CELEX: 31985D0279
Language: en
Date: 1985-04-24 00:00:00
Title: 85/279/EEC: Commission Decision of 24 April 1985 on the multiannual guidance programme in respect of the fishing fleet submitted by Denmark pursuant to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2908/83

No L 157 /6                             Official Journal of the European Communities                                   15 . 6. 85
                                                   COMMISSION DECISION
                                                          of 24 April 1985
                   on the multiannual guidance programme in respect of the fishing fleet submitted by
                                    Denmark pursuant to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2908/83
                                                  (Only the Danish text is authentic)
                                                           (85/279/EEC)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN                                        Whereas it is planned that the implementation of the
COMMUNITIES,                                                          restructuring measures should be accompanied by the
                                                                      introduction of a permanent system for monitoring
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European                 additions to the fleet and a generalized system to ensure
Economic Community,                                                   that better use is made of available resources with a
                                                                      view to obtaining the best possible distribution of
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2908/                    fishing effort ;
83 of 4 October 1983 on a common measure for restruc­
turing, modernizing and developing the fishing                        Whereas the programme may, having regard to the
industry and for developing aquaculture (•), and in                   production potential, the measures for the conservation
particular Article 5 thereof,                                         and management of fish stocks, the demand for the
                                                                      products concerned and the guidelines of the common
Whereas      the   Danish     Government      forwarded     on        fisheries policy, constitute a suitable framework for
30 November 1984 a multiannual guidance programme                     projects which may qualify for financial support from
in respect of the fishing industry, hereinafter called 'the           the Community ;
programme'; whereas it forwarded on 20 February
 1985 the latest additional information concerning this               Whereas the measures provided for in this Decision are
programme ;                                                           in accordance with the opinion of the Standing
                                                                      Committee for the Fishing Industry,
Whereas the period of implementation of the
programme covers at least the proposed duration of the
common measure, in accordance with the first para­
graph of Article 3 of Regulation (EEC) No 2908/83 ;                   HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION :
Whereas the programme contains the information                                                 Article 1
referred to in Article 4 of Regulation ( EEC) No
2908 / 83 ;
                                                                      The multiannual guidance programme in respect of the
                                                                      fishing fleet forwarded by the Danish Government
Whereas the vessels that make up the Danish fishing                   on 30 November 1984, as last supplemented on
fleet are characterized by a considerable degree of                   20 February 1985 , the main features of which are set
obsolescence, in particular with regard to the date of                out in Annex I hereto, is hereby approved subject to the
hull construction ; whereas, in order to ensure that the              provisions set out in Annex II hereto.
fishing fleet is restructured in a rational manner, the
programme provides for a renewal , without any
increase in the overall tonnage of the fleet, that is
compatible with the medium-term prospects for the                                              Article 2
exploitation of fish stocks ; whereas such renewal is
concerned with improving working conditions, the                     This Decision is addressed to the Kingdom of
conditions for processing and conserving catches and                  Denmark.
the versatility of fishing methods ;
Whereas special attention should be paid to fishing for
human consumption ;                                                   Done at Brussels, 24 April 1985 .
Whereas the renewal of obsolete vessels must be accom­
                                                                                                            For the Commission
panied by a withdrawal of vessels whose gross register
                                                                                                           Frans ANDRIESSEN
tonnage is equivalent overall to that of the newly built
vessels ;                                                                                                      Vice-President
( i ) OJ No L 290, 22. 10. 1983 , p. 1 .
 ---pagebreak--- 15 . 6. 85                                 Official Journal of the European Communities                                    No L 157 /7
                                                                 ANNEX I
             MAIN FEATURES OF THE GUIDANCE PROGRAMME IN RESPECT OF THE FISHING FLEET
             DRAWN UP BY THE DANISH GOVERNMENT WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF COUNCIL
                                                    REGULATION (EEC) No 2908/83
            1.        Purpose of the programme
                      Restructuring of the fishing fleet by the replacement of obsolete vessels and the modernization of
                      vessels already in use.
            2.        Delimitation of the area concerned by the programme
                      The territory of Denmark with the exclusion of Greenland and the Faroes.
            3.        Duration of the programme
                      The programme will remain in force until 31 December 1987.
            4.        Objective of the programme
                      The objective of the programme is to :
                      — stabilize the capacity of the fleet in the medium term, account being taken of a slight increase
                           in the stocks available for human consumption and of the stability of stocks available for
                           industrial processing,
                      — improve working and safety conditions on board,
                      — improve on-board conservation and processing of catches with a view to improving catch
                           quality and thereby achieving greater economic efficiency,
                      — encourage a more rational use of fuel by vessels.
           5.        The following measures are proposed to attain these objectives
           5.1 .      Construction
                     — stabilization of the overall capacity of the fleet at 120 000 grt as of 31 December 1987, i.e. at
                          the same level as of 31 December 1984,
                     — monitoring of additions to the fleet, which must be offset by an overall withdrawal of vessels
                          of an equivalent capacity,
                     — promotion of definitive withdrawal from fishing activity, without replacement, by the applica­
                          tion of a system of laying-up premiums in accordance with Directive 83/515/ EEC (')•
           5.2 .     Modernization
                     Modernization aid will be restricted to vessels less than 30 years old until 31 December 1985 .
                     From 1 January 1986, this limit will be reduced to 25 years. For industrial fishing, this aid will be
                     restricted to measures aimed at improving the quality of the catches ; a more rational use of fuel
                     and working and safety conditions on board.
           6.        Forecast investments required to attain the objective set out in point 4 above
           6.1 .     For vessel construction (in grt)
                                                                           1985               1986             1987
                     Additions to the fleet                               6 500              5 500            6 000
                     Withdrawals from the fleet                           6 500              5 500            6 000
                     — without State aids                                 4 500              5 500            6 000
                     — with State aids                                    2 000                —                —
           6.2.      For vessel modernization
                     It is planned that the number of vessels to be modernized in the period from 1985 to 1987 will be
                    of the same order as the number modernized in the previous three years.
           (') Article 13 (2) of Regulation (EEC) No 2908/83 lays down that projects concerning the construction
                 of fishing vessels intended for the replacement of vessels having benefited from aids for definitive
                 reduction of capacity within the framework of Directive 83/515/ EEC are ineligible.
 ---pagebreak--- No L 157 / 8                         Official Journal of the European Communities                                   15 . 6. 85
             7. Investment forecasts (million ECU)
                Total planned investments :
                — for the construction of new vessels 1985 to 1987 : 200 million ECU,
                — for modernization : 20 million ECU.
                Planned annual national aid for construction and modernization :
                 1985 : 3,9 million ECU
                 1986 : 4,4 million ECU        Of which 0,7 million ECU are for aquaculture
                 1987:4,4 million ECU
                These financial figures, as well as the breakdown between the various measures are indicative.
                                                         ANNEX II
                                                  FINAL CONCLUSIONS
             1. The Commission notes that the programme submitted by the Danish Government constitutes an
                initial attempt, following the adoption of the common fisheries policy, to restructure investments
                in the medium term with the aim of ensuring satisfactory economic conditions for the fishing
                industry and of improving the income of those employed in the industry.
                The capacity objective fixed must, however, be accompanied by a permanent system of manage­
                ment of the catch capacity in relation to the management of stocks. This system, which should be
                installed as soon as possible, should include a continuous monitoring of developments in respect
                of both the construction of new vessels and the modernization of the existing fleet and should pay
                particular attention to the balance between entries into the fleet and withdrawals from activity.
                The norms of application must be notified to the Commission within the framework of the annual
                re-examination of this programme.
                The Commission considers that a continuous monitoring of the effect of boat modernizations on
                capacity should be set up within the framework of this system.
                 Moreover, the development of the engine capacity of the fleet should be monitored in order to
                avoid, as necessary, all risks of an uncontrolled increase in fishing effort.
                The Commission notes the intention of the Danish authorities to cease providing State aid to
                finance, on the one hand, the construction of new vessels for industrial fishing and, on the other,
                the modernization of vessels that are more than 30 years old until 31 December 1985 . From
                 1 January 1986 this age limit will be reduced to 25 years.
             2. The Commission considers that the forecasts of investment contained in the present programme
                do not prejudice possible grants of aid from the Community .
             3. The Commission considers that the programme forecasts and their actual implementation 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 fishing undertakings in Denmark.