Proposal for a Council Regulation fixing the fishing opportunities and the conditions relating thereto for certain fish stocks applicable in the Black Sea for 2009
Date: 2008-10-01
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Black Sea, authorised catch, fishery management, fishery resources, fishing regulations, fishing rights

EN 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 1.10.2008 
COM(2008)613 final 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

fixing the fishing opportunities and the conditions relating thereto for certain fish stocks 
applicable in the Black Sea for 2009 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
 
  
 
 
Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

fixing the fishing opportunities and the conditions relating thereto for certain fish stocks 
applicable in the Black Sea for 2009 

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 
Policy1, and in particular Article 20 thereof, 

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 847/1996 of 6 May 1996 introducing additional 
conditions  for  year-to-year  management  of  TAC's  and  quotas2,  and  in  particular  Article  2 
thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 

Whereas: 

(1) 
Article  4  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  2371/2002  requires  the  Council  to  adopt  the 
necessary  measures  governing  access  to  areas  and  resources  and  the  sustainable  pursuit  of 
fishing  activities  taking  account  of  available  scientific  advice  and,  in  particular,  the  report 
prepared by the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries. 

(2) 
Under  Article  20  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  2371/2002,  the  Council  establishes  the 
fishing opportunities by fishery or group of fisheries and the allocation of those opportunities 
to Member States. 

In  order  to  ensure  effective  management  of  the  fishing  opportunities,  the  specific 

(3) 
conditions under which fishing operations are carried out should be established. 

Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 lays down definitions of relevance for the 

(4) 
allocation of fishing opportunities. 

In  accordance  with  Article  2  of  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  847/96,  the  stocks  that 

(5) 
are subject to the various measures provided for therein must be identified. 

In  order  to  contribute  to  the  conservation  of  fish  stocks,  certain  supplementary 

(6) 
measures relating to the technical conditions of fishing should be implemented in 2009. 

1 
2 

OJ L 358, 31.12.2002, p. 59. 
OJ L 115, 9.5.1996, p. 3. 

EN 

2 

   EN 

 
                                                 
(7) 
Fishing opportunities should be used in accordance with the Community legislation on 
the  subject,  in  particular  with  Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  2847/93  of  12  October  1993 
establishing  a  control  system  applicable  to  the  common  fisheries  policy3  and  Council 
Regulation  (EC)  No.  850/98  of  30  March  1998  for  the  conservation  of  fishery  resources 
through technical measures for the protection of juveniles of marine organisms4. 

(8) 
Bearing  in  mind  that  in  one  Member  State  before  the  entry  into  force  of  this 
Regulation, nets with a mesh size inferior to 400mm were traditionally used to catch turbot, 
and  in  order  to  allow  adequate  adaptation  to  the  technical  measures  introduced  in  this 
Regulation, vessels flying the flag of that Member State shall be permitted to fish for turbot 
using nets with a minimum mesh size of no less than 360mm. 

In order to ensure proper enforcement and control the mesh size should be measured in 
(9) 
accordance  with  Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No  517/2008  of  10  June  2008  laying  down 
detailed  rules  for  the  implementation  of  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  850/98  as  regards  the 
determination of the mesh size and assessing the thickness of twine of fishing nets5 

(10) 
In view of the urgency of the matter, it is imperative to grant an exception to the six-
week period referred to in paragraph I (3) of the Protocol on the role of national Parliaments 
in  the  European  Union,  annexed  to  the  Treaty  on  European  Union  and  to  the  Treaties 
establishing the European Communities, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

CHAPTER I 
Subject matter, scope and definitions 

Article 1 
Subject matter 

This  Regulation  fixes  fishing  opportunities  for  the  year  2009  for  certain  fish  stocks  in  the 
Black Sea and the associated conditions under which such fishing opportunities may be used. 

Article 2 
Scope 

1. 

2. 

This  Regulation  shall  apply  to  Community  fishing  vessels  (Community  vessels) 
operating in the Black Sea. 

By  way  of  derogation  from  paragraph  1,  this  Regulation  shall  not  apply  to  fishing 
operations  conducted  solely  for  the  purpose  of  scientific  investigations  which  are 
carried  out  with  the  permission  and  under  the  authority  of  the  Member  State 
concerned  and  of  which  the  Commission  and  the  Member  State  in  the  waters  of 
which the research is carried out have been informed in advance. 

3 
4 
5 

OJ L 261, 20.10.1993, p.1. 
OJ L 125, 27.4.1998, p. 1. 
OJ L 151, 11.6.2008, p. 5. 

EN 

3 

   EN 

 
                                                 
Article 3 
Definitions 

In addition to the definitions laid down in Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002, for the 
purposes of this Regulation the following definitions shall apply: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

"GFCM" shall mean General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean; 

“Black  Sea”  shall  mean  the  GFCM  geographical  sub-area  as  defined  in  resolution 
GFCM/31/2007/2; 

“total  allowable  catch  (TAC)”  shall  mean  the  quantity  that  can  be  taken  from  each 
stock each year; 

“quota” shall mean a proportion of the TAC allocated to the Community, a Member 
State or a third country. 

CHAPTER II 
Fishing opportunities and the conditions relating thereto 

Article 4 
Catch limits and allocations 

The  catch  limits,  the  allocation  of  such  limits  among  Member  States,  and  additional 
conditions applicable pursuant to Article 2 of Regulation (EC) 847/96 are set out in Annex I 
to this Regulation. 

Article 5 
Special provisions on allocations  

The  allocation  of  catch  limits  among  Member  States  as  set  out  in  Annex  I  shall  be  without 
prejudice to: 

(1) 

exchanges made pursuant to Article 20(5) of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002; 

(2) 

reallocations  made  pursuant  to  Articles  21(4),  23(1)  and  32(2)  of  Regulation 
(EEC) No 2847/93 and the second subparagraph of Article 23(4) of Regulation 
(EC) No 2371/2002; 

(3) 

additional landings allowed under Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96; 

(4)  deductions made pursuant to Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 and the 

first subparagraph of Article 23(4) of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002. 

EN 

4 

   EN 

 
Article 6 
Conditions for catches and by-catches 

1. 

2. 

Fish from stocks for which catch limits are fixed shall be retained on board or landed 
only if the catches have been taken by fishing vessels of a Member State with a quota 
and the quota has not been exhausted.  

All  landings shall count against the quota or, if the Community share has  not been 
allocated among Member States by quotas, against the Community share. 

Article 7 
Transitional technical measures 

The transitional technical measures shall be as set out in Annex II. 

CHAPTER III 
Final provisions 

Article 8 
Data transmission 

When Member States send data to the Commission relating to landings of quantities of stocks 
caught  pursuant  to  Article  15(1)  of  Regulation (EEC)  No 2847/93,  they  shall  use  the  stock 
codes set out in Annex I to this Regulation. 

Article 9 
Entry into force 

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

It shall apply from 1 January 2009. 

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. 

Done at Brussels,  

For the Council 
The President 

EN 

5 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
ANNEX I 

Catch limits and the conditions relating thereto for year-to-year management of catch limits 
applicable to Community vessels in areas where catch limits have been fixed  

The following tables set out the TAC's and quotas (in tonnes live weight, except where otherwise 
specified) by stock, the allocation to the Member States and associated conditions for year-to-year 
management of the quotas. 

Within each area, fish stocks are referred to following the alphabetical order of the Latin names of 
the species. For the purposes of these tables the codes used for the different species are as follows: 

Scientific name  

Alpha-3 code 

Common name  

Psetta maxima 

Sprattus sprattus 

TUR 

SPR 

Turbot 

Sprat 

Species: 

Bulgaria 

Romania 

EC 

TAC 

Species: 

Turbot 

Psetta maxima 

50 

50 

100  

Not relevant 

Sprat 

Sprattus sprattus 

EC 

TAC 

12750 (1) 

Not relevant 

Zone: 

Black Sea 

Precautionary TAC 
Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 does not apply. 
Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 does not apply. 
Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 applies. 

Zone: 

Black Sea 

Precautionary TAC 
Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 applies. 
Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 does not apply. 
Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 applies. 

(1) 

May only be fished by vessels flying the flag of Bulgaria or Romania. 

EN 

6 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ANNEX II 

TRANSITIONAL TECHNICAL MEASURES 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

No fishing activity for turbot shall be permitted from 15 April to 15 June in European 
Community waters of the Black Sea. 

The minimum legal mesh size for bottom-set nets used to catch turbot shall be 400 
mm. 

In a Member State where the minimum legal mesh size for bottom-set nets used to 
catch turbot was less than 400 mm before the entry into force of this Regulation, nets 
with  a  minimum  mesh  size  of  no  less  than  360  mm  may  be  used  to  catch  turbot. 
However, the concerned Member State shall ensure that by the end of 2009 no more 
than  40%  by  number  of  the  whole  fishing  vessels  authorized  to  fish  turbot  with 
bottom-set nets still use a mesh size smaller than 400 mm. 

The  mesh  size  shall  be  measured  in  accordance  with  Commission  Regulation  (EC) 
No 517/2008 of 10 June 2008 laying down, inter alia, detailed rules of relevance for 
the determination of the mesh size. 

The  minimum  landing  size  for  turbot  shall  be  45  cm  total  length,  measured  in 
accordance with Article 18 of Regulation (EC) No 850/98. 

EN 

7 

   EN