2008/323/EC: Commission Decision of 1 April 2008 establishing a specific control and inspection programme related to the recovery of bluefin tuna in the Eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean (notified under document number C(2008) 1202)
Date: 2008-04-01
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, common fisheries policy, conservation of fish stocks, fishing controls, fishing regulations, sea fish

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(Acts adopted under the EC Treaty/Euratom Treaty whose publication is not obligatory)

II

DECISIONS

COMMISSION

COMMISSION DECISION

of 1 April 2008

establishing a specific control and inspection programme related to the recovery of bluefin tuna in
the Eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean

(notified under document number C(2008) 1202)

(2008/323/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

(3)

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 of
12 October 1993 establishing a control system applicable to
the common fisheries policy (1), and in particular Article 34c(1)
thereof,

(4)

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

Council Regulation (EC) No 1559/2007 (2) establishes a
multi-annual recovery plan for bluefin tuna in the Eastern
Atlantic and the Mediterranean as recommended by the
International Commission for the Conservation of the
Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT).

programme
Italy, Malta, Cyprus

To ensure the success of the multi-annual recovery plan,
is necessary to establish a specific control and
it
inspection
Portugal,
Spain,
and Greece, with the
objective of guaranteeing an appropriate level of imple-
the conservation and control measures
mentation of
in relation to the
applicable
recovery of bluefin tuna stocks.

to fishing activities

involving

France,

That specific control and inspection programme should
be set up for the period from 1 April to 31 December
2008. The results obtained by the application of the
specific control and inspection programme should be
periodically evaluated in cooperation with the Member
States concerned.

In order to harmonise the control and inspection of the
bluefin tuna fishery at Community level, it is appropriate
to draw up common rules for the control and inspection
activities to be carried out by the competent authorities
of the Member States concerned, and that Member States
adopt national control programmes in order to match
such common rules. To that end, benchmarks for the
intensity of control and inspection activities should be
fixed, as well as control and inspection priorities and
procedures.

(5)

To ensure the follow-up of infringements in accordance
with Article 25 of Council Regulation (EC) No
2371/2002 of 20 December 2002 on the conservation
and sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources under
the Common Fisheries Policy (3), a framework should be
set up under which all the authorities concerned may
request mutual assistance and exchange relevant infor-
mation in accordance with Articles 34a and 34b of
Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 and Article 28 of Regu-
lation (EC) No 2371/2002.

(1) OJ L 261, 20.10.1993, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 1098/2007 (OJ L 248, 22.9.2007, p. 1).

(2) OJ L 340, 22.12.2007, p. 8.

(3) OJ L 358, 31.12.2002, p. 59. Regulation as amended by Regulation

(EC) No 865/2007 (OJ L 192, 24.7.2007, p. 1).

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(6)

(7)

(8)

inspection and surveillance activities should be
Joint
carried out in accordance with joint deployment plans
established by the Community Fisheries Control Agency
set up by Council Regulation (EC) No 768/2005 (1).

(g) the implementation of the ICCAT Scheme of Joint Interna-
tional Inspection as referred to in Article 24 of Regulation
(EC) No 1559/2007.

The measures provided for in this Decision have been
established in concert with the Member States concerned.

The specific control and inspection programme shall apply

2.
from 1 April to 31 December 2008.

The measures provided for
accordance with the opinion of
Fisheries and Aquaculture,

in this Decision are in
the Committee for

Article 3

National control programmes

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

Subject-matter

This Decision establishes a specific control and inspection
programme in order to ensure the harmonised implementation
of the multi-annual recovery plan set up by Regulation (EC) No
1559/2007 for bluefin tuna in the Eastern Atlantic and the
Mediterranean.

Article 2

Scope

The specific control and inspection programme shall

1.
cover:

(a) all fishing activities by vessels and traps catching bluefin

tuna in the Eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean;

(b) all

landings, transfers and transhipments of bluefin tuna

caught in the Eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean;

France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Malta, Cyprus, Greece shall
1.
establish national control programmes, in accordance with the
common rules set out in Annex I, as regards the activities listed
in Article 2.

2.
The Member States referred to in paragraph 1 shall submit
to the Commission by 1 April 2008 their national control
programme and the annual implementation schedule.

3.
National control programmes shall contain all the data
listed in Annex II. The annual implementation schedules shall
include details as regards the human and material resources
allocated and the zones where those resources are to be
deployed.

Article 4

Cooperation between Member States

All Member States shall cooperate with the Member States
referred to in Article 3(1)
the
for
specific control and inspection programme.

the implementation of

Article 5

Commission inspections

(c) all related activities of

farms and enterprises engaged in
caging or processing of bluefin tuna and/or in trade of
bluefin tuna products,
including importation, exportation
and re-exportation, transport and storage;

Inspections may be carried out by Commission inspectors
1.
without
the Member States
inspectors of
concerned, in accordance with Article 27 of Council Regulation
(EC) No 2371/2002.

the assistance of

(d) the implementation of the annual fishing plans referred to

in Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1559/2007;

(e)

the prohibition to use spotting aircrafts and helicopters
established in Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 1559/2007;

2.
The competent authority of the Member State concerned
shall provide the Commission inspectors with the assistance
necessary
in
paragraph 1.

inspections provided

to conduct

the

for

(f)

the sport and recreational fisheries as referred to in Articles
10 and 11 of Regulation (EC) No 1559/2007;

(1) OJ L 128, 21.5.2005, p. 1.

3.
The Commission inspectors shall verify their findings with
the inspectors of the Member State concerned. To that end, they
shall meet after each of their inspection visits with officials of
the competent authority of the Member State concerned in
order to brief them as to their findings.

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Article 6

Joint inspection and surveillance activities

Article 8

Information

The Member States

1.
undertake joint inspection and surveillance activities.

referred to in Article 3(1)

shall

The Member States

1.
shall
communicate to the Commission by the end of every month
the following information concerning that month:

referred to in Article 3(1)

2.

For that purpose, the Member States concerned shall:

(a)

the inspection and control activities carried out;

(a) ensure that inspectors from other Member States concerned
are invited to participate in joint inspection and surveillance
activities;

(b) all infringements, including for each infringement the iden-

tification of:

(b) establish joint operational procedures applicable to their

surveillance crafts.

(i)

the fishing vessel (name, flag and external identification
code), the trap, the farm or the enterprise engaged in
the processing and/or trade of bluefin tuna products
concerned;

Commission inspectors may participate in joint inspection

3.
and surveillance activities.

(ii)

the date, time and location of the inspection; and

Article 7

Infringements

(iii) the nature of the infringement;

1. Member States whose inspectors discover any infrin-
gement while carrying out an inspection of the activities listed
in Article 2, shall
inform the following States of the date of
inspection and the details of the infringement:

(c)

the current state of play concerning the follow-up of infrin-
gements detected;

(a)

the relevant flag Member State and/or ICCAT Contracting
Party and, where appropriate;

(d) any relevant coordination and cooperation actions between

Member States.

(b) the Member State where the farming installation or the
trade of

enterprise engaged in the processing and/or
bluefin tuna products are established.

An infringement shall continue to be listed on each
2.
the action is concluded under the
subsequent report until
laws of the Member State concerned. Each subsequent report
shall:

2. Where the Member State whose inspectors discovered the
infringement does not take further action, the Member States
informed under paragraph 1 shall take prompt action as appro-
priate to receive and consider the evidence of the infringement.
They shall conduct any further investigation as necessary for the
follow-up of the infringement.

if prose-
3. Member States shall cooperate to ensure that,
cution of an infringement is transferred to the Member State
of registration in accordance with Article 31(4) of Regulation
(EEC) No 2847/93, the security and continuity of any evidence
of the infringement cited by its inspectors is guaranteed in each
case.

(a)

indicate the current status of the case (e.g. case pending,
under appeal, still under investigation); and

(b) describe in specific terms any penalties imposed (e.g. level of
fines, value of forfeited fish and/or gear, written warning
given).

Reports shall include an explanation if no action has been

3.
taken.

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Article 9

Evaluation

The Commission shall convene every two months a meeting of the Committee for Fisheries and Aqua-
culture to evaluate the compliance with and results of the specific control and inspection programme.

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Article 10

Addresses

Done at Brussels, 1 April 2008.

For the Commission

Joe BORG
Member of the Commission

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ANNEX I

Common rules for national control programmes, as referred to in Article 3(1)

1.

The general objective of the national control programmes shall be the verification of compliance with applicable
legislation concerning:

Objectives

(a) quantitative restrictions on catches and any specific conditions associated therewith, including the monitoring of

quota uptake;

(b) annual fishing plans referred to in Council Regulation (EC) No 1559/2007;

(c) all documents required by the legislation applicable to bluefin tuna, in particular verifying the reliability of the

information recorded;

(d) specific technical measures and conditions for fishing for bluefin tuna as provided for in Council Regulation (EC)

No 1559/2007, specifically the application of minimum size rules and associated conditions.

2.

The specific objective of the national control programmes shall be to achieve the harmonised implementation of the
full provisions of the bluefin tuna recovery plan, established by Regulation (EC) No 1559/2007.

The national control programme shall concentrate on control and inspection of fishing and all related activities by
any fishing vessel, trap, farm and enterprise engaged in the processing and/or trade of bluefin tuna products.

Strategy

Inspections of transport and marketing of bluefin tuna shall be used as a complementary cross-checking mechanism
to test the efficiency of the control and inspection.

1.1. Priorities

Different gear categories shall be subject to different levels of prioritisation, according to the annual fishing plan. For
that reason, each Member State shall set specific priorities.

1.2. Target benchmarks

By 1 April 2008, Member States shall set up their inspection schedules taking into account the following inspection
and control benchmark:

Place of inspection

Inspection at sea

Benchmark

Flexible benchmark, to be set after a detailed analysis of the fishing activity in each
area. Benchmarks at sea shall refer the number of patrol days at sea in the bluefin tuna
recovery zone, with possibly a separate benchmark for days patrolling specific areas.

Landings

All vessels entering a designated port for the purpose of landing bluefin tuna shall be
controlled.

Transhipments

Caging activities
(including harvest)

Random checks shall be done in non designated ports.

All receiving and catching vessels entering a designated port for the purpose of tran-
shipment operations involving bluefin tuna shall be controlled.
Random checks shall be done in non designated ports.

Each caging operation and harvesting process shall be controlled.

Marketing

Control of 10 % of the quantities of bluefin tuna products offered for sale.

Aerial surveillance

Flexible benchmark, to be set after a detailed analysis of the fishing activity conducted
in each area and taking into consideration the available resources at the Member State’s
disposal.

Sport and Recreational
Fisheries

Control of 20 % of the national allocated quota.

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1.3. General inspection tasks

Inspection tasks

An inspection report shall be drawn up for each control and inspection, with the information appended to this
Annex. Inspectors shall in any case verify and note in their report the following information:

(a)

the details of the identity of the responsible persons, as well as those of the vessel, farm personnel etc. involved
in the activities inspected;

(b) the authorisations, licences and special fishing permits;

(c) relevant vessel documentation such as the logbooks, transfer and transhipment declarations, T2Ms, ICCAT
Statistical and Catch documents, and other documentation examined for the purpose of the control and
inspection;

(d) detailed observation of the sizes of bluefin tuna caught, trapped, transferred, transhipped, landed, transported,

farmed, processed or traded in the context of compliance with the provisions of the recovery plan.

The information referred to all relevant findings from the inspection done at sea, by aerial surveillance, in ports,
traps, farms or in any other enterprise concerned shall be noted in the inspection reports.

Those findings shall be compared with the information made available to the inspectors by other competent
authorities, including Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) information and lists of authorised vessels.

1.4.

Inspection tasks for aerial surveillance

Inspectors shall report on surveillance data for cross-checking purposes, and in particular verify sightings of fishing
vessels against VMS and authorised lists.

Inspectors shall sight and report on IUU fishing activities, and on the use of spotting aircrafts or helicopters.

Particular attention shall be devoted to closure areas, and to the activities of fleets for which derogations apply.

1.5.

Inspection tasks at sea

Where dead fish are taken onboard the catching vessel or are present aboard a processing or a transport vessel,
inspectors shall always verify the quantities of fish retained on board and compare them with the quantities recorded
in the relevant documentation on board.

Where live fish are being transferred from catching vessels to transport tugs or from transport tugs into farming
installations, inspectors should seek to identify the means used by the parties involved to estimate the quantities of
live bluefin tuna transferred. Where video footage is available,
inspectors should gain access to, and verify the
quantities transferred, as observed by the video footage.

Inspectors shall systematically verify:

— that the fishing vessels are authorised to operate (register of authorised fishing vessels, closed fishing seasons,

transhipment at sea),

— that the fishing vessels are equipped with an operational Vessel Monitoring System (VMS),

— for catching vessels, that the relevant information is duly reported in the logbook,

— for the fishing vessels participating in the transfer, transport and processing of the bluefin tuna, that the relevant

documentation is on board is present and duly completed,

— in case of joint fishing operations, the presence of an observer during the fishing operation,

— the physical quantities of bluefin tuna on board, and their presentation,

— the size composition of catches of bluefin tuna on board (by-catch and minimum size rules),

— the fishing gear on board.

Inspectors shall sight and report on IUU fishing activities, and on the use of spotting aircrafts or helicopters.

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1.6.

Inspection tasks at landing

Inspectors shall systematically verify:

— that the fishing vessels are authorised to operate (register of authorised fishing vessels, closed fishing seasons),

— that the pre-notification of arrival for landing was sent and contained the correct information concerning the

catch on board,

— that the fishing vessels are equipped with an operational vessel monitoring system (VMS),

— for catching vessels, that the relevant information is duly reported in the logbook,

— for the fishing vessels participating in the transport and processing of the bluefin tuna, that the relevant
documentation is on board is present and duly completed, including the relevant T2Ms and ICCAT Statistical
and Catch documents,

— the physical quantities of bluefin tuna on board, and presentation,

— the size composition of catches of bluefin tuna on board (by-catch and minimum size rules),

— the fishing gear on board,

— in the case of landing of processed products, the use of the ICCAT conversion factors to calculate the equivalent

round weight of the processed bluefin tuna,

— that the bluefin tuna offered for retail sale to the final consumer, from fishing vessels in the Eastern Atlantic, is

correctly marked or labelled,

— that the bluefin tuna landed by the bait boats in the Eastern Atlantic is correctly tail tagged.

1.7.

Inspection tasks during transhipment

Inspectors shall systematically verify:

— that the fishing vessels are authorised to operate (registers of authorised fishing vessels),

— for transhipments in port, that the pre-notification of arrival

in port was sent and contained the correct

information concerning the transhipment,

— that catching vessels wishing to tranship have received prior authorisation from their flag State,

— that the quantities pre-notified to be transhipped are verified,

— that the relevant documentation is on board is present and duly completed,
declaration, the relevant T2Ms and ICCAT Statistical and Catch documents,

including the transhipment

— in the case of processed products, the use of the ICCAT conversion factors to calculate the equivalent round

weight of the processed bluefin tuna,

— for transhipments at sea, the presence of an observer during the transhipment operation.

1.8.

Inspection tasks on farm installations

Inspectors shall systematically verify:

— that the relevant documentation is present and duly completed (caging and harvest declarations),

— that an observer is present during all transfer and harvesting of bluefin tuna, and has validated the caging

declarations.

1.9.

Inspection tasks concerning transports and marketing

Inspectors shall systematically verify:

— as regards transport, in particular the relevant accompanying documents and check them against the physical

quantities transported,

— as regards marketing, that the relevant documentation is present and duly completed, including the relevant

T2Ms and ICCAT Statistical and Catch documents.

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ANNEX II

Contents of national control programmes as referred to in Article 3(2)

National control programmes shall, inter alia, specify:

Means of control
— Human means

The numbers of shore-based and seagoing inspectors and the periods and zones where these are available to be
deployed.
— Technical means

The numbers of patrol vessels and aircraft and the periods and zones where these are available to be deployed.

— Financial means

The budgetary allocation for deployment of human resources, patrol vessels and aircraft.

Designation of ports

The list of the designated ports required under Council Regulation (EC) No 1559/2007, and any subsequent legislation
related to the Recovery Plan.

Annual fishing plans

The details of any system in place for allocation of quotas, monitoring and control of the fishing plan.

Inspection protocols

Detailed protocols for all inspection activities.

Guidelines

Explanatory guidelines for inspectors, producers’ organisations and fishermen.

Communication protocols

Protocols for communication with the competent authorities designated by other Member States as being responsible
for the specific control and inspection programme for bluefin tuna.