Proposal for a Council Decision on the establishment of the Community position to be adopted in the Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean
Date: 2009-09-21
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Pacific Ocean, catch quota, fishery management, fishery resources, protected species, sea fish

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 21.9.2009 
COM(2009) 483 final 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the establishment of the Community position to be adopted in the Commission for the 
Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and 
Central Pacific Ocean 

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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 Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in 
the Western and Central Pacific Ocean. 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 Commission for the 
Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and 
Central Pacific Ocean 

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. 

By  Decision  2005/75/EC2,  the  European  Community  approved  its  accession  to  the 
Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in 
the  Western  and  Central  Pacific  Ocean,  which  established  the  Commission  for  the 
Conservation  and  Management  of  Highly  Migratory  Fish  Stocks  in  the  Western  and 
Central  Pacific  Ocean  (WCPFC).  The  WCPFC  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.  Such  decisions  may  become 
legally binding on the Community. 

(3) 

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 

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OJ L 358, 31.12.2002, p. 59 
OJ L 32, 4.2.2005, p. 1 

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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  Commission  for  the 
Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central 
Pacific Ocean 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 for the Conservation and Management of Highly 
Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean in 2014. 

Done at Brussels,  

For the Council 
The President 

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The Community position in the Commission for the Conservation and Management of 
Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean 

ANNEX  

1. 

PRINCIPLES 

In the framework of the WCPFC, 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 
WCPFC, 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  WCPFC  measures  are  in  accordance  with  the  objectives  of  the 
Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks 
in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean; 

ensure that WCPFC 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 WCPFC: 

a) 

stringent conservation and management measures for fisheries resources allowing for 
their  long  term  sustainability  and  taking  into  account  the  best  scientific  advice 
available,  including  temporal  closures  for  purse  seine  vessels  catching  bigeye, 
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; 

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b) 

c) 

d) 

e) 

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

the  development  and  implementation  of  monitoring,  control  and  surveillance 
measures, concerning inter alia a centralised 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; 

enhanced measures to combat IUU activities; 

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

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