Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION concerning the allocation of fishing opportunities under the Protocol to the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of the Gambia
Date: 2019-03-12
Institutions: Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, The Gambia, agreement (EU), catch area, catch quota, fishing agreement, fishing rights, fishing vessel, protocol to an agreement, sea fishing

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 12.3.2019  COM(2019) 132 final 2019/0074 (NLE)  Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION concerning the allocation of fishing opportunities under the Protocol to the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of the Gambia  
 
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

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CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

Reasons for and objectives of the proposal 

On  the  basis  of  the  relevant  negotiating  directives,  the  Commission  conducted  negotiations 
with the Government of The Gambia with a view to concluding a new  Sustainable Fisheries 
Partnership  Agreement  between  the  European  Union  and  the  Republic  of  The  Gambia. 
Following these negotiations, a new Agreement and Implementation Protocol were initialled 
on  19 October  2018.  The  new  Agreement  repeals  and  replaces  the  existing  Agreement;  it 
covers  a  period  of  six  years  from  the  date  of  its  provisional  application,  renewable  by  tacit 
agreement.The  new  Protocol  covers  a  period  of  six  years  from  the  date  of  provisional 
application laid down in Article 13, that being the date on which it is signed by the parties.   

The main aim of the new Agreement is to provide an updated framework taking into account 
the  priorities  of  the  reformed  Common  Fisheries  Policy  and  its  external  dimension,  with  a 
view to establishing a strategic partnership between the European Union and the Republic of 
The Gambia in the field of fisheries. 

The  aim  of  the  Protocol  is  to  grant  fishing  opportunities  to  European  Union  vessels  in 
Gambian waters taking into account available scientific assessments, in particular those of the 
Fishery Committee for the Eastern Central Atlantic (CECAF), and in accordance with the best 
available scientific advice and the recommendations of the International Commission for the 
Conservation  of  Atlantic  Tunas  (ICCAT),  within  the  limits  of  the  available  surplus.  The 
Commission based its position in part on the results of a forward-looking assessment, carried 
out by external experts, of whether a new Agreement and Protocol should be concluded. The 
aim  is  also  to  enhance  cooperation  between  the  European  Union  and  the  Republic  of  The 
Gambia to promote a sustainable fisheries policy and sound exploitation of fisheries resources 
in the Gambian fishing zone, in the interest of both parties. 

The Protocol provides for fishing opportunities in the following categories: 

- 

- 

- 

28 tuna seiners; 

10 pole-and-line vessels; 

3 trawlers (targeting black hake, a deep-sea demersal species). 

These fishing opportunities should be allocated among the Member States.  

2. 

• 

LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY 

Legal basis 

The legal basis chosen is the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Article 43(3) 
of  which  establishes  that  the  Council,  on  a  proposal  from  the  Commission,  shal  adopt 
measures on the allocation of fishing opportunities.  

• 

Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)  

The policy area is an exclusive competence. 

3. 

BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS 

The draft Regulation does not affect the Union budget. 

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4. 

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OTHER ELEMENTS 

Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements 

This  procedure  is  being  initiated  in  parallel  with  the  procedures  relating  to  the  Council 
Decision  on  the  signing,  on  behalf  of  the  Union,  of  the  Sustainable  Fisheries  Partnership 
Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of The Gambia and to the Council 
Decision  on  its  conclusion.  This  Regulation  must  be  applied  once  fishing  activities  become 
possible under the Agreement, i.e. on the date of application of the Implementation Protocol 
to the Agreement. 

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2019/0074 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

concerning the allocation of fishing opportunities under the Protocol to the Sustainable 
Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of the 
Gambia 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 43(3) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

The  Commision  negotiated  on  behalf  of  the  European  Union  a  new  Sustainable 
Fisheries  Partnership  Agreement  between  the  European  Union  and  the  Republic  of 
The Gambia ("Partnership Agreement") as well as a new Implementation Protocol to 
the Partnership Agreement (“the Protocol”).  

The  Partnership  Agreement  and  the  Protocol  were  initialled  at  the  end  of  those 
negotiations on 19 October 2018. 

The  Partnership  Agreement  repeals  the  previous  Agreement  that  was  concluded 
between the Government of the Republic of The Gambia and the European Economic 
Community on fishing  off the  coast  of The Gambia and that entered into force on 2 
June 1987. 
In  accordance  with  Council  Decision  2018/…/EU1,  the  new  Partnership  Agreement 
and the Protocol were signed on… [insert the date of signature]. 

The Protocol covers a period of six years as from the date of its application. 

The fishing opportunities provided for by the Protocol should be allocated among the 
Member States for the  entire period of application of the Protocol. 

The  Protocol  will  apply  on  a  provisional  basis  from  its  date  of  signature  in  order  to 
ensure  an  expeditious  start  to  fishing  activities  of  Union  vessels.  This  Regulation 
should therefore apply from the same date, 

1 

OJ L ..., ..., p. . 

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HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Article 1 

The  fishing  opportunities  established  under  the  Protocol  on  the  implementation  of  the 
Fisheries  Partnership  Agreement  between  the  European  Union  and  the  Republic  of  The 
Gambia  (‘the Protocol’) shall be allocated among the Member States as follows: 

(a) 

tuna seiners:  

Spain 

France 

(b) 

pole-and-line vessels:  

Spain 

France 

(c) 

deep-water demersal trawlers:  

16 vessels 

12 vessels 

8 vessels 

2 vessel 

Member State 

Spain 

Greece 

maximum number of 
deep-water demersal 
trawlers active at any 
given moment 

Number of quartlery 
fishing authorisations 
per year2 

Tonnes of target species 
as defined in Appendix 
2b of the Annex to the 
Protocol 

3 

10 

2 (in two different 
quarters) 

625 

125 

Article 2 

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

It shall apply from the date of application of the Protocol. 

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

Done at Brussels, 

For the Council 
The President 

2 

The  concerned  Member  States  shall  cooperate  with  the  Commission  in  order  to  coordinate  the 
utilisation of quarterly fishing authorisations.  

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