Proposal for a Council Decision on the establishment of the Community position to be adopted in the Inter American Tropical Tuna Commission
Date: 2009-05-05
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: fishery management, fishery resources, fishing regulations, international convention, law of the sea, sea fish

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 5.5.2009 
COM(2009) 218 final 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the establishment of the Community position to be adopted in the Inter American 
Tropical Tuna Commission 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

According to the second subparagraph of Article 300(2) of the EC Treaty, the positions to be 
adopted on behalf of the Community in Regional Fisheries Management Organisations when 
they are called upon to adopt decisions having legal effects, with the exception of decisions 
supplementing or amending their institutional framework, must be decided on by the Council, 
acting by a qualified majority on a proposal from the Commission. 

In view of this obligation, and following similar Council Decisions regarding the International 
Commission  for  the  Conservation  of  Atlantic  Tunas,  the  General  Fisheries  Commission  for 
the  Mediterranean  and  the  Indian  Ocean  Tuna  Commission,  and  similar  proposals  from  the 
European Commission for other Regional Fisheries Management Organisations, the European 
Commission proposes the present decision to establish the Community position to be adopted 
in the Inter American Tropical Tuna Commission. This proposal follows the same approach 
as for other Regional Fisheries Management Organisations so as to ensure consistency. 

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Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the establishment of the Community position to be adopted in the Inter American 
Tropical Tuna Commission 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 
37, in conjunction with the second subparagraph of Article 300(2) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

Article 33 of the EC Treaty, in conjunction with Article 32 thereof, provides that one 
of  the  objectives  of  the  Common  Fisheries  Policy  is  to  assure  the  availability  of 
supplies. Regulation (EC) N° 2371/20021 provides that the Community shall apply the 
precautionary  approach  in  taking  measures  designed  to  protect  and  conserve  living 
aquatic  resources,  to  provide  for  their  sustainable  exploitation  and  to  minimise  the 
impact  of  fishing  activities  on  marine  eco-systems.  It  also  provides  that  the 
Community  shall  aim  at  a  progressive  implementation  of  an  eco-system-based 
approach to fisheries management, and aim to contribute to efficient fishing activities 
within  an  economically  viable  and  competitive  fisheries  and  aquaculture  industry, 
providing  a  fair  standard  of  living  for  those  who  depend  on  fishing  activities  and 
taking into account the interest of consumers. 

The  European  Community  is  a  Co-operating  non  Contracting  Party  to  the  Inter 
American  Tropical  Tuna  Commission  (IATTC)  and  is  therefore  bound  to  respect 
conservation  and  management  measures  adopted  by  the  IATTC.  Furthermore,  the 
European Community will become a member of the IATTC once the Convention for 
the strengthening of the Inter American Tropical Tuna Commission established by the 
1949  Convention  between  the  United  States  of  America  and  the  Republic  of  Costa 
Rica  (the  "Antigua  Convention")  enters  into  force.  The  European  Community 
approved the Antigua Convention by Council Decision 2006/539/EC2. Pending entry 
into force, the European Community is under an international obligation not to defeat 
the  object  and  purpose  of  that  new  Convention.  In  the  meantime,  Spain  has  been 
authorised  by  Council  Decision  1999/405/EC3  to  accede  to  the  Convention 
establishing the IATTC on a temporary basis. 

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3 

OJ L 358, 31.12.2002, p. 59 
OJ L 224, 16.8.2006, p. 22 
OJ L 155, 22.6.1999, p. 37 

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(3) 

(4) 

The  IATTC  may,  on  the  basis  of  scientific  evidence,  make  decisions  designed  to 
maintain the populations of highly migratory fish stocks (including tuna and tuna-like 
fishes) in the Convention area at levels which will ensure the long-term sustainability 
of such stocks. 

Pursuant to the second sub-paragraph of Article 300 (2) of the EC Treaty, the position 
of the Community in bodies set up by regional fisheries agreements which are called 
upon  to  adopt  decisions  having  legal  effects  (but  not  modifying  the  institutional 
framework  of  the  agreements  concerned)  must  be  adopted  by  qualified  majority  by 
Council decision, on a proposal from the Commission. 

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:  

Article 1 

The position to be adopted on behalf of the Community in the Inter American Tropical Tuna 
Commission when that Commission is called upon to adopt decisions having legal effects is 
set out in the Annex to this Decision. 

Article 2 

The Community position set out in the Annex to the present Decision shall be assessed and, 
where appropriate, revised by the Council upon a proposal from the Commission, at the latest 
for the annual meeting of the Inter American Tropical Tuna Commission in 2014. 

Done at Brussels,  

For the Council 
The President 

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The Community position in the Inter American Tropical Tuna Commission 

ANNEX  

1. 

PRINCIPLES 

In the framework of the IATTC, the European Community shall: 

a) 

b) 

c) 

d) 

e) 

f) 

2. 

act  in  accordance  with  the  objectives  pursued  by  the  Community  within  the 
framework  of  the  Common  Fisheries  Policy,  notably  through  the  precautionary 
approach  to  provide  for  the  sustainable  exploitation  of  species  regulated  by  the 
IATTC, to promote the gradual implementation of an ecosystem-based approach to 
fisheries  management,  and  to  minimise  the  impact  of  fishing  activities  on  marine 
eco-system, as well as through the promotion of economically viable and competitive 
Community  fisheries,  providing  a  fair  standard  of  living  for  those  who  depend  on 
fishing activities and taking account of the interests of consumers; 

ensure  that  IATTC  measures  are  in  accordance  with  the  objectives  of  the  IATTC 
Convention; 

ensure that IATTC measures are consistent with international law, and in particular 
with the provisions of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the UN Agreement 
relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly 
Migratory Fish Stocks and the Agreement to promote compliance with international 
conservation and management measures by fishing vessels on the high seas; 

promote consistent positions within Regional Fisheries Management Organisations; 

seek synergy with the policy that the Community is pursuing as part of its bilateral 
fisheries  relations  with  third  countries,  and  ensure  coherence  with  its  external 
relations policy; 

ensure that the Community's international commitments are respected. 

ORIENTATIONS 

The European Community shall, where appropriate, endeavour to support the adoption of the 
following actions by the IATTC: 

a) 

stringent conservation and management measures for fisheries resources allowing for 
their  long  term  sustainability  and  taking  into  account  the  best  scientific  advice 
available,  inter  alia  through  temporal  closures  for  purse  seine  vessels  catching  big 
eye, yellowfin and skipjack tuna, as well as equivalent measures for longline vessels 
targeting  tuna  or  swordfish  stocks.  Where  necessary,  specific  measures  for  stocks 
which suffer from overfishing shall be considered in order to avoid any increase of 
fishing activities; 

b) 

measures  to  control  fishing  effort  to  ensure  that  it  is  commensurate  with  fishing 
opportunities available; 

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c) 

d) 

e) 

the  development  and 
implementation  of  effective  monitoring,  control  and 
surveillance measures, concerning inter alia a vessel monitoring system, an observer 
scheme,  port  State  measures,  a  strict  regime  to  control  transhipment  at  sea  and  a 
catch documentation scheme for certain species, if appropriate; 

enhanced measures to combat IUU activities;  

continued efforts to modernise IATTC, inter alia through a performance review. 

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