Commission staff working document - Impact Assessment regarding the Commission's proposal for a Council Regulation concerning the conservation of fisheries resources through technical measures in the Atlantic and the North Sea Lead - DG: DG FISH - Agenda planning: 2006/FISH/004 - Summary of the impact assessment on the proposal for a Council Regulation concerning the conservation of fisheries resources through technical measures {COM(2008) 324} {SEC(2008) 1978}
Date: 2008-06-04
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: common fisheries policy, conservation of fish stocks, fishery resources, fishing area, fishing net, fishing regulations, protection of animal life

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 4.6.2008 
SEC(2008) 1977 

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 

Impact Assessment regarding the Commission's proposal for a Council Regulation 
concerning the conservation of fisheries resources through technical measures in the 
Atlantic and the North Sea 

Lead DG: DG FISH 

Agenda planning: 2006/FISH/004 

SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT 

on the proposal for a Council Regulation concerning the conservation of fisheries 
resources through technical measures 

{COM(2008) 324} 
{SEC(2008) 1978} 

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SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT 

on the proposal for a Council Regulation concerning the conservation of fisheries 
resources through technical measures 

The  Impact  Assessment  regards  a  draft  proposal  for  the  Regulation  concerning  the 
conservation of fisheries resources through technical measures in the Atlantic and the North 
Sea. 

The proposal for a new regulation on technical conservation measures in the Atlantic and the 
North Sea was identified in the Commission Action Plan 2006-2008 on simplification of the 
Common Fisheries Policy (CFP)1 legislation as a fundamental test case of simplification. The 
proposal is also part of the Commission's Rolling Simplification Programme. 

Recognising that the technical measures legislation for the Atlantic and the North Sea grew 
too  complex  and  difficult  to  interpret,  control  and  enforce,  the  Council  invited  the 
Commission  to  submit  a  simplified  proposal.  In  its  conclusions  on  promoting  more 
environmentally-friendly  fishing  methods,  the  Council  also  recommended  a  localised 
approach where measures are adapted to regional conditions, when appropriate. 

Simplification  is  therefore  a  key  objective  of  the  new  proposed  regulation.  The  specific 
operational aims are as follows: 

•  to  incorporate  all  revised  conditions  and  amendments  in  a  comprehensive  and 

easy to understand, control and enforce package of technical measures; 

•  to  establish  a  balance  between  measures  which  are  generally  applicable  in  all 
areas  and  measures  which  are  applicable  specifically  on  a  regional  basis  as 
defined by the Regional Advisory Council (RAC) Areas. 

The  scope  of  the  proposal  is  relatively  small  as  it  does  not  change  the  substance  of  related 
legislation but only the legislative approach and therefore the likely environmental, social and 
economic impacts are modest. This is a proportionate impact assessment, for which no inter-
service  steering  group  was  set  up.  Scientific  and  Stakeholder  Committees  have  been 
consulted. 

Details of consultation processes, options and impacts are provided.  

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