Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending certain Regulations in the field of fisheries and animal health by reason of the change of status of Mayotte with regard to the Union
Date: 2013-06-13
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: France, Mayotte, animal product, by-product, conservation of fish stocks, derogation from EU law, fishery product, fishing controls, fishing rights, health control, peripheral region

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 13.6.2013  
COM(2013) 417 final 

2013/0191 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

amending certain Regulations in the field of fisheries and animal health by reason of the 
change of status of Mayotte with regard to the Union 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

1. 
By Decision 2012/419/EUi, the European Council amended the status of Mayotte with regard 
to the Union with effect from 1 January 2014. Therefore, from that date Mayotte will cease to 
be  an  overseas  territory  to  become  an  outermost  region  within  the  meaning  of  Articles  349 
and 355(1) TFEU. Union law will apply to Mayotte from 1 January 2014. 

This  proposal  takes  account  of  requests  made  by  the  French  authorities,  to  have  the  Union 
acquis amended  through  specific  measures  applicable  to  Mayotte  in  different  areas,  such  as 
fisheries and animal health.  

The examination of the situation regarding Mayotte has revealed that it is necessary to protect 
the  sensitive  biological  situation  of  its  waters  and  therefore  to  include  the  waters  around 
Mayotte within the scope of application of Regulation (EC) No 850/98 of 30 March 1998 for 
the  conservation  of  fishery  resources  through  technical  measures  for  the  protection  of 
juveniles  of  marine  organism.  .  In  certain  respects,  France  needs  additional  time  to  comply 
with the Union acquis with regard to Mayotte. This goes in particular to the registering and 
control obligations in the area of fisheries, to the extent it concerns certain vessels dispersed 
around the island and not associated to a specific landing site.  

In  the  area  of  animal  health,  it  appears  justified  to  grant  additional  time  to  comply  with 
Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 
2009  laying  down  health  rules  as  regards  animal  by-products  and  derived  products  not 
intended  for  human  consumption  and  repealing  Regulation (EC)  No  1774/2002,  since 
Mayotte has currently no industrial capacity for the processing of animal by-products.  

In the interest of simplicity and speediness, it has been considered expedient not to resort to 
individual proposals for each of the acts concerned but, where legally possible, to bundle the 
amendments  to  several  acts  in  a  single  proposal.  The  amendments  proposed  in  the  present 
document all relate to Regulations and fall under the ordinary legislative procedure (Articles 
289(1) and 294 TFEU).  

2. 

RESULTS OF CONSULTATIONS WITH THE INTERESTED PARTIES AND 
IMPACT ASSESSMENTS 

The Commission has not used an impact assessment. However, when examining the various 
issues and in particular the requests made by France, it had contacts with representatives of 
national  and  regional  authorities  in  order  to  better  evaluate  the  grounds  of  the  specific 
measures. 

3. 

LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL 

In  accordance  with  Article  43(2)  TFEU,  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  are 
empowered to define the provisions necessary for the pursuit of the objectives of the common 
fisheries policy.  
Under  this  legal  basis,  it  is  proposed  to  amend  four  Council  Regulations  in  the  areas  of 
fisheries, having regard to the particular situation of Mayotte as summarised above and set out 
in detail in the draft recitals: 

i  

OL L 204, 31.7.2012, p.131. 

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- Council Regulation (EC) No 850/98 of 30 March 1998 in order to include the waters around 
Mayotte and to prohibit the use of purse-seines on tuna and tuna-like schools of fish inside the 
area within 24 miles from the baselines of the island in order to preserve the shoals of large 
migratory fish in the vicinity of the island of Mayotte; 

- Council Regulation (EC) No 104/2000 of 17 December 1999 on the common organisation of 
the markets in fishery and aquaculture products 

- Council Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 of 20 December 2002 in order to introduce specific 
measures with respect to the fleet register and the access regime;  

-  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  639/2004  of  30  March  2004  in  order  to  introduce  the 
development  plan  presented  by  France  to  the  Indian  Ocean  Tuna  Commission  (IOTC)  as  a 
reference for the capacity of the fleet registered in the ports of Mayotte and to allow France to 
increase its fleet up to the objectives of the said development plan; 

-  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  1224/2009  of  20  November  2009  in  order  to  provide  for 
transitional measures and temporary derogations from certain rules concerning the control of 
fishing  vessels  in  view  of  progressively  comply  with  all  the  Union  control  obligations  and 
objectives of that Regulation. 

Pursuant to Article 168(4)(b) TFEU, the European Parliament and the Council are entitled to 
adopt measures in the veterinary and phytosanitary fields which have as their direct objective 
the protection of public health.  
Under  this  legal  basis,  it  is  proposed  to  modify  Regulation  (EC)  No  1069/2009  of  the 
European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  21  October  2009  in  order  to  grant  France  a 
transitional  period  of  five  years  with  regard  to  Mayotte,  allowing  it  to  establish  the 
infrastructure  necessary  for  the  identification,  handling,  transport,  treatment  and  disposal  of 
animal by-products.  

4. 

BUDGETARY IMPLICATION  

The proposal has no impact on the budget of the European Union. 

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2013/0191 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

amending certain Regulations in the field of fisheries and animal health by reason of the 
change of status of Mayotte with regard to the Union 

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 43(2) and Article 168(4)(b) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national Parliaments, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee1,  
Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions2, 

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

By Decision 2012/419/EU3, the European Council amended the status of Mayotte with 
regard  to  the  Union  with  effect  from  1  January  2014.  Therefore,  from  that  date 
Mayotte will cease to be an overseas territory to become an outermost region within 
the meaning of Articles 349 and 355(1) TFEU. Union law will apply to Mayotte from 
1 January 2014. It is appropriate to provide for certain specific measures justified by 
the particular situation of Mayotte in a number of areas. 

In  the  field  of  fisheries  and  animal  health,  the  following  Regulations  should  be 
amended.  

As regards Council Regulation (EC) No 850/98 of 30 March 1998 for the conservation 
of  fishery  resources  through  technical  measures  for  the  protection  of  juveniles  of 
marine organism4, the waters around Mayotte should be included within the scope of 
that Regulation and the use of purse-seines on tuna and tuna-like schools of fish inside 
the area within 24 miles from the baselines of the island should be prohibited in order 
to preserve the shoals of large migratory fish in the vicinity of the island of Mayotte. 

As  regards  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  104/2000  of  17  December  1999  on  the 
common organisation of the markets in fishery and aquaculture products5, in view of 
the  very  fragmented  and  under-developed  marketing  schemes  of  Mayotte,  the 
application of the rules on the labelling of fishery products would impose on retailers a 
burden  that  is  disproportionate  to  the  information  that  will  be  transmitted  to  the 
consumer.  It  is  therefore  appropriate  to  provide  for  a  temporary  derogation  from  the 

1 
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4 
5 

OJ C , , p. . 
OJ C , , p. . 
OL L 204, 31.7.2012, p.131. 
OJ L 125, 27.4.1998, p. 1. 
OJ L 17, 21.1.2000, p. 22. 

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(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

rules  concerning  the  labelling  of  fishery  products  offered  for  retail  sale  to  the  final 
consumer in Mayotte.  

As  regards  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  2371/2002  of  20  December  2002  on  the 
conservation  and  sustainable  exploitation  of  fisheries  resources  under  the  Common 
Fisheries  Policy6,  specific  measures  should  be  introduced  with  respect  to  the  fleet 
register and the access regime. 

First,  an  important  part  of  the  fleet  flying  the  flag  of  France  and  operating  from  the 
French Department of Mayotte is composed by vessels of less than 9 meters which are 
dispersed  around  the  island,  have  no  specific  landing  sites  and  still  need  to  be 
identified,  measured  and  equipped  with  minimum  safety  implements  in  order  to  be 
included in the register of Union fishing vessels; as a consequence, France will not be 
able to complete this register until 31 December 2016. France should, however, install 
a provisional fleet register guaranteeing minimum identification of the vessels of this 
segment in order to avoid proliferation of informal fishing vessels. 

Second,  it  is  necessary  for  the  protection  of  the  sensitive  biological  situation  of  the 
waters  around  Mayotte  and  the  preservation  of  the  local  economy  of  that  island, 
having  regard  to  its  structural,  social  and  economic  situation,  to  limit  certain  fishing 
activities in those waters to vessels registered in the ports of that island. 

As  regards  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  639/2004  of  30  March  2004  on  the 
management  of  fishing  fleets  registered  in  the  Community  outermost  regions7,  a 
particular  feature  of  Mayotte  is  that  no  objective  has  been  set  for  its  fleet  under 
the  Multiannual  Guidance 
Regulation  (EC)  No  2371/2002  which  refers 
Programme 1997-2002. From the point of view of conservation of fish resources, it is 
appropriate to freeze the fishing capacity of the fleets at current levels, especially for 
the  segment  of  large  vessels  with  a  great  fishing  capacity.  However,  for  smaller 
vessels,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  France  presented  to  the  Indian  Ocean  Tuna 
Commission (IOTC) a development plan indicating the expected evolution of the fleet 
based  in  Mayotte,  to  which  no  IOTC  contracting  party,  including  the  Union,  has 
objected, it is appropriate to use the objectives of that plan as reference levels for the 
capacity of the fleet registered in the ports of Mayotte and to allow France to increase 
its fleet up to the objectives of its development plan. 

to 

As  regards  Regulation  (EC)  No  1069/2009  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  of  21  October  2009  laying  down  health  rules  as  regards  animal  by-products 
and  derived  products  not 
intended  for  human  consumption  and  repealing 
Regulation (EC)  No  1774/20028,  it  should  be  noted  that  Mayotte  has  no  industrial 
capacity for the processing of animal by-products. It is therefore appropriate to allow 
France a period of five years in order to establish the infrastructure necessary for the 
identification,  handling,  transport,  treatment  and  disposal  of  animal  by-products  in 
Mayotte in full compliance with Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009.  

(10)  As regards Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 of 20 November 2009 establishing 
a  Community  control  system  for  ensuring  compliance  with  the  rules  of  the  common 
fisheries policy, amending Regulations (EC) No 847/96, (EC) No 2371/2002, (EC) No 
811/2004,  (EC)  No  768/2005,  (EC)  No  2115/2005,  (EC)  No  2166/2005,  (EC)  No 
388/2006,  (EC)  No  509/2007,  (EC)  No  676/2007,  (EC)  No  1098/2007,  (EC)  No 

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OJ L 320, 5.12.2001, p. 7. 
OJ L 102, 7.4.2004, p. 9. 
OJ L 300, 14.11.2009, p.1.  

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1300/2008,  (EC)  No  1342/2008  and  repealing  Regulations  (EEC)  No  2847/93,  (EC) 
No 1627/94 and (EC) No 1966/20069 , it appears that France will not be in a position 
to  comply  with  all  Union  control  obligations  for  the  segment  "Mayotte.  Pelagic  and 
demersal species. Length < 9m" of the fleet of Mayotte by the date on which Mayotte 
becomes  an  outermost  region.  The  vessels  of  that  segment,  dispersed  around  the 
island, have no specific landing sites and still need to be identified. In addition, it is 
necessary  to  train  fishermen  and  controllers  and  to  set  up  the  appropriate 
administrative  and  physical  infrastructure.  It  is  therefore  necessary  to  provide  for  a 
temporary derogation from certain rules concerning the control of fishing vessels and 
their  characteristics,  their  activities  at  sea,  their  gear  and  their  catches  at  all  stages 
from the vessel to the market in respect of that segment of the fleet. However, in order 
to  attain  at  least  some  of  the  most  important  objectives  of  Regulation  (EC) 
No 1224/2009, France should establish a national control system allowing it to control 
and  monitor  the  activities  of  that  segment  of  the  fleet  and  to  comply  with  the 
international reporting obligations of the Union. 

(11)  Regulations  (EC)  No  850/98,  (EC)  No  104/2000,  (EC)  No  2371/2002,  (EC)  No 
639/2004, (EC) No 1069/2009 and (EC) No 1224/2009 should therefore be amended 
accordingly, 

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Article 1 
Amendments to Regulation (EC) No 850/98 

Regulation (EC) No 850/98 is amended as follows: 

(1) 

In Article 2(1), point (h) is replaced by the following: 

"(h)  Region 8: 

All  waters  off  the  coasts  of  the  French  departments  of  Réunion  and  Mayotte  that 
come under the sovereignty or jurisdiction of France."; 

(2) 

The following Article 34a is inserted after Article 34: 

"Article 34a 

Restrictions on fishing activities in the 24-mile zone around the island of Mayotte 

Vessels shall be prohibited from using any purse-seine on tuna and tuna-like schools of fish 
inside  the  areas  within  24  miles  of  the  coasts  of  the  island  of  Mayotte,  measured  from  the 
baselines from which territorial waters are measured." 

Article 2 
Amendment to Regulation (EC) No 104/2000 

In  Article  4  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  104/2000,  the  following  paragraph  3a  is  inserted  after 
paragraph 3: 

"3a.  Until 16 December 2016, paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 shall not apply to products offered for 
retail sale to the final consumer in Mayotte." 

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OJ L 343, 22.12.2009, p.1. 

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Article 3 
Amendments to Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 

Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 is amended as follows: 

(1) 

In Article 15, the following paragraphs 5 and 6 are added: 

“5.  By  way  of  derogation  from  paragraph  1,  France  shall  be  exempted  until  31 
December 2016 from the obligation to include in its register of Union fishing 
vessels those vessels which are less than 9 meters in overall length and operate 
from Mayotte.  

6.  Until  31  December  2016,  France  shall  keep  a  provisional  register  of  fishing 
vessels  which  are  less  than  9  meters  in  overall  length  and  operate  from 
Mayotte.  That  register  shall  contain,  for  each  vessel,  at  least  its  name,  its 
overall length and an identification code.” 

(2) 

The following Article 18a is inserted after Article 18: 

"Article 18a 

Mayotte 

By  way  of  derogation  from  Article  17,  in  the  waters  up  to  100  nautical  miles  from  the 
baselines of Mayotte, France may restrict fishing to fishing vessels registered in the ports of 
Mayotte,  either  in  the  register  of  Union  vessels  or  in  the  provisional  register  referred  to  in 
Article 15(6), except for Union vessels that, within the two years preceding 1 January 2014, 
fished  in  those  waters  for  at  least  40  days  insofar  as  they  do  not  exceed  the  fishing  effort 
traditionally exerted." 

Article 4 
Amendment to Regulation (EC) No 639/2004 

In Regulation (EC) No 639/2004, the following Article 1a is inserted after Article 1: 

“Article 1a 

Fleet of Mayotte 

1. 

2. 

By  way  of  derogation  from  Article  1(1)(a),  the  reference  levels  for  fishing  vessels 
registered  in  the  ports  of  Mayotte,  either  in  the  register  of  Union  vessels  or  in  the 
provisional  register  referred  to  in  Article  15(6)  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  2371/2002, 
shall be the capacity of that fleet at 31 December 2013.  

However,  for  fishing  vessels  which  are  between  8  and  12 meters  in  overall  length 
and use longlines and fishing vessels which are less than 9 meters in overall length, 
the reference level shall be the capacity foreseen in the development plan presented 
by France to the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission on 7 January 2011. 

By  way  of  derogation  from  Article  13  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  2371/2002,  France 
shall be authorised to introduce new capacity in the fleet segments defined for fishing 
vessels  which are between  8 and 12 meters  in overall length and use longlines and 

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fishing vessels which are less than 9 meters in overall length without the withdrawal 
of an equivalent capacity.” 

Article 5 
Amendment to Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009 

In Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009, Article 56 is replaced by the following:  

"Article 56  

Entry into force  

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in 
the Official Journal of the European Union.  

It shall apply from 4 March 2011.  

However,  Article  4  shall  apply  to  Mayotte  from  1  January  2019.  Animal  by-products  and 
derived  products  generated  in  Mayotte  before  1  January  2019  shall  be  disposed  of  in 
accordance with Article 19(1)(b).  

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.” 

Article 6 
Amendment to Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 

In Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009, the following Article 2a is inserted after Article 2: 

"Article 2a 

Application of the Community control system to certain segments of the fleet of the French 
overseas department of Mayotte 

1. 

2. 

Until 31 December 2016, Article 5(3) and Articles 6, 8, 41, 56, 58 to 62, 66, 68 and 
109  shall  not  apply  to  France  in  respect  of  fishing  vessels  which  are  less  than 
9 meters in overall length and operate from Mayotte, their activities and their catch. 

By 1 January 2014, France shall establish a national scheme of control applicable to 
fishing  vessels  which  are  less  than  9  meters  in  overall  length  and  operate  from 
Mayotte. That scheme shall comply with the following requirements: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

a single authority, located in Mayotte, shall coordinate the control activities of 
all local authorities; 

control, 
discriminatory basis; 

inspection  and  enforcement  shall  be  carried  out  on  a  non-

the  scheme  shall  ensure  the  control  of  catches  of  species  subject  to 
management under the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission and of species subject 
to protection; 

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(3) 

(d) 

(e) 

the  scheme  shall  ensure  the  control  of  access  to  waters  around  Mayotte,  in 
particular to areas subject to access restrictions applicable to certain segments 
of the fleet; 

the  scheme  shall  set  as  a  priority  the  objective  of  mapping  fishing  activities 
around  the  island  with  a  view  to  prepare  the  grounds  for  targeted  action  in 
terms of control.  

By 30 September 2014 France shall present to the Commission an action plan setting 
out the measures to be taken in order to ensure the full implementation of Regulation 
(EC) No 1224/2009 from 1 January 2017 concerning fishing vessels which are less 
than 9 meters in overall length and operate from the French department of Mayotte. 
The  action  plan  shall  be  the  subject  of  a  dialogue  between  France  and  the 
Commission.  France  shall  take  all  necessary  measures  to  implement  that  action 
plan.” 

Article 7 
Entry into force 

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in 
the Official Journal of the European Union. 

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. 

Done at Brussels,  

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

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