Proposal for a Council Decision on the establishment of the Community position to be adopted in the South East Atlantic Fisheries Organisation
Date: 2009-09-15
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European Community, Southern Africa, common fisheries policy, common position, fishery management, fishing agreement, fishing area, fishing regulations

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 15.9.2009 
COM(2009) 474 final 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the establishment of the Community position to be adopted in the South East Atlantic 
Fisheries Organisation 

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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  and  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 South East Atlantic Fisheries Organisation. 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 South East Atlantic 
Fisheries Organisation 

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) 

(3) 

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. 

By Decision 2002/738/EC2, the European Community approved the Convention on the 
Conservation and Management of Fishery Resources in the South East Atlantic Ocean, 
which  established  the  South  East  Atlantic  Fisheries  Organisation  (SEAFO).  The 
SEAFO  Commission  is  authorised  to  adopt  measures  concerning  the  long-term 
conservation  and  sustainable  use  of  all  living  marine  resources  in  the  Convention 
Area. 

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. 

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OJ L 358, 31.12.2002, p. 59 
OJ L 111, 20.4.2001, p. 15 

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HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: 

Article 1 

The position to be adopted on behalf of the Community in the Commission of the South East 
Atlantic  Fisheries  Organisation  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 Commission of the South East Atlantic Fisheries Organisation in 
2014. 

Done at Brussels, 

For the Council 
The President 

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ANNEX 

The Community position in the Commission of the South East Atlantic Fisheries 
Organisation 

1. 

PRINCIPLES 

In the framework of the SEAFO, 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 
SEAFO, to promote the gradual implementation of an ecosystem-based approach to 
fisheries  management,  and  to  minimise  the  impact  of  fishing  activities  on  marine 
eco-systems,  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  SEAFO  measures  are  in  accordance  with  the  objectives  of  the  SEAFO 
Convention; 

ensure that SEAFO 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 SEAFO: 

a) 

b) 

stringent conservation and management measures based on the best scientific advice 
available,  to  ensure  the  long  term  conservation  and  sustainable  use  of  the  fisheries 
resources  to  which  the  SEAFO  Convention  applies.  Where  necessary,  specific 
measures  for  stocks  which  suffer  from  overfishing  shall  be  considered  in  order  to 
avoid any increase of fishing activities; 

measures  to  take  due  account  of  the  impact  of  fishery  operations  on  ecologically 
related species such as seabirds, cetaceans, seals and marine turtles; 

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c) 

d) 

conservation  and  management  measures  for  species  belonging  to  the  same 
ecosystems, or associated with or dependent upon, the harvested fishery resources;  

protective  measures  for  vulnerable  marine  ecosystems  in  the  SEAFO  area  in  line 
with UNGA Resolutions; 

e) 

acceptance of applications from responsible fishing countries to join the SEAFO. 

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