CELEX: 31985D0291
Language: en
Date: 1985-04-24 00:00:00
Title: 85/291/EEC: Commission Decision of 24 April 1985 on the multiannual guidance programme in respect of the fishing fleet submitted by the United Kingdom Government pursuant to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2908/83

15 . 6. 85                            Official Journal of the European Communities                              No L 157 /43
                                                 COMMISSION DECISION
                                                        of 24 April 1985
                  on the multiannual guidance programme in respect of the fishing fleet submitted by the
                     United Kingdom Government pursuant to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2908/83
                                                (Only the English text is authentic)
                                                         (85/291 / EEC)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN                                       Whereas, for the purposes of the restructuring of the
COMMUNITIES,                                                         fleet, a system of licences was introduced in February
                                                                      1984 whereby additions to the fleet and, consequently,
 Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European               the fishing effort can be controlled ;
 Economic Community,
                                                                     Whereas the programme may, having regard to produc­
 Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2908/                  tion potential , the measures for the conservation and
83 of 4 October 1983 on a common measure for restruc­                management of fish stocks, the demand for the
turing, modernizing and developing the fishing                       products concerned and the guidelines of the common
industry and for developing aquaculture ('), and in                  fisheries policy, constitute a suitable framework for
particular Article 5 thereof,                                        projects which may qualify for financial support from
                                                                     the Community ;
Whereas on 8 October 1984 the United Kingdom
Government forwarded a multiannual guidance                          Whereas the measures provided for in this Decision are
programme in respect of the fishing industry, here­                  in accordance with the opinion of the Standing
inafter referred to as 'the programme';                              Committee for the Fishing Industry,
Whereas, in accordance with the first paragraph of                   HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION :
Article 3 of Regulation (EEC) No 2908/83 , the time
required for the execution of the programme covers at
                                                                                             Article 1
least the proposed duration of the common measure ;
Whereas the programme contains the information                      The multiannual guidance programme in respect of the
referred to in Article 4 of the Regulation ;                        fishing fleet forwarded by the United Kingdom
                                                                    Government on 8 October 1984, as last supplemented
Whereas the United Kingdom fleet consists, to a large               on 19 February 1985 , the main features of which are set
extent, of deep-sea vessels whose exploitation potential            out in Annex I hereto, is hereby approved subject to the
is steadily falling owing to changes in the international           provisions set out in Annex II hereto.
context ; whereas, to ensure the rational restructuring of
this category of vessels, the programme provides for a                                       Article 2
substantial reduction in production capacity ; whereas
this measure will be financed by means of final cessa­              This Decision is addressed to the United Kingdom .
tion premiums ;
 Whereas the programme also provides for renewal of                 Done at Brussels, 24 April 1985
the inshore fishing fleet ; whereas the majority of
 inshore fishing vessels are more than 20 years old ;                                                     For the Commission
 whereas renewal is aimed chiefly at the modernization
                                                                                                          Frans ANDRIESSEN
 of existing vessels and the replacement of vessels in a
 condition warranting their withdrawal ;                                                                     Vice-President
(!) OJ No L 290, 22. 10. 1983 , p. 1 .
 ---pagebreak--- No L 157 /44                           Official Journal of the European Communities                                     15 . 6. 85
                                                            ANNEX I
           MAIN FEATURES OF THE MULTI ANNUAL GUIDANCE PROGRAMME IN RESPECT OF THE
           FISHING FLEET DRAWN UP BY THE UNITED KINGDOM GOVERNMENT WITHIN THE
                                FRAMEWORK OF COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 2908/83
           1.      Purpose of the programme
                   Restructuring of the fishing fleet by the adaptation and partial modernization of the deep-sea
                   fleet and the modernization and renewal of the inshore fleet.
           2.      Areas concerned
                   The entire territory of the United Kingdom.
           3.      Duration
                   The programme is valid from 1 January 1984 to 31 December 1986.
           4.      Objective of the programme
                   The programme aims at the modernization and partial renewal of the fishing fleet, about 50 % of
                   which (in terms of numbers as regards vessels longer than 12 meters) is more than 20 years old
                   and which is not optimally distributed among the various types of fishing to the extent that the
                   deep-sea fleet has to be reduced further and the inshore fleet has to be renewed and modernized
                   without any significant increase in the actual capacity.
            5.     The following measures are proposed to attain this objective
            5. 1 .  Construction
                   — reduction of the overall capacity of the deep-sea fleet to arrive at a tonnage of approximately
                        38000 grt at 31 December 1986 and slight expansions of the inshore fleet to arrive at a tonnage
                        of around 109000 grt at the same date,
                   — encouragement of permanent withdrawal from fishing, without replacement in accordance
                        with Directive 83 / 515 / EEC ,
                   — control of fishing activity in certain waters and in respect of certain stocks so as to avoid the
                       risk of overfishing.
           5.2     Modernization
                   Encouragement of the modernization of inshore and middlewater fishing vessels given the degree
                   of obsolescence found in these categories.
           6.      Investments forecasts
           6. 1    For vessel construction (number and grt)
                   United Kingdom fishing fleet
                   I                                                         Number
                                                                                           Total
                                                                                                          grt
                    Fleet additions                                                           I
                   Deep sea                                                      16                      1 120
                   Inshore                                                      164                      4 286
                                                         Total                  180                      5 406
                   Fleet withdrawals                                                          l
                   Deep-sea                                                      69                     34 997
                   Inshore                                                       83                      3 320
                                                          Total                 152                     38 317
 ---pagebreak--- 15 . 6. 85                         Official Journal of the European Communities                                 No L 157 /45
           6.2  Constructions by region
               \                    England and Wales                Scotland                Northern Ireland
                                  Number           grt        Number            grt       Number            grt
                Total                87          1 840           77           3 146         16             420
           6.3  Withdrawals by region
               l                    England and Wales               Scotland                Northern Ireland
                                  Number          grt        Number             grt      Number             grt
                Total               100         33 285          37            3 792         15            1 240
           7.  Investment forecasts (million ECU)
               Total investments anticipated for the new vessel constructions 1984 to 1986 : 65 million ECU.
               These financial data are indicative.
                                                        ANNEX II
                                                      CONCLUSIONS
           1.  The Commission considers that the programme submitted by the United Kingdom Government
               as a framework for future Community or national financing schemes, constitutes an initial
               measure, following the adoption of the common fisheries policy, to restructure the activities of
               the United Kingdom fleet in a manner which will ensure the appropriate development of the fleet
               in line with actual catch possibilities and will lead to an improvement in the incomes of those
               employed in the industry.
               The established capacity targets should be coupled with a permanent system of management of
               the catch capacity linked with the management of the fishing resources.
               This system, which has to be installed within a reasonable period, should include the monitoring
               of initiatives with regard to constructions of new vessels and modernization of the existing
               fleet.
               In this connection, the Commission considers that the system of fishing licences introduced by
               the United Kingdom authorities can provide a measure of controlling fishing effort if it is
               improved .
               Furthermore, the development of the engine power of the fleet should be monitored so as to
               avoid any likelihood of an increase in fishing effort. To this effort, the United Kingdom auth­
               orities will have to include arrangements for measuring engine power in their system.
           2.  The Commission requests the United Kingdom Government to ensure that measures taken by
               regional or local authorities are compatible with this programme.
           3.  The Commission points out that the investment requirement contained in this programme does
               not imply any commitment as regards financial support from the Community.
           4.  The Commission considers that the programme targets and their attainment should form the
               subject of a more detailed analysis within the framework of the annual review referred to in
               Article 6 of Regulation (EEC) No 2908/83 in the light of developments in the structural and
               economic situation of the fishing industry in the United Kingdom.