Proposal for a Council Regulation prohibiting imports of Atlantic swordfish (Xiphias gladius) originating in Sierra Leone and repealing Regulation (EC) No 2093/2000
Date: 2004-02-20
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Atlantic Ocean, Sierra Leone, import policy, import restriction, originating product, sea fish

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 20.2.2004 
COM(2004) 123 final 

2004/0044 (ACC) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

prohibiting imports of Atlantic swordfish (Xiphias gladius) originating in Sierra Leone 
and repealing Regulation (EC) No 2093/2000 

(presented by the Commission) 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
 
  
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) is responsible 
for  the  conservation  and  management  of  tuna  stocks  in  the  Atlantic  Ocean  and  its  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 trade sanctions 
are transposed into Community law. 

On 28 September 2000 the Council adopted Regulation (EC) No 2093/2000 transposing into 
Community  law  the  ICCAT  recommendation  on  the  prohibition  of  imports  of  Atlantic 
in  Belize  and  Honduras.  ICCAT  has  since  adopted  further 
swordfish  originating 
recommendations concerning the importation of Atlantic swordfish from both these and other 
countries.  Community  law  should  therefore  be  adapted  to  take  account  of  the  latest 
recommendations, which are set out below. 

At  its  November  2001  general  meeting  ICCAT  adopted  a  recommendation  lifting,  as  of 
21 September 2002, the prohibition on imports by contracting parties of Atlantic swordfish in 
any form from Honduras following the country’s decision to cooperate with ICCAT and join 
the organisation. 

At  its  extraordinary  meeting  in  November  2002  ICCAT  adopted  a  recommendation 
prohibiting, as of 3 June 2003, the import by its contracting parties of Atlantic swordfish in 
any  form  from  Sierra  Leone.  This  recommendation  is  based  on  the  1998  resolution 
concerning  unregulated  and  unreported  tuna  catches  by  large-scale  longline  vessels  in  the 
ICCAT Convention area. 

At its November 2003 meeting ICCAT recommended the lifting, as of 1 January 2004, of the 
prohibition  on  the  import  by  its  contracting  parties  of  Atlantic  swordfish  in  any  form  from 
Belize.  

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  2093/2000,  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  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 2093/2000 be repealed and replaced by the proposed Regulation. 

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2004/0044 (ACC) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

prohibiting imports of Atlantic swordfish (Xiphias gladius) originating in Sierra Leone 
and repealing Regulation (EC) No 2093/2000 

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  1995  the  International  Commission  for  the  Conservation  of  Atlantic  Tunas 
(ICCAT), to which the European Community is a contracting party, adopted, to ensure 
the effective conservation of the species, an action plan to ensure the effectiveness of 
the conservation programme for Atlantic swordfish. 

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

In  1998  ICCAT  identified  Belize  and  Honduras,  and  in  2002  Sierra  Leone,  as 
countries  whose  vessels  fish  Atlantic  swordfish  in  a  manner  which  diminishes  the 
effectiveness of the organisation's swordfish conservation measures, substantiating its 
findings with data concerning catches, trade and the activities of vessels. 

Imports  of  Atlantic  swordfish  originating  in  Belize  and  Honduras  are  currently 
prohibited by Regulation (EC) No 2093/2000.1 

ICCAT  has  taken  note  of  the  strengthening  of  cooperation  with  Honduras  for  the 
conservation  of  Atlantic  swordfish.  At  its  2001  annual  meeting  it  recommended  the 
lifting of the prohibition of imports of Atlantic swordfish in any form imposed by the 
contracting parties on Honduras. 

(7) 

ICCAT  has  taken  note  of  the  strengthening  of  cooperation  with  Belize  for  the 
conservation  of  Atlantic  swordfish.  At  its  2003  annual  meeting  it  lifted,  as  of 

1  

OJ L 249, 4.10.2000, p. 3. 

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(8) 

(9) 

1 January 2004, the prohibition of imports of Atlantic swordfish in any form imposed 
by the contracting parties on Belize. 

ICCAT's  attempts  to  encourage  Sierra  Leone  to  comply  with  measures  for  the 
conservation and management of Atlantic swordfish have been to no avail. 

ICCAT  has  recommended  its  contracting  parties  to  take  appropriate  steps  to  ban 
imports  of  these  products  in  any  form  from  Sierra  Leone.  These  measures  will  be 
lifted  as  soon  as  it  is  established  that  the  country  in  question  has  brought  its  fishing 
practices  into  line  with  ICCAT's  measures.  These  measures  should  therefore  be 
implemented by the Community, which has sole competence in the matter. 

(10)  For the sake of transparency, Regulation (EC) No 2093/2000 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. 

The  importation  into  the  Community  of  Atlantic  swordfish  (Xiphias  gladius) 
originating in Sierra Leone and falling within CN codes ex 0301 99 90, 0302 69 87, 
0303 79 87, ex 0304 10 38, ex 0304 10 98, 0304 20 87, 0304 90 65, 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  swordfish 
referred to in paragraph 1 and falling within codes ex 1604 19 91, ex 1604 19 98 and 
ex 1604 20 90 is prohibited. 

Article 3 

This  Regulation  shall  not  apply  to  quantities  of  the  products  referred  to  in  Article  2  and 
originating in 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 2093/2000 is repealed. 

Article 4 

2 

OJ L 302, 19.10.1992, p. 1. 

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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. 

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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