Council Regulation (EC) No 1342/2008 of 18 December 2008 establishing a long-term plan for cod stocks and the fisheries exploiting those stocks and repealing Regulation (EC) No 423/2004
Date: 2008-12-18
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: authorised catch, exploitation of resources, fishery management, fishing area, fishing controls, sea fish, sustainable development

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COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 1342/2008

of 18 December 2008

establishing a long-term plan for cod stocks and the fisheries exploiting those stocks and repealing
Regulation (EC) No 423/2004

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty
Community, and in particular Article 37 thereof,

establishing the European

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the Opinion of the European Parliament (1),

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

Council Regulation (EC) No 423/2004 of 26 February
2004 on establishing measures for the recovery of cod
stocks (2) intends to ensure the safe recovery of the cod
stocks in the Kattegat,
the North Sea including the
to the west of
Skagerrak and the eastern Channel,
Scotland and the Irish Sea, to the precautionary stock
sizes advised by scientists within a time-frame of five
to ten years.

catches

(TACs),

allowable
complementary

Recent scientific advice from the International Council
for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) has indicated that
the reductions in cod catches arising from the collective
technical
effect of
total
and
measures
effort management
measures,
including monitoring and control to prevent
the catching and landing of cod caught by illegal, unre­
ported and unregulated fishing, have been far
from
sufficient to reduce fishing mortalities to levels required
to allow the cod stocks to rebuild and none of the four
cod stocks covered by Regulation (EC) No 423/2004
show clear signs of recovery, although the stocks in
the North Sea are showing some signs of improvement.

It appears necessary to reinforce the regime and to
introduce
to achieve
long-term plan in order
sustainable exploitation of cod stocks on the basis of
maximum sustainable yield.

a

According to recent scientific submissions, in particular
on long-term trends of marine ecosystems, desirable
long-term levels of biomass cannot be determined with
accuracy. As a consequence, the objective of the long-
term plan should be changed from a biomass-based
target to a fishing mortality-based target, which should
also be applied to permitted levels of fishing effort.

(1) Opinion of 21 October 2008 (not yet published in the Official

Journal).

(2) OJ L 70, 9.3.2004, p. 8.

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

The North Sea cod stock is shared with Norway and is
jointly managed. The measures provided for in this Regu­
lation should take due account of consultations with
Norway pursuant
to the Agreement on fisheries
between the European Economic Community and the
Kingdom of Norway (3).

In the event that the Scientific, Technical and Economic
Committee for Fisheries (STECF) is not able to advise on
a TAC due to lack of sufficiently accurate and represen­
tative information, provisions should be established to
ensure that a TAC can be set in a consistent manner
even under poor data conditions.

and to contribute

In order to ensure the attainment of fishing mortality
to minimising discards,
targets,
fishing opportunities in terms of
fishing effort need
also to be fixed at levels which are consistent with the
multiannual strategy. Such fishing opportunities should,
as far as possible, be defined by types of fishing gear on
the basis of current fishing practices. It is appropriate to
provide for a periodical review of the effectiveness of the
management system and to ensure,
in particular, that
when cod stocks reach levels that allow for exploitation
rendering maximum sustainable yield,
the system of
regulating fishing effort is reviewed.

or

such

discard

cod-avoidance

New mechanisms should be introduced to encourage
fishermen to engage in cod-avoidance programmes.
reduction
Any
programmes are more likely to succeed if
they are
developed in cooperation with the fishing industry.
Accordingly, such programmes developed with Member
States
should be considered an effective means of
promoting sustainability and their development should
be
should
exercise their power to allocate access to fishing for
cod stocks so as to encourage their fishermen to fish
in ways that result in more selective fishing and are
less harmful to the environment.

encouraged. Moreover, Member

States

the level of

the
The establishment and allocation of catch limits,
the minimum and precautionary levels of
fixing of
stocks and of
fishing mortality rates, as
well as the maximum allowable fishing effort for each
effort group by Member State and the exclusion of
certain groups of vessels from the effort regime laid
down in this Regulation are measures of prime
importance in the common fisheries policy (CFP). It is
appropriate that the Council should reserve for itself the
right to exercise implementing powers directly in relation
to these specific matters.

(3) OJ L 226, 29.8.1980, p. 48.

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(10)

(11)

(12)

this Regulation,

the implementation of
The measures necessary for
certain provisions of
in particular,
those related to the adaptations of fishing effort limits
within the maximum allowable fishing effort established
by the Council should be adopted in accordance with
Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 on
laying down the procedures for the exercise of imple­
menting powers conferred on the Commission (1).

Control measures in addition to those laid down in
Council Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 of 12 October
1993 establishing a control system applicable to the
common fisheries policy (2) should be introduced to
ensure compliance with the measures laid down in this
Regulation.

the relevant

Rules should be established to qualify the long-term plan
introduced by this Regulation taking into account the
situation of
stocks as a recovery plan
within the meaning of Article 5 of Council Regulation
(EC) No 2371/2002 of 20 December 2002 on the
fisheries
conservation and sustainable exploitation of
resources under the common fisheries policy (3), and
for the purposes of Article 21(a)(i) of Council Regulation
(EC) No 1198/2006 of 27 July 2006 on the European
Fisheries Fund (4) or, in the alternative, as a management
plan within the meaning of Article 6 of Regulation (EC)
No 2371/2002, and for the purposes of Article 1(a)(iv)
of Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006.

(13)

Regulation (EC) No 423/2004 should be repealed and
replaced by this Regulation,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

CHAPTER I

SUBJECT MATTER AND DEFINITIONS

Article 1

Subject matter

This Regulation establishes a plan for four cod stocks corre­
sponding to the following geographical areas:

(a)

the Kattegat;

(b) the North Sea, the Skagerrak and the eastern Channel;

(c)

the west of Scotland;

(d) the Irish Sea.

(1) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.
(2) OJ L 261, 20.10.1993, p. 1.
(3) OJ L 358, 31.12.2002, p. 59.
(4) OJ L 223, 15.8.2006, p. 1.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation,
nitions
2371/2002, the following definitions shall apply:

in addition to the defi­
laid down in Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No

(a)

‘effort group’ means a management unit of a Member State
for which a maximum allowable fishing effort is set. It is
defined by a gear grouping and an area as set out in Annex
I;

(b) ‘aggregated effort group’ means the combination of all
same gear

effort groups having the

Member States’
grouping and area;

(c)

‘catch per unit effort’ means the quantity of cod caught and
fishing effort
expressed in live weight by one unit of
expressed in kW-days during one year;

(d) ‘appropriate age groups’ means ages 3, 4 and 5 for cod in
the Kattegat; ages 2, 3 and 4 for cod in the Irish Sea, in the
North Sea, Skagerrak and the eastern Channel; ages 2, 3, 4
and 5 for cod in the west of Scotland; or other age groups
as advised as appropriate by STECF.

Article 3

Geographical definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following geographical
definitions of geographical areas shall apply:

(a)

‘Kattegat’ means that part of Division IIIa, as delineated by
ICES, that is bounded on the north by a line drawn from
the Skagen lighthouse to the Tistlarna lighthouse and from
this point to the nearest point on the Swedish coast and on
the south by a line drawn from Hasenore to Gnibens Spids,
from Korshage to Spodsbjerg and from Gilbjerg Hoved to
Kullen;

(b) ‘North Sea’ means ICES Subarea IV and that part of ICES
Division IIIa not covered by the Skagerrak and Kattegat and
that part of ICES Division IIa which lies within waters under
the sovereignty or jurisdiction of Member States;

(c)

‘Skagerrak’ means that part of ICES Division IIIa bounded
on the west by a line drawn from the Hanstholm lighthouse
to the Lindesnes lighthouse and on the south by a line
drawn from the Skagen lighthouse
to the Tistlarna
lighthouse and from that point to the nearest point on
the Swedish coast;

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(d) ‘eastern Channel’ means ICES Division VIId;

(e)

‘Irish Sea’ means ICES Division VIIa;

(f)

‘west of Scotland’ means ICES Division VIa and that part of
ICES Division Vb which lies within waters under the sover­
eignty or jurisdiction of Member States.

Article 4

Calculation of fishing effort

For the purposes of this Regulation, the fishing effort deployed
by a group of vessels shall be calculated as the sum of the
products of capacity-values in kW for each vessel and the
number of days each vessel has been present within an area
set out in Annex I. A day present within an area shall be any
continuous period of 24 hours (or part thereof) during which a
vessel is present within the area and absent from port.

Article 5

Objective of the plan

The plan referred to in Article 1 shall ensure the
the cod stocks on the basis of

1.
sustainable exploitation of
maximum sustainable yield.

2.
The objective set out in paragraph 1 shall be attained
while maintaining the following fishing mortality on cod on
appropriate age groups:

Stock

Fishing mortality

Cod in the Kattegat

Cod to the west of Scotland

Cod in the Irish Sea

0,4

0,4

0,4

3.
For the cod stock in the North Sea, the Skagerrak and the
eastern Channel, the objective set out in paragraph 1 shall be
attained while maintaining the fishing mortality on cod on
appropriate age groups referred to in Article 8.

CHAPTER II

TOTAL ALLOWABLE CATCHES

Article 6

Minimum and precautionary levels

The minimum spawning biomass level and the precautionary
spawning biomass level for each of the cod stocks shall be as
follows:

Stock

Minimum
spawning
biomass
Levels in tonnes

Precautionary
spawning
biomass
Levels in tonnes

Cod in the Kattegat

Cod in the North Sea, Skagerrak and
eastern Channel

Cod to the west of Scotland

Cod in the Irish Sea

6 400

70 000

14 000

6 000

10 500

150 000

22 000

10 000

Article 7

Procedure for setting TACs for cod stocks in the Kattegat
the west of Scotland and the Irish Sea

Each year, the Council shall decide on the TAC for the
1.
following year for each of the cod stocks in the Kattegat, the
west of Scotland and the Irish Sea. The TAC shall be calculated
by deducting the following quantities from the total removals of
cod that are forecast by STECF as corresponding to the fishing
mortality rates referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3:

(a) a quantity of fish equivalent to the expected discards of cod

from the stock concerned;

(b) as appropriate a quantity corresponding to other sources of
cod mortality caused by fishing to be fixed on the basis of a
proposal from the Commission.

The TAC shall, based on the advice of STECF, satisfy all of

2.
the following conditions:

(a)

if the size of the stock on 1 January of the year of appli­
cation of the TAC is predicted by STECF to be below the
minimum spawning biomass level established in Article 6,
the fishing mortality rate shall be reduced by 25 % in the
year of application of the TAC as compared with the fishing
mortality rate in the previous year;

(b) if the size of the stock on 1 January of the year of appli­
cation of the TAC is predicted by STECF to be below the
precautionary spawning biomass level set out in Article 6
and above or equal to the minimum spawning biomass level
established in Article 6, the fishing mortality rate shall be
reduced by 15 % in the year of application of the TAC as
compared with the fishing mortality rate in the previous
year; and

(c)

if the size of the stock on 1 January of the year of appli­
cation of the TAC is predicted by STECF to be above or
equal to the precautionary spawning biomass level set out
in Article 6, the fishing mortality rate shall be reduced by
10 % in the year of application of the TAC as compared
with the fishing mortality rate in the previous year.

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If the application of paragraph 2(b) and (c) would, based
3.
on the advice of STECF, result in a fishing mortality rate lower
than the fishing mortality rate specified in Article 5(2), the
Council shall set
the TAC at a level resulting in a fishing
mortality rate as specified in that Article.

4. When giving its advice in accordance with paragraphs 2
and 3, STECF shall assume that in the year prior to the year of
application of the TAC the stock is fished with an adjustment in
fishing mortality equal to the reduction in maximum allowable
fishing effort that applies in that year.

5.
Notwithstanding paragraph 2(a), (b) and (c) and paragraph
3, the Council shall not set the TAC at a level that is more than
20 % below or above the TAC established in the previous year.

Article 8

Procedure for setting TACs for the cod stock in the North
Sea, the Skagerrak and the eastern Channel

1.
Each year, the Council shall decide on the TACs for the
cod stock in the North Sea, the Skagerrak and the eastern
Channel. The TACs
shall be calculated by applying the
reduction rules set out in Article 7 paragraph 1(a) and (b).

2.
The TACs shall initially be calculated in accordance with
paragraphs 3 and 5. From the year where the TACs resulting
from the application of paragraphs 3 and 5 would be lower
than the TACs resulting from the application of paragraphs 4
and 5, the TACs shall be calculated according to the paragraphs
4 and 5.

3.
Initially, the TACs shall not exceed a level corresponding
to a fishing mortality which is a fraction of the estimate of
fishing mortality on appropriate age groups
in 2008 as
follows: 75 % for the TACs in 2009, 65 % for the TACs in
2010, and applying successive decrements of 10 % for the
following years.

Subsequently, if the size of the stock on 1 January of the

4.
year prior to the year of application of the TACs is:

(a) above the precautionary spawning biomass level, the TACs
shall correspond to a fishing mortality rate of 0,4 on appro­
priate age groups;

(c) at or below the limit spawning biomass level, the TACs
corresponding to a fishing

shall not
mortality rate of 0,2 on appropriate age groups.

exceed a level

5.
Notwithstanding paragraphs 3 and 4, the Council shall
not set the TACs for 2010 and subsequent years at a level
that is more than 20 % below or above the TACs established
in the previous year.

6. Where the cod stock referred to in paragraph 1 has been
exploited at a fishing mortality rate close to 0,4 during three
successive years, the Commission shall evaluate the application
of
relevant
measures to amend it
to ensure exploitation at
maximum sustainable yield.

this Article and, where appropriate, propose

in order

Article 9

Procedure for setting TACs in poor data conditions

Where, due to lack of sufficiently accurate and representative
information, STECF is not able to give advice allowing the
Council to set the TACs in accordance with Articles 7 or 8,
the Council shall decide as follows:

(a) where STECF advises that the catches of cod should be
reduced to the lowest possible level, the TACs shall be set
according to a 25 % reduction compared to the TAC in the
previous year;

(b) in all other cases the TACs shall be set according to a 15 %
reduction compared to the TAC in the previous year, unless
STECF advises that this is not appropriate.

Article 10

Adaptation of measures

1. When the target fishing mortality rate in Article 5(2) has
been reached or in the event that STECF advises that this target,
or the minimum and precautionary spawning biomass levels in
fishing mortality rates given in
Article 6 or the levels of
Article 7(2) are no longer appropriate in order to maintain a
low risk of stock depletion and a maximum sustainable yield,
the Council shall decide on new values for these levels.

(b) between the minimum spawning biomass level and the
precautionary spawning biomass level, the TACs shall not
exceed a level corresponding to a fishing mortality rate on
appropriate age groups equal to the following formula:

2.
In the event that STECF advises that any of the cod stocks
is failing to recover properly, the Council shall take a decision
which:

0,4 – (0,2 * (Precautionary spawning biomass level –
spawning biomass)
(Precautionary spawning biomass
/
level – minimum spawning biomass level))

(a) sets the TAC for the relevant stock at a level lower than that

provided for in Articles 7, 8 and 9;

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(b) sets the maximum allowable fishing effort at a level lower

than that provided for in Article 12;

average effort in kW-days spent during the years 2004-
2006 or 2005-2007, according to the preference of the
Member State concerned, based on the advice of STECF;

(c) establishes associated conditions as appropriate.

CHAPTER III

FISHING EFFORT LIMITATION

Article 11

Fishing effort regime

The TACs set out in Articles 7, 8 and 9 shall be comp­
1.
lemented by a fishing effort regime whereby fishing opportu­
nities in terms of fishing effort are allocated to Member States
on an annual basis.

2.
The Council may, acting on a Commission proposal and
on the basis of the information provided by Member States and
the advice of STECF referred to in paragraph 3, exclude certain
groups of vessels from the application of the effort regime
provided that:

(a) appropriate data on cod catches and discards are available
to allow STECF to assess the percentage of cod catches
made by each group of vessels concerned;

(b) the percentage of cod catches as assessed by STECF does not
exceed 1,5 % of the total catches for each group of vessels
concerned; and

(c)

the inclusion of these groups of vessels in the effort regime
would constitute an administrative burden disproportionate
to their overall impact on cod stocks.

If STECF is not
remain fulfilled,
vessels concerned in the effort regime.

in position to assess that
the Council

shall

these conditions
include each group of

3. Member States shall provide annually appropriate infor­
mation to the Commission and STECF to establish that the
above conditions are and remain fulfilled in accordance with
detailed rules to be adopted by the Commission.

Article 12

Fishing effort allocations

Each year,

the Council shall decide on the maximum
1.
allowable fishing effort for each effort group by Member State.

The maximum allowable fishing effort shall be calculated

2.
by means of a baseline established as follows:

(b) for the subsequent years of application of this Regulation
to the maximum allowable

the baseline shall be equal
fishing effort of the previous year.

3.
The effort groups for which an annual adjustment in the
maximum allowable fishing effort shall be applied shall be
decided on the following basis:

(a)

the catches of cod taken by vessels in each of the effort
groups shall be evaluated on the basis of data submitted by
Member States in accordance with Articles 18, 19 and 20 of
Council Regulation (EC) No 199/2008 of 25 February 2008
concerning the establishment of a Community framework
for the collection, management and use of data in the
fisheries sector and support for scientific advice regarding
the common fisheries policy (1);

(b) a list shall be compiled for each of the areas defined in
Annex I to this Regulation of the aggregated effort groups
and their corresponding cod catches,
including discards.
This list shall be arranged in ascending order of cod catch
in each effort group;

(c)

the cumulative catches of cod in the lists established
(b) shall be calculated in following
according to point
way. For each aggregated effort group, the sum shall be
calculated of the cod catch by that effort group and the
cod catches made by all aggregated effort groups in the
preceding entries in the list;

(d) the cumulative catches calculated according to point (c) shall
be calculated as a percentage of the total cod catch by all
aggregated effort groups in the same area.

4.
For aggregated effort groups where the percentage cumu­
lative catch calculated according to paragraph 3(b) is equal to or
exceeds 20 %, annual adjustments shall apply to the effort
groups concerned. The maximum allowable fishing effort of
the groups concerned shall be calculated as follows:

(a) where Articles 7 or 8 applies, by applying to the baseline
the same percentage adjustment as that set out in those
Articles for fishing mortality;

(b) where Article 9 applies, by applying to the baseline the
the

in fishing effort

adjustment

as

same percentage
reduction of the TAC.

5.
For effort groups other than those referred to in paragraph
4, the maximum allowable fishing effort shall be maintained at
the level of the baseline.

(a)

for the first year of application of
this Regulation the
baseline shall be established for each effort group as the

(1) OJ L 60, 5.2.2008, p. 1.

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Article 13

Allocation of additional fishing effort for highly selective
gear and cod-avoiding fishing trips

1. Member States may increase the maximum allowable
fishing effort for effort groups for which the effort has been
adjusted in accordance with Article 12(4) and subject to the
conditions set out in paragraphs 2 to 7.

2.
The maximum allowable fishing effort may be increased
within effort groups in which the fishing activity of one or
more vessels:

(a)

is carried out having on board only one regulated gear the
technical attributes of which result, according to a scientific
in catching less than 1 % cod
study evaluated by STECF,
(highly selective gear);

(b) results in a catch composition of less than 5 % cod per

fishing trip (cod-avoiding fishing trips);

(c)

is conducted in accordance with a cod avoidance or discard
reduction plan which reduces fishing mortality for cod
among participating vessels by at
least as much as the
effort adjustment referred to in Article 12(4); or

(d) is carried out in the west of Scotland area to the west of a
line drawn by sequentially joining with rhumb lines the
positions laid down in Annex IV measured according to
the WGS84 coordinate system, provided that the partici­
pating vessels are equipped with satellite-based vessel moni­
toring systems (VMS).

Vessels referred to in paragraph 2 shall be subject
3.
increased frequency of monitoring, concerning in particular:

to

(a)

the exclusive use of the highly selective gear during the
fishing trips concerned in accordance with paragraph 2(a);

(b) the amount of discards in compliance with paragraph 2(b);

The increase of fishing effort under this Article shall be
4.
calculated for each of the vessels in the effort groups concerned
that operate under special conditions referred to in paragraph 2,
points (a),
(c) and (d), and shall be no more than the
amount needed to compensate the effort adjustment referred
to in Article 12(4) for the gears involved in those actions.

(b),

Any increases of the fishing effort allocation carried out
5.
by the Member States shall be notified to the Commission, by
April 30 of the year during which the compensation for the
effort adjustment shall take place. The notification shall include
details of the vessels operating under the special conditions
referred to in points (a), (b), (c) and (d) of paragraph 2, the
fishing effort per effort group that the Member State expects to
be carried out by those vessels during that year, and the
conditions under which the effort of
the vessels is being
monitored, including control arrangements.

6. Member States shall report
March each year at
used within the actions during the previous year.

the latest about

to the Commission by 1
the amounts of effort

The Commission shall request STECF to compare annually
7.
the reduction in cod mortality which would result from the
application of point (c) of paragraph 2 with the reduction it
would have expected to occur as a result of
the effort
adjustment referred to in Article 12(4). In light of this advice
the Commission may propose adjustments in effort that may be
applied for the relevant gear grouping the following year.

Article 14

Member States’ obligations

For the vessels flying its flag, each Member State shall
1.
decide on a method for allocating the maximum allowable
fishing effort to individual vessels or a group of vessels,
in
the light of a number of criteria, including, for example:

(a) promotion of good fishing practices,

including data
collection enhancement, discard reduction and minimisation
of the impact on juvenile fish;

(c)

the reduction in fishing mortality in accordance with
paragraph 2(c);

(b) participation in cooperative programmes to avoid unne­

cessary by-catches of cod;

(d) the amount of catches and discards occurring to the west of

the line specified in paragraph 2(d);

(c)

low impact
the
consumption and greenhouse gas emissions;

environment,

on

including

fuel

and subject to arrangements for the regular provision of data to
the Member State concerning the respect of
the special
conditions laid down in those points.

(d) proportionality with respect to allocation of fishing oppor­

tunities in terms of fish quota.

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For each of the areas set out in Annex I to this Regulation,
2.
each Member State shall
in
issue special
accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 1627/94 of
27 June 1994 laying down general provisions concerning
for vessels flying its flag which
special
engage in fishing activities in that area and using a gear
belonging to one of the gear groupings set out in Annex I to
this Regulation.

fishing permits (1)

fishing permits

3.
For each of the areas set out in Annex I, the total capacity
expressed in kW of the vessels having special fishing permits
issued in accordance with paragraph 2 shall not be greater than
the maximum capacity of the vessels that have been active in
2006 or 2007 using a regulated gear and fishing in the geogra­
phical area concerned.

Each Member State shall establish and maintain a list of
4.
vessels holding the special permit referred to in paragraph 2 and
make it available on its official website to the Commission and
other Member States.

Article 15

Regulation of fishing effort

Member States shall monitor the capacity and activity of their
fleet by effort groups and shall take appropriate action if the
maximum allowable fishing effort established in accordance
with Article 12 is about to be reached,
in order to ensure
that the effort will not exceed the set limits.

Article 16

Exchange of maximum allowable fishing effort between
Member States and reconstitution of effort

1.
The maximum allowable fishing effort established in
accordance with Article 11 may be adapted by the Member
States concerned in view of:

recovered. This reconstitution of effort shall be accompanied
by a reduction in total allowable fishing effort by the Member
State that has returned the quota to the quota recovering
Member State, reflecting the extent to which its effort groups
have less quota available for fishing, unless the Member State
returning the quota did not use the corresponding effort for
establishing the abovementioned baselines.

Notwithstanding Article 17(2),

3.
in 2009, Member States
may modify their effort allocations by transferring fishing
effort and capacity between the geographical areas referred to
in Article 3, provided that this transfer involves fishing activities
referred to in Article 13(2)(a) and (b). Such transfers shall be
notified to the Commission. The maximum allowable fishing
effort
shall be modified
accordingly.

referred to in Article 12(2)(a)

Article 17

Exchange of maximum allowable fishing effort across
effort groups

A Member State may amend its effort allocations by trans­
the

1.
ferring fishing capacity across
conditions set out in paragraphs 2 to 5.

effort groups, under

2.
The transfer shall be allowed between gear groupings but
not between geographical areas, provided that the Member State
concerned provides the Commission with information on the
catch per unit effort (cpue) of its donor and receiving gear
group, averaged over the last three years.

3. Where the cpue of the donor gear group is higher than
the cpue of
in
the receiving gear group,
general be made on a 1 kW-day to 1 kW-day basis.

the transfer shall

(a)

the exchange of quotas carried out pursuant to Article 20(5)
of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002; and

4. Where the cpue of the donor gear group is lower than the
cpue of the receiving gear group, the Member State shall apply a
correction factor to the amount of effort in the receiving gear
group so that the latter’s higher cpue is compensated for.

(b) reallocations

and/or

deductions made

to
Article 23(4) of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 and
Articles 21(4), 23(1) and 32(2) of Regulation (EEC) No
2847/93.

pursuant

The maximum allowable fishing effort established in
2.
accordance with Article 12 may be adapted by a Member
State which discontinues the exchange of quotas in any of
the areas mentioned in Article 3,
this
Member State used to execute these exchanges during the
reference period for establishing the baselines as specified in
Article 12(2), and needs to exert additional effort in any of
to use the quota
the effort groups concerned in order

to the extent

that

(1) OJ L 171, 6.7.1994, p. 7.

The Commission shall request STECF to develop standard
5.
correction factors that might be used to facilitate the transfer of
effort across gear groups with different cpue.

CHAPTER IV

MONITORING, INSPECTION AND SURVEILLANCE

Article 18

Relationship with Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93

The control measures provided for in this Chapter shall apply in
addition to those prescribed in Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93.

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Article 19

Logbook checks

1.
For vessels fitted with a VMS, Member States shall verify
that the information received at the fisheries monitoring centres
corresponds to activities recorded in the logbook by using VMS
data. Such cross-checks shall be recorded in computer-readable
form for a period of three years.

2.
Each Member State shall maintain and make available on
its official website the contact details for the submission of
logbooks and landing declarations.

Article 20

Weighing of cod first landed

1.
The master of a fishing vessel shall ensure that any
quantity of cod exceeding 300 kg caught in the areas set out
in Article 3 and landed in a Community port shall be weighed
on board or in the port of landing before sale or before being
transported elsewhere. The scales used for the weighing shall be
approved by the competent national authorities. The figure
resulting from the weighing shall be used for the declaration
referred to in Article 8 of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93.

2.
By way of derogation from paragraph 1, Member States
may permit the weighing of cod to take place at a fish auction
on the territory of the Member State provided that the landing
has been subject to a physical inspection and that the fish has
been sealed before transport directly to the fish auction and
remains sealed until the weighing takes place. The transport
document shall
indicate the details of the inspection carried
out at landing.

Article 21

Inspection benchmarks

Each Member State with vessels concerned by this Regulation
shall set specific inspection benchmarks. Such benchmarks shall
be revised periodically after an analysis has been made of the
results achieved. Inspection benchmarks shall evolve progres­
sively until
the target benchmarks defined in Annex II are
reached.

Article 22

Prohibition on transhipping

The transhipment of cod at sea is prohibited in the geographical
areas set out in Article 3.

Article 23

National control action programmes

1. Member States with vessels concerned by this Regulation
shall define a national control action programme in accordance
with Annex III.

Before 31 January each year, Member States with vessels
2.
concerned by this Regulation shall make available to the
Commission and other Member States concerned by this Regu­
lation on its official website their national control action
programmes together with an implementation schedule.

3.
The Commission shall convene at least once a year a
meeting of the Committee for Fisheries and Aquaculture to
evaluate compliance with and the results of
the national
control action programmes for cod stocks concerned by this
Regulation.

Article 24

Prior notification

The master of a Community fishing vessel, or his/her
1.
representative, prior to any entry into port or any landing
location of a Member State carrying more than one tonne of
cod on board shall
inform the competent authorities of that
Member State, at least four hours in advance of such entry, of:

(a)

the name of the port or landing location;

(b) the estimated time of arrival at that port or landing location;

(c)

the quantities in kg live weight of all species of which more
than 50 kg is retained on board.

2.
The competent authorities of a Member State in which a
landing of more than one tonne of cod is to be made may
require that the discharge of catch retained on board shall not
commence until authorised by those authorities.

3.
The master of a Community fishing vessel, or his/her
representative, wishing to tranship or discharge at sea any
quantity retained on board or to land in a port or landing
location of a third country shall
inform the competent auth­
orities of the flag Member State, at least 24 hours prior to
transhipping or discharging at sea or to landing in a third
country, of the information referred to in paragraph 1.

Article 25

Designated ports

1. Where more than two tonnes of cod are to be landed in
the Community from a Community fishing vessel, the master of
the vessel shall ensure that such landings are made only at
designated ports.

Each Member State shall designate ports into which any

2.
landing of cod in excess of two tonnes shall take place.

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Each Member State shall make available on their public
3.
website the list of designated ports and associated inspection
and surveillance procedures for those ports, including the terms
and conditions for recording and reporting the quantities of cod
within each landing.

The Commission shall transmit this information to all Member
States.

Article 26

Margin of

tolerance in the estimation of quantities

reported in the logbook

By way of derogation from Article 5(2) of Commission Regu­
lation (EEC) No 2807/83 of 22 September 1983 laying down
detailed rules for recording information on Member States
catches of fish (1), the permitted margin of tolerance,
in the
estimation of quantities of cod, in kg retained on board, shall
be 8 % of the logbook figure.

Article 27

Separate stowage of cod

stocks concerned may last more than two years from their date
of entry into force.

CHAPTER V

DECISION-MAKING AND FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 30

Decision-making procedure

Where this Regulation provides for decisions to be taken by the
Council, the Council shall act by qualified majority on the basis
of a proposal from the Commission.

Article 31

Amendments to Annex I

Based on the advice of STECF, the Commission may amend the
Annex I to this Regulation in accordance with the procedure
laid down in Article 30(2) of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002
and on the basis of the following principles:

It shall be prohibited to retain on board a Community fishing
vessel, in any container, any quantity of cod mixed with any
other species of marine organisms. Containers with cod shall be
stowed in the hold in such a way that they are kept separate
from other containers.

(a) effort groups shall be laid down as homogeneously as
possible with respect to the biological stocks captured, the
sizes of fish captured either as target or as by-catch and the
effects on the environment of the fishing activities associ­
ated to the effort groups;

Article 28

Transport of cod

1.
The competent authorities of a Member State may require
that any quantity of cod caught in any of the geographical areas
defined in Article 3 and first landed in that Member State is
weighed in the presence of controllers before being transported
elsewhere from the port of first landing. For cod first landed in
a port designated pursuant to Article 24, representative samples,
amounting to at least 20 % of the landings in number shall be
weighed in the presence of controllers authorised by the
Member States before they are offered for first sale and sold.
To this end, the Member States shall submit to the Commission,
within one month of the date of entry into force of this Regu­
lation, details of the sampling regime to be employed.

2.
By way of derogation from the conditions laid down in
Article 13 of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93, all quantities of
cod greater than 50 kg which are transported to a place other
than that of first landing or import shall be accompanied by a
copy of one of the declarations provided for in Article 8(1) of
that Regulation pertaining to the quantities of cod transported.
The exemption provided for in Article 13(4)(b) of that Regu­
lation shall not apply.

Article 29

Specific monitoring programmes

By way of derogation from Article 34c(1) of Regulation (EEC)
No 2847/93, the specific monitoring programmes for the cod

(1) OJ L 276, 10.10.1983, p. 1.

(b) the number and size of effort groups shall be cost-efficient
in terms of management burden relative to conservation
needs.

Article 32

Detailed rules

Detailed rules for the application of Articles 11(3), 14, 16 and
17 of this Regulation may be adopted in accordance with the
procedure referred to in Article 30(2) of Regulation (EC) No
2371/2002.

Article 33

Assistance under the European Fisheries Fund

For each of the four cod stocks referred to in Article 1, for
1.
those years in which the stock is situated below the relevant
precautionary spawning biomass level set out in Article 6, the
long-term plan shall be deemed to be a recovery plan within the
meaning of Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002, and for
the purposes of Article 21(a)(i) of Regulation (EC) No
1198/2006.

For each of the four cod stocks referred to in Article 1, for
2.
those years other than those referred to in paragraph 1, the
long-term plan shall be deemed to be a management plan
within the meaning of Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No
2371/2002, and for the purposes of Article 21(a)(iv) of Regu­
lation (EC) No 1198/2006.

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Article 34

Review

The Commission shall, on the basis of advice from STECF and after consultation of the relevant Regional
Advisory Council, evaluate the impact of the management measures on the cod stocks concerned and the
fisheries on those stocks, at the latest in the third year of application of this Regulation and then each third
successive year of application of this Regulation and, where appropriate, propose relevant measures to
amend it.

Article 35

Repeal

Regulation (EC) No 423/2004 is hereby repealed.

Article 36

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, 18 December 2008.

For the Council
The President

M. BARNIER

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ANNEX I

Effort groups are defined by one of the gear groupings set out in point 1 and one of the geographical areas set out in
point 2.

1. Gear groupings

(a) Bottom trawls and seines (OTB, OTT, PTB, SDN, SSC, SPR) of mesh:

TR1 equal to or larger than 100 mm,

TR2 equal to or larger than 70 mm and less than 100 mm,

TR3 equal to or larger than 16 mm and less than 32 mm;

(b) Beam trawls (TBB) of mesh:

BT1 equal to or larger than 120 mm

BT2 equal to or larger than 80 mm and less than 120 mm;

(c) Gill nets, entangling nets (GN);

(d) Trammel nets (GT);

(e) Longlines (LL).

2. Groupings of geographical areas:

For the purposes of this Annex, the following geographical groupings shall apply:

(a) Kattegat;

(b)

(i) Skagerrak;

(ii) that part of ICES zone IIIa not covered by the Skagerrak and the Kattegat;

ICES zone IV and EC waters of ICES zone IIa;

(iii) ICES zone VIId;

(c)

ICES zone VIIa;

(d) ICES zone VIa.

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ANNEX II

SPECIFIC INSPECTION BENCHMARKS

Objective

1. Each Member State shall set specific inspection benchmarks in accordance with this Annex.

Strategy

2. Inspection and surveillance of fishing activities shall concentrate on vessels likely to catch cod. Random inspections of
transport and marketing of cod shall be used as a complementary cross-checking mechanism to test the effectiveness
of inspection and surveillance.

Priorities

3. Different gear types shall be subject to different levels of prioritisation, depending on the extent to which the fleets are

affected by fishing opportunity limits. For that reason, each Member State shall set specific priorities.

Target benchmarks

4. Not later than one month from the date of entry into force of this Regulation, Member States shall implement their

inspection schedules taking account of the targets set out below.

Member States shall specify and describe which sampling strategy will be applied.

The Commission can have access on request to the sampling plan used by the Member State.

(a) Level of inspection in ports

As a general rule, the accuracy to be achieved should be at least equivalent to what would be obtained by a simple
random sampling method, where inspections shall cover 20 % in number of all cod landings in a Member State.

(b) Level of inspection of marketing

Inspection of 5 % of the quantities of cod offered for sale at auction.

(c) Level of inspection at sea

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

(d) Level of aerial surveillance

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

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ANNEX III

CONTENTS OF NATIONAL CONTROL ACTION PROGRAMMES

National control action programmes shall aim, inter alia, to specify the following:

1. Means of control

Human resources

(a) The numbers of shore-based and seagoing inspectors and the periods and zones where they are to be deployed.

Technical resources

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

Financial resources

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

2. Electronic recording and reporting of information relating to fishing activities

Description of the systems implemented to ensure compliance with Articles 19, 23, 24 and 25.

3. Designation of ports

Where relevant, a list of ports designated for cod landings in accordance with Article 25.

4. Notification prior to landing

Description of the systems implemented to ensure compliance with Article 24.

5. Landings control

Description of any facilities and or systems implemented to ensure compliance with the provisions in Articles 19, 20,
21 and 28.

6. Inspection procedures

The national control action programmes shall specify the procedures that will be followed:

(a) when conducting inspections at sea and on land;

(b) for communicating with the competent authorities designated by other Member States as responsible for the

national control action programme for cod;

(c) for joint surveillance and exchange of inspectors, including specification of powers and authority of inspectors

operating in other Member States’ waters.

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Line referred to in Article 13 paragraph 2(d)

ANNEX IV

The line referred to in Article 13 paragraph 2(d) is defined by sequentially joining with rhumb lines the following
positions according to the WGS84 coordinate system:

54 °30′N, 10 °35′W

55 °20′N, 9 °50′W

55 °30′N, 9 °20′W

56 °40′N, 8 °55′W

57 °0′N, 9 °0′W

57 °20′N, 9 °20′W

57 °50′N, 9 °20′W

58 °10′N, 9 °0′W

58 °40′N, 7 °40′W

59 °0′N, 7 °30′W

59 °20′N, 6 °30′W

59 °40′N, 6 °5′W

59 °40′N, 5 °30′W

60 °0′N, 4 °50′W

60 °15′N, 4 °0′W.