REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 1921/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 on the submission of statistical data on landings of fishery products in Member States
Date: 2014-04-24
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, data collection, data transmission, fishery product, fishing statistics, quantity of fish landed













EUR-Lex - 52014DC0240 - EN











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52014DC0240

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 1921/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 on the submission of statistical data on landings of fishery products in Member States /* COM/2014/0240 final */









REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL
on the implementation of Regulation (EC)
No 1921/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006
on the submission of statistical data on landings of fishery products in Member
States
1. INTRODUCTION (SCOPE, BACKGROUND,
NATIONAL LEGISLATION)
Article 10 of Regulation
(EC) No 1921/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the
submission of statistical data on landings of fishery products in Member States
(the Landings Regulation) establishes the following: ‘The Commission shall, by19 January
2010 and every three years thereafter, submit an assessment report to the European
Parliament and the Council on the statistical data compiled pursuant to this
Regulation and in particular on their relevance and quality. The report
shall also analyse the cost-effectiveness of the system used for the
collection and processing of statistical data and shall put forward best
practices for reducing the workload for Member States and enhancing the
usefulness and quality of the statistical data’.
This report documents
the progress made by Member States and EFTA countries with respect to the provisions
of the Landings Regulation, requiring each Member State to submit data annually
on the weight, presentation, intended use and average price of fishery products
landed on its territory by European and EFTA vessels.
The information collected
under the Control Regulations[1] in compliance with the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) reveals
that much of the administrative data is obtained through logbooks, landing
declarations, sales notes and takeover declarations for quota monitoring and
enforcement purposes, which are the main data source for the Member States.
2. COVERAGE AND
CONTENT
2.1. Data collection
and data sources
Logbooks, sales notes
and landing declarations are the most important administrative sources of catch
and landings data. Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 and Commission Implementing
Regulation (EU) No 404/2011 require the skippers of vessels over 10 m in overall
length to keep a logbook of their operations and to submit the information
recorded as soon as possible and within 24 hours even when there are no catches. Logbooks
provide data recorded during these operations and must include an estimate of
the live weight of the catch. They are particularly useful for apportioning
catches to fishing areas, calculating fishing effort and cross-checking it. For
vessels under 10 m in length, Member States must monitor fishing activity
on the basis of sampling techniques.
Sales notes are
submitted to the authorities responsible for the first marketing of fish
(whether they are the vessel’s agent or registered auctions). They include
information on the quantity of each species landed, the form in which they are
presented, the value of each product and the vessel making the landing. In most
cases, this information is limited to species subject to catch quota
management. In the past, estimates of fishing activity
were made exclusively on the basis of expert information.
2.2. Data collection systems in the Member States and EFTA countries
Belgium — Belgian vessels fish in the Northeast East Atlantic (area 27)
only, mostly in the North Sea (IVb and IVc) and the Eastern Channel (VIId). Data
sources are administrative (logbooks, landing declarations and sales notes).
First sales must be through the three main auctions (Zeebrugge, Oostende and
Nieuwpoort) except for small vessels which may sell to the public at Oostende. Sales notes are transmitted to the Sea Fisheries Service (Dienst Zeevisserj) on
the day of landing.
Bulgaria — Bulgarian vessels fish in the Mediterranean and Black Sea (area
37), mainly sub-area 37.4.2. Data sources are administrative (logbooks, landing
declarations and sales notes) supplied to the National Agency of Fisheries and
Aquaculture (NAFA). NAFA requires sales notes from first sales to be submitted within
48 hours of landings.
Cyprus —
Administrative data (logbooks) are collected by the Fisheries Inspectorate for
vessels 10 m and over in overall length. The collection of fisheries data
and compilation of reports is the responsibility of the Department of Fisheries
and Marine Research of the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and
Environment.
Denmark — Data sources are administrative (logbooks, landing declarations
and sales notes) and data are collected centrally by the Danish Directorate of
Fisheries (DDF). First sale of fish by non-commercial fishermen is forbidden in
  Denmark, and all first-hand buyers must be registered with the DDF and submit
sales notes to them in either electronic or paper form. Around 90 % of
sales notes are received electronically.
Germany — German vessels fish in the Northeast Atlantic, Northwest Atlantic,
Eastern Central Atlantic and Southeast Pacific (areas 27, 21, 34 and 87). Data
sources are administrative (logbooks, landing declarations and sales notes).
These are supplied to the Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food via producer organisations
and Länder authorities.
Estonia — Estonian vessels fish in the Northwest Atlantic (area 21) Northeast Atlantic (27 - Baltic) and inland waters (05). Data sources are administrative
(logbooks, landing declarations, sales notes, and transhipment and transport
documents). Vessels less than 12 m in overall length fill in a ‘coastal
fishing’ logbook in accordance with Estonian national legislation. Estonia requires paper copies of documentation twice a month for data submitted electronically.
First buyers of fish are required to submit sales notes electronically to the
authorities (Ministry of Agriculture for commercial fishing) and several
private companies have also opted to do this.
Ireland — Irish vessels fish in the Northeast Atlantic (area 27). Data
sources are administrative (logbooks, landing declarations, sales notes and
shellfish gatherers’ documents). Data are collected at ports by the Irish Sea
Fisheries Protection Authority. Ireland reports that significant changes to its
collection systems to facilitate the electronic collection of data required by
European Union legislation.
Greece — Greek vessels fish in the Northeast Atlantic, Eastern Central
Atlantic and the Mediterranean (areas 27, 34 and 37) and record information by
statistical surveys. A census survey is applied to ‘overseas’ fishery and a
sample survey to area 37 ‘open sea’ and coastal fisheries. Surveys are carried
out by the National Statistical Service of Greece. Greece operates a full
census of Greek-flagged vessels for ‘overseas fishery’. Open sea and inshore
fishery has a large non-response error (50 %) and a sampling technique is used
to calculate the discrepancy.
Spain — Spain has a large and diverse fishing industry and various
agencies are responsible for data supply and quality. Data collection is, in
the first instance, carried out by the regional authorities and then collated centrally.
There are seven distinct administrative data sources for compiling landings
data including logbooks, sales notes, take-over declarations, landing
declarations and information from fish producer organisations. The various
sources are integrated into a database for both catches and landings.
France — Primary responsibility for data submission and data quality rests
with the office of fishing and aquaculture (BSPA) which is part of the Ministry
of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy. Data on important tropical tuna
fishery are supplied by the Institute for Research and Development (DPMA).
French vessels are predominantly active in the Northeast Atlantic, the
Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. Good coverage of fishing activity in the Atlantic is obtained from administrative sources (logbooks, landing declarations and sales
notes). For areas where administrative data is less reliable, particularly the Mediterranean, these sources are supplemented with sample surveys. France has invested heavily in modernising and improving its fisheries data collection
system.
Italy — Italy fishes in area 37. There are currently some difficulties in collecting data for areas
34 and 51. It operates a sample survey for area 37 (a census has been used for
other areas). Logbooks are used to collect data on catches of red tuna only and
these data are collected by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Policies
(MIPAAF). Istituto nazionale di Statitistica (ISTAT)
collects data for areas 34 and 51 and Istituto di Ricerche Economiche per la
Pesca e l'Acquacoltura (IREPA) deals with area 37. ISTAT
has responsibility for coordinating reporting to Eurostat. Italy has a large number of small vessels (less than 12 m in overall length). About 99 %
of vessels operate in coastal waters around the Italian peninsula.
Approximately two thirds of these are small-scale vessels operating passive
gears. Data are collected by means of a multivariate sample survey with the
population segmented by area, vessel size and fishing gear used. The survey
methodology confines sampling errors to within a 3.5 % tolerance. Non-response
errors are also recognised and addressed through sample selection. A small
number of vessels (around 10) fishing in areas 34 and 51 complete a
questionnaire, but in future years, due to a low response rate from them, the
methodology of collecting data for these areas will be revised (use of
administrative data). At the moment it is not possible to provide data for
these areas.
Latvia — Latvian vessels are active in the Northwest Atlantic fishing areas
27 (subdivisions Ia, IIa, III a-d, XIVa-b, etc.), 21 (subdivisions 3L, 3M, 3K,
1F, etc.) and 34 (subdivisions 1.13, 1.31., 1.32., etc.). Primary responsibility
for data transmission rests with the Department of Fisheries of the Ministry of
Agriculture, but other institutions are responsible for data collection. These
include the State Environment Service of the Ministry of Environmental
Protection and Regional Development, the Institute of Food Safety, Animal
Health and Environment ‘BIOR’ (of the Ministry of Agriculture) and the Central
Statistical Bureau (Ministry of Economics). Data sources are administrative —
logbooks, sales notes and landing declarations. Latvia requires central
registration and three years’ certification of fish buyers. Fish buyers are
required to submit electronic sales notes (or paper copies) within 48 hours of
completion of the sale.
Lithuania
— Lithuania fishes in the Northeast and Northwest Atlantic, Eastern Central Atlantic and South Pacific. The Fisheries Department of
the Ministry of Agriculture is responsible for data collection and processing.
Primary data sources are logbooks and landing declarations. Lithuania reports an integrated automated system for processing and validating catches and
landings data.
Malta — The
Fisheries Control Directorate within the Ministry for Resources and Rural
Affairs (MRRA) is responsible for the collection of data, which are transmitted
to Eurostat by the National Statistical Office (Agricultural and Fisheries
Statistics Unit). Maltese vessels are active in the Mediterranean (area 37,
subarea 15). A census approach is applied to vessels over 10 m in length, by
using data from logbooks and sales vouchers.
Netherlands — Dutch vessels are active in the Northeast
and Eastern Central Atlantic and Southeast Pacific (areas 27, 34 and 87). Data
sources are administrative (logbooks, landing declarations, transhipment and
transport documents and sales notes). Data are collected by the Ministry of
Economic Affairs and transmitted to Eurostat by the Office for Statistics. The Netherlands applies rules which govern the sale of fish through authorised outlets via producer
organisations. Electronic sales notes are submitted within 48 hours of sale.
Poland — Logbooks and sales notes are reported to be the main source of
information. Responsibility for data collection and transmission rests with the
Fisheries Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Portugal — The Portuguese Directorate General for Natural Resources, Security
and Maritime Services is responsible for submitting statistical data to
Eurostat. Portugal has a large and diverse national fleet which differs greatly
between the zones fished. The fleet is dominated by small, open-topped, wooden
artisanal fishing boats. The most important areas are the Northeast and Western Atlantic and Eastern Central Atlantic. There are also important longline fisheries
in the Atlantic and Indian Ocean targeting swordfish (and also blue shark in
the Indian Ocean). Data are mostly derived from logbooks, landing declarations
and sales notes. Fresh or chilled fish needs to be sold through regulated
markets and sales note information is completed for these. For fish processed
at sea, average prices are obtained from the landing declarations.
Romania — Romania is active in the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Black Sea (area 37). Data sources are administrative — logbooks, sales and transport notes.
Documents are collected by regional inspectors of the National Agency of
Fisheries and Aquaculture (NAFA). NAFA collates these for reporting to
Eurostat.
Slovenia — Responsibility for data collection and submission rests with the
Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, the Fisheries Research Institute of
Slovenia and the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia. The Slovenian
fleet operates fishing grounds in the Northern Adriatic (area 37). Data sources
are mostly administrative. All vessels are required to complete logbooks, so
coverage of landings by the fleet is complete. Price information is covered through
sales notes and survey questionnaires. With this method, information on the price
obtained covered the majority of total landings by quantity, with the exception
of landings of small amounts of fish (less than 50 kg) sold for personal
consumption and which do not have to be recorded in sale notes.
Finland — Primary responsibility for fisheries data collection, submission
and quality rests with the Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute.
Registers are maintained by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. Finnish
vessels fish only in the Baltic Sea. Data sources include a variation of the EU
logbook for the fleet over 10 m. First-hand sales of quota species are
regulated, with compulsory notification within 48 hours of landing. Information
on sales of non-quota species is supplemented with a survey of the largest fish
wholesale companies.
Sweden — Responsibility for data collection and submission rests with the
Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management. Data sources are administrative
comprising logbooks, sales notes, landing declarations, and for the coastal
fleet, monthly (or even daily) journals. Logbooks for fishing vessels longer than
12 m are submitted electronically via the ERS system and smaller vessels use a
daily paper logbook. Sales notes are collected centrally either electronically
or on paper and coastal fishermen have the option of submitting coastal
journals electronically via a secure web interface.
United Kingdom — Catches from the Northeast Atlantic (area
27) are the most important for this country. There is a sizeable coastal
fishery fleet which mainly targets non-quota species but takes a significant
proportion of some quota stocks. The United Kingdom also operates a small
distant water fleet which is UK registered but is based and operates abroad.
The UK fisheries inspectorate’s component countries (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) are responsible for data collection. This is collated and
transmitted to Eurostat by the Marine Management Organisation, an executive
non-departmental public body established and given powers under the Marine and
Coastal Access Act 2009. Administrative data (logbooks, sales notes and landing
declarations) are supplied for the fleet over 10 m.
Iceland — Icelandic vessels fish predominantly in the waters of the
Northeast Atlantic but also to a lesser extent in the Northwest and Southern Atlantic. Methodologies for compiling catch and landings statistics do not differ
fundamentally from those of EU Member States. Data are derived from logbooks. Iceland also tightly regulates first sales of fish and all landings must be made in
designated ports and weighed on certified scales. Both buyers and processors of
fish are required to submit reports. Responsibility for data collection transmission
to Eurostat rests with the Icelandic Directorate of Fisheries and with
Statistics Iceland. While the data sources are the same for both organisations,
discrepancies may arise where the Directorate of Fisheries supplies data
directly, as these are drawn from the live database which is subject to
revision.
Norway — Norwegian vessels fish in the Northeast Atlantic (area 27), Northwest Atlantic (area 21) and in the Antarctic (areas 48 and 88). The Norwegian
Directorate of Fisheries is responsible for the collection of fishery data.
Data sources are administrative, comprising catch logbooks, landing
declarations and sales notes. Electronic logbook data that are submitted daily
to, and stored in, the Directorate of Fisheries include catch information from
all fishing vessels of 15 m and above. Vessels of 12 to15 m in length, fishing
in ICES IIIa, have submitted electronic logbooks since the beginning of January
2013. Data from landing and sales notes are collected through six different
sales organisations and sent regularly as electronic documents to the
Directorate of Fisheries. Under Norwegian law, fishermen’s sales organisations
have sole rights to all first-hand sales by Norwegian and foreign fishermen.
The sales note covers data on both domestic and foreign landings by Norwegian
vessels and landings from foreign vessels in Norway. As required by Norwegian
regulations, each sales note includes information on vessels, fishermen,
buyers, species, type of product, fishing area, fishing gear, quantity and
value. Additional information on landing place, date of start and ending of the
trip, and date of the landing also has to be given in the sales note. Other information
on preservation and intended use is provided for both statistical and
administrative purposes. Norway provides information on landings by foreign
fishermen in Norway to their flag state according to control agreements.
2.3. Data quality
Methodologies for collecting
fishing information are fairly consistent throughout Europe. The reliability of
statistics depends on:
·                        
the accuracy of the documents provided by the
fish sector to the national authorities;
·                        
the quality controls by the Member States.
Many Member States
already report the use of electronic methods for performing cross-checks from administrative
sources. The different data sources, such as the vessel monitoring system (VMS)
and on-board and port inspections, ensure the consistency of the information recorded
in logbooks, landing and transhipment declarations, and sales notes. These data
sources represent a census of the required information and there is no
statistical sampling for vessels equal or larger than 10 m. Any gaps in the data
coverage are compensated for through statistical surveys which may cover all or
part of the fishing operations.
There are strict rules
governing the deadlines for providing sales notes, logbooks and landing
declarations, and these are respected in the majority of cases where the
landings are made on the territory of the Member State concerned. In particular
cases, where data are provided electronically, the data are updated on a daily
basis.
Member States
frequently report problems with delays in receiving sales notes on landings in
another Member State or a third country. Delays in data submission can lead to
discrepancies between supposedly identical information sent to Eurostat and to
other Commission services (DG MARE) for quota monitoring purposes. This is
mainly due to the fact that the information is continuously being updated by
the Member States. Variations in reporting deadlines also contribute to these
statistical differences.
While Member States try
to have their records complete as close to the end of the fishing year as
possible, databases are kept open for corrections, though in general, few
significant updates are made six months after the reference year.
The introduction of
computerised systems has eliminated many of the problems that had been
experienced in recording fishery statistics. A high degree of reliability has
been achieved, particularly in relation to quota-species. It should be noted
that further improvement for non-quota species data collection on landings is
still necessary.
Most of the MS are compliant
concerning the coverage, reliability and timeliness of the data required by
Council Regulation (ECC) 1382/91 of 21 May 1991[2] and Council Regulation (ECC) 2104/93 of 22 July 1993[3] on the quantity and average price of fishery
products landed by the EU and EEA in their territory. This information is
required within six months of the end of the reference year.
Some Member States such
as Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Spain reported that when the price information is missing those prices are estimated based
on average prices for the species. To prevent this situation in the future, Ireland has species guide prices to reduce input errors by fish buyers in its system. Estonia has addressed this matter by direct communication on a case by case basis. United Kingdom sales notes are supplemented by other sources of information when available
(i.e. vessels involved in shellfish activity are required to complete activity
diaries and submit them to authorities). These additional sources are employed
in conjunction with the landings data to provide a full set of information on
activity.
In the last Eurostat compliance
assessment Greece was declared 'not compliant'. However, Greece has now stated that the current situation will be corrected by the beginning of 2014
at the latest. Germany was quite late in transmitting data and its landings
data were not complete. Consequently, an official letter was sent by the
Director of Sectorial and Regional Statistics requesting that these problems be
avoided in the future. 
Poland, Romania and Ireland though compliant with the
Regulations do not reply on time to the validation checks conducted in Eurostat
in order to monitor the quality of data.
3. CONCLUSIONS
The data supplied to
Eurostat are for the most part collected under procedures introduced for
control and enforcement purposes. Member States report no particular
differences in the methodology for information supplied to Commission services.
The use of administrative data for statistical purposes ensures that there is
little additional cost burden on the fishing sector. 
Further confidence in
data quality is provided by cross-checks from surveillance activities. The
increasing use of electronic methods of data collection has improved both the timeliness
and accuracy of information. Work to implement systems in line with changing
European requirements is ongoing in many Member States.
In the previous (2010) report, some Member
States reported problems with the use of the conversion factors which varied from
one Member State to another. This issue was resolved by Commission Implementing
Regulation (EU) 404/2011[4] which sets out, in Annexes XIII, XIV and XV, all the coefficients for
converting stored or processed fish weight into live fish weight. Those
conversion factors should apply to fisheries products on board or those transhipped
or landed by EU fishing vessels. For the remaining species/presentations not
covered by the Regulation, national conversion factors are applied.
To achieve cost-effectiveness, the
following factors are relevant:
-           minimising the burden on
data suppliers by harmonising the formats and planning deadlines, and
increasing data sharing and availability;
-           coordinating data
collection with other Commission services;
-           coordinating developments
of the data collection instruments, to facilitate the quality cross-checks amongst
various sources and data bases.
The above will assist in making
optimum use of all available administrative sources in the fishing sector, in
particular those based on monitoring, control and surveillance, which are
commonly used in all the Member States. These sources represent a complete
census and no statistical sampling is employed. In addition to the above, any
gaps in the data coverage could be resolved through ‘ad hoc’ statistical
surveys such as employment figures.
Some difficulties have been noted in
collecting detailed and accurate data for artisanal vessels due to the large
number of vessels and landing places. This kind of fleet engages in activities
that vary considerably by season. Also, the lack of a VMS or logbook makes it
more difficult to control these landings.
The reduction in frequency of the
quality reports reduces the workload for Member States. The data continue to be
a valuable source of information for formulating policy and managing markets
within the CFP framework.
Most of the Member States have built
up their own systems of cross-checks and warnings which have helped to avoid
errors in the information provided from the different sources, in accordance
with the new requirements of the Control Regulations. In this regard, further cooperation
is needed between DG MARE and Eurostat concerning the
exchange of views and experience on data validations and data exchanges in
order to reduce double reporting of Member States. 
It should also be noted that there
has been an improvement in the completeness and timeliness of the
questionnaires produced compared with former reports. However, this report also
indicates that further improvements are necessary to enhance the quality of the
landing statistical data.
Eurostat plans to review its quality
questionnaires report on landings statistics to gather more accurate
information on the quality of the administrative sources used by the Member States.
It is also envisaged that more technical support will be provided to those
Member States which request it from Eurostat.
It should also be stressed that
Eurostat does not have the competence to monitor the incoming information required
by the Common Fisheries Policy. Concrete actions to achieve improved data will
be considered to assist in minimising the response burden on Member States and
avoid double reporting, thus optimising the use of Commission resources. The implementation of
the above-mentioned actions may contribute to an improved ratio in the cost-effective
use of statistical data and is in line with Regulation (EC) 223/2009[5] of the European Parliament and of the Council on
European statistics.
[1]           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 1300/2008, (EC) No 1342/2008 and repealing Regulations (EEC)
No 2847/93, (EC) No 1627/94 and (EC) No 1966/2006 (OJ L 343 p.1, 22.12.2009)
[2]         COUNCIL
REGULATION (EEC) No 1382/1991 of 21 May 1991 on the submission of data on
landings of fishery products in Member State (OJ  L 133. 28.5.1991)
[3]           COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) 2104/93 of 22 July 1993 amending
Regulation (EEC) No 1382/91 on the submission of data landings (OJ L 191,
31.07.1993)
[4]           COMMISSION
IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) No 404/2011 of 8 April 2011 laying down detailed
rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009
establishing a Community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules
of the Common Fisheries Policy (OJ L 112, 30.4.2011)
[5]           REGULATION
(EC) No 223/2009 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 11 March 200
on European statistics and repealing Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1101/2008 of
the European Parliament and of the Council on the transmission of data subject
to statistical confidentiality to the Statistical Office of the European
Communities, Council Regulation (EC) No 322/97 on Community Statistics, and
Council Decision 89/382/EEC, Euratom establishing a Committee on the Statistical
Programmes of the European Communities (OJ L 87, .31.3.2009)