 
competent national authorities to have been under way to Community territory on the date of 
its entry into force and which are released for free circulation no later than 14 days after that 
date. 

Regulation (EC) No 1036/2001 is repealed. 

Article 4 

Article 5 

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

Article 2(3) and (4) shall apply from 1 July 2004. 

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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