Proposal for a Council Decision on the establishment of the Community position to be adopted in the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Living Marine Resources
Date: 2009-09-21
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Antarctica, conservation of fish stocks, fishing area, fishing controls, fishing regulations, international convention, protected species, protection of animal life, protection of plant life

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 21.9.2009 
COM(2009) 485 final 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the establishment of the Community position to be adopted in the Commission for the 
Conservation of Antarctic Living Marine Resources 

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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 of Antarctic Living Marine Resources. 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 of Antarctic Living Marine Resources 

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. 

The European Community, as well as Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, France, Germany, 
Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom, is a 
Contracting  Party  to  the  1982  Convention  on  the  Conservation  of  Antarctic  Living 
Marine Resources. The Convention established a Commission for the Conservation of 
Antarctic  Living  Marine  Resources  (CCAMLR)  which,  on  the  basis  of  scientific 
evidence, shall, as appropriate, take measures to manage the marine living resources in 
the  area  for  which  it  is  responsible.  These  measures  are  designed  to  ensure  the 
conservation and rational use of the Antarctic marine living resources. 

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 

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HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:  

Article 1 

The  position  to  be  adopted  on  behalf  of  the  Community  in  the  Commission  for  the 
Conservation of Antarctic Living Marine Resources 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  of  Antarctic  Living  Marine 
Resources in 2014. 

Done at Brussels,  

For the Council 
The President 

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The Community position in the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Living 
Marine Resources 

ANNEX  

1. 

PRINCIPLES 

In the framework of the CCAMLR, 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 
CCAMLR, 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  CCAMLR  measures  are  in  accordance  with  the  objectives  of  the 
Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Living Marine Resources; 

ensure  that  CCAMLR  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 CCAMLR: 

a) 

b) 

conservation  and  management  measures  for  fisheries  resources  in  the  Convention 
Area  based  on  the  best  scientific  advice  available,  including  TACs  for  species 
regulated by CCAMLR. Where necessary, specific measures for stocks which suffer 
from  overfishing  shall  be  considered  in  order  to  avoid  any  increase  of  fishing 
activities; 

reinforcement  of  monitoring,  control  and  surveillance  measures  in  the  CCAMLR 
Regulatory Area in order to strengthen compliance with CCAMLR measures; 

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c) 

d) 

e) 

f) 

reinforcement of action against IUU fishing activities; 

implementation  of  protective  measures  for  vulnerable  marine  ecosystems  in  the 
CCAMLR Regulatory Area in line with UNGA Resolutions; 

development  of  common  approaches  with  other  Regional  Fisheries  Management 
Organisations,  including  the  Northwest  Atlantic  Fisheries  Organisation  and  the 
International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas; 

additional  technical  measures  based  on  advice  from  the  CCAMLR  Scientific 
Committee; 

g) 

continued modernisation of CCAMLR following the performance review. 

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