Proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 40/2008, as regards management measures adopted in the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission and in the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation
Date: 2008-09-29
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, EU waters, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean, authorised catch, fishery management, fishing area, fishing regulations

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 29.9.2008 
COM(2008) 585 final 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

amending Regulation (EC) No 40/2008, as regards management measures adopted in the 
Indian Ocean Tuna Commission and in the South Pacific Regional Fisheries 
Management Organisation 

(presented by the Commission) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

Council Regulation (EC) No 40/2008 fixes for 2008 the fishing opportunities and associated 
conditions for certain fish stocks and groups of stocks applicable in Community waters and 
for Community vessels, in waters where limitations in catch are required1. 

At  its  Annual  Meetings  in  2006  and  2007,  the  Indian  Ocean  Tuna  Commission  (IOTC) 
adopted a number of management and control measures, concerning the limitation of fishing 
capacity of vessels fishing for tropical tunas and for swordfish and albacore, which have been 
implemented in Community law by Regulation (EC) No 40/2008. 

To ensure a sustainable exploitation of the highly migratory species in the Indian Ocean and 
taking into account the historical fishing patterns and the active presence of EC fleet fishing 
for highly migratory species in the IOTC zone during the reference years 2006 and 2007, the 
number of Community vessels fishing for tropical tuna and swordfish and albacore, and the 
corresponding  capacity  in  Gross  Tonnage  and  its  allocation  among  the  concerned  Member 
States, should be established.  

During  the  Third  International  Meeting  for  the  creation  of  a  new  South  Pacific  Regional 
Fisheries  Management  Organisation  (SPFO)  in  2007,  the  participants  adopted  interim 
measures in order to regulate pelagic and bottom fishing activities in the South Pacific, which 
were implemented in Community law by Regulation (EC) No 40/2008.  

In  accordance  with  the  interim  measures  adopted  in  the  SPFO  in  2007,  the  Community 
presence in the SPFO area in 2008, in terms of active vessels and the corresponding capacity 
in  GT,  should  be  limited  to  the  presence  recorded  in  2007  and  the  maximum  number  of 
Community vessels should be allocated among the concerned Member States. 

The present proposal intends to introduce the necessary amendments to Regulation (EC) No 
40/2008.  

The  Council  is  requested  to  adopt  this  proposal  as  soon  as  possible  in  order  to  allow 
fishermen to plan their activities for this fishing season. 

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OJ L 19, 23.1.2008, p. 1 

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Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

amending Regulation (EC) No 40/2008, as regards management measures adopted in the 
Indian Ocean Tuna Commission and in the South Pacific Regional Fisheries 
Management Organisation 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

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 exploitation of fisheries resources under the Common Fisheries 
Policy2, and in particular Article 20 thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission3, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  40/20084  fixes  for  2008  the  fishing  opportunities  and 
associated  conditions  for  certain  fish  stocks  and  groups  of  fish  stocks,  applicable  in 
Community waters and, for Community vessels, in waters where catch limitations are 
required. 

At its Annual Meetings in 2006 and 2007, the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) 
adopted a number of management and control measures, concerning the limitation of 
fishing  capacity  of  vessels  fishing  for  tropical  tunas  and  for  swordfish  and  albacore, 
which have been implemented in Community law by Regulation (EC) No 40/2008. 

To  ensure  a  sustainable  exploitation  of  the  highly  migratory  species  in  the  Indian 
Ocean and taking into account the historical fishing patterns and the active presence of 
the  EC  fleet  fishing  for  highly  migratory  species  in  the  IOTC  Area  during  the 
reference years 2006 and 2007, the number of Community vessels fishing for tropical 
tuna and swordfish and albacore and the corresponding capacity in Gross Tonnage and 
its allocation among the concerned Member States should be established.  

(4) 

During  the  Third  International  Meeting  for  the  creation  of  a  new  South  Pacific 
Regional  Fisheries  Management  Organisation  (SPFO)  in  2007,  the  participants 
adopted interim measures in order to regulate pelagic and bottom fishing activities in 

2 

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4 

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). 
OJ C, p. 
OJ L 19, 23.1.2008, p.1. 

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the South Pacific, which were implemented in Community law by Regulation (EC) No 
40/2008.  

(5) 

In accordance with the interim measures adopted in the SPFO in 2007, the Community 
presence in the SPFO area in 2008, in terms of active vessels and the corresponding 
capacity in GT, should be limited to the presence recorded in 2007 and the maximum 
number  of  Community  vessels  should  be  allocated  among  the  concerned  Member 
States. 

(6) 

Regulation (EC) No 40/2008 should therefore be amended accordingly, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Article 1 

Amendments to Regulation (EC) No 40/2008 

Regulation (EC) No 40/2008 is amended as follows: 

(1) 

Article 72 is replaced by the following: 

"Article 72 

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Limitation of fishing capacity of vessels fishing for tropical tunas 

1. 

The maximum number of Community vessels fishing for tropical tunas in the 
IOTC Area, and the corresponding capacity in GT, shall be as follows: 

Member State 

Maximum number of vessels 

Capacity (GT) 

Spain 

France 

Italy 

22 

18 

1 

61 400 

33 300 

2137 

2.  Notwithstanding  paragraph  1,  Member  States  may  change  the  number  of 
vessels,  by  gear  type,  provided  that  they  can  demonstrate  to  the  Commission 
that  the  change  in  the  number  of  vessels,  by  gear  type,  does  not  lead  to  an 
increase of fishing effort on the fish stocks involved. 

3.  Member States shall ensure that, where there is a proposed transfer of capacity 
to their fleet, vessels to be transferred are on the IOTC Record of Vessels or on 
the  Record  of  vessels  of  other  Tuna  Regional  Fisheries  Organisations.  No 
vessels  on  an  IUU  vessels  list  of  any  Regional  Fisheries  Management 
Organisation may be transferred." 

(2) 

Article 73 is replaced by the following: 

"Article 73 

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Limitation of fishing capacity of vessels fishing for swordfish or albacore 

1. 

The  maximum  number  of  Community  vessels  fishing  for  swordfish  and 
albacore in the IOTC Area, and the corresponding capacity in GT, shall be as 
follows: 

Member State 

Maximum number of 
vessels 

Capacity (GT) 

Spain 

France 

Portugal 

United Kingdom 

27 

25 

26 

4 

11 600 

1940 

10 100 

1 400 

2.  Notwithstanding paragraph 1, Member States may change the number of their 
vessels,  by  gear  type,  provided  that  they  can  demonstrate  to  the  Commission 
that  the  change  in  the  number  of  vessels,  by  gear  type,  does  not  lead  to  an 
increase of fishing effort on the fish stocks involved. 

3.  Member States shall ensure that, where there is a proposed transfer of capacity 
to their fleet, vessels to be transferred are on the IOTC Record of Vessels or on 
the  Record  of  vessels  of  other  Tuna  Regional  Fisheries  Organisations.  No 
vessels  on  an  IUU  vessels  list  of  any  Regional  Fisheries  Management 
Organisation may be transferred." 

(3) 

Article 74 is replaced by the following: 

"Article 74 

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Pelagic fisheries – Capacity limitations 

1. 

The  maximum  number  of  Community  vessels  fishing  for  pelagic  stocks  in 
2008  shall  not  exceed  8  vessels  and  the  corresponding  capacity  shall  not 
exceed 63 000 GT of the total level of GT.  

The  maximum  number  of  Community  vessels  is  allocated  among  Member 
States as follows: 

Member State 

Maximum number of vessels 

Germany 

Latvia 

Lithuania 

The Netherlands 

Poland 

1 

1 

2 

2 

2 

2.  Member States shall submit for review to the Interim Science Working Group 
of the SPFO any stock assessments and research in respect of pelagic stocks in 
the  SPFO  area  and  shall  promote  the  active  participation  of  their  scientific 
experts in Organisation's scientific works on pelagic species. 

3.  Member  States  shall  ensure  as  much  as  possible  an  appropriate  level  of 
observer  coverage  on  fishing  vessels  flying  their  flag  in  order  to  observe  the 
pelagic  fisheries 
the  South  Pacific  and  collect  relevant  scientific 
information." 

in 

Article 2 
Entry into force 

This Regulation shall enter into force on the third 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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