CELEX: 21986A0913(04)
Language: en
Date: 1987-06-29 00:00:00
Title: Agreement amending for the second time the Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Government of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau on fishing off the coast of Guinea-Bissau

Avis juridique important

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21986A0913(04)

Agreement amending for the second time the Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Government of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau on fishing off the coast of Guinea-Bissau  

Official Journal L 261 , 13/09/1986 P. 0022 L 113 30/4/1987 P. 0003

AGREEMENTamending for the second time the Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Government of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau on fishing off the coast of Guinea-Bissau  Article 1  The Annex referred to in Article 5 and the Protocol referred to in Article 9 of the Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Government of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau on fishing off the coast of Guinea-Bissau, signed on 27 February 1980, shall be replaced by the texts annexed to this Agreement.  The Agreement in the form of Exchanges of Letters No 1 and No 2, signed on 27 February 1980 and referring to the Agreement on fishing mentioned in the preceding paragraph, shall be repealed.  Article 2  This Agreement, drawn up in duplicate in the Spanish, Danish, German, Greek, English, French, Italian, Dutch and Portuguese languages, each of these texts being equally authentic, shall enter into force on the date on which the Parties notify each other of the completion of the procedures necessary for this purpose. It shall be applicable from 16 June 1986 to 15 June 1989.  ANNEX  CONDITIONS FOR THE PURSUIT OF FISHING ACTIVITIES IN GUINEA-BISSAU'S FISHING ZONE BY VESSELS FLYING THE FLAGS OF MEMBER STATES OF THE COMMUNITY  A. Licence application and issuing formalities  The procedure for applications for, and issue of, the licences enabling vessels flying the flags of the Member States of the Community to fish in Guinea-Bissau's fishing zone shall be as follows:  The relevant Community authorities shall present to the Office of the Secretary of State for Fisheries of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, via the Delegation of the Commission in Guinea-Bissau, an application for each vessel that wishes to fish under this Agreement, at least 30 days before the date of commencement of the period of validity requested.  The applications shall be made on the forms provided for that purpose by the Government of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, a specimen of which is annexed hereto.  Each licence application shall be accompanied by proof of payment for the period of the licence's validity.  By way of derogation from Article 4 (3) of the Agreement, licences shall be valid for quarterly, half-yearly or annual periods.  Licences must be held on board at all times.  1. Provisions applicable to trawlers  a) The fees for annual licences shall be set as follows:  100 ECU/GRT per year for fin fish trawlers;  116 ECU/GRT per year for cephalopod trawlers;  133 ECU/GRT per year for shrimp trawlers.  Vessels shall be required to put in at the port of Bissau for the issuing of the licence.  b) By way of derogation from Article 5 (2) of the Agreement, the annual fees may, at the shipowner's request, be paid quarterly or half-yearly, in which case they shall be increased respectively by 5 % and 3 %.  Applications shall be accompanied by proof of a banker's guarantee held at the Banque Nationale de Paris in favour of the BNGB/Office of the Secretary of State for Fisheries covering an amount equal to the fee due for the period not covered by the payment, which shall be forfeited to the Guinea-Bissau authorities if the licence is not used.  c) The fees for half-yearly licences shall be set as follows:  57,5 ECU/GRT per half year for fin fish trawlers;  66,5 ECU/GRT per half year for cephalopod trawlers;  76,5 ECU/GRT per half year for shrimp trawlers.  The fees for quarterly licences shall be set as follows:  30 ECU/GRT per quarter for fin fish trawlers;  35 ECU/GRT per quarter for cephalopod trawlers;  40 ECU/GRT per quarter for shrimp trawlers.  d) Trawlers authorized to fish in the Guinea-Bissau fishing zone shall make a contribution to fish supplies for the local population by landing each quarter:  - fin fish trawlers: 20 kg of fish/GRT,  - cephalopod trawlers: 16 kg of fish/GRT,  - shrimp trawlers: 14 kg of fish/GRT,  at a price set by the Office of the Secretary of State for Fisheries by mutual agreement with the shipowner on the basis of equivalent prices for that quality fish at the Dakar and Conakry markets and in consultation with the Delegation of the Commission of the European Communities at Bissau. Should the licence be renewed, the fee may be accordingly reduced in relation to the value of the fish landed.  Landings may be made individually or collectively.  Any failure to comply with the obligation to land catches shall render the offender liable to the following sanctions on the part of the Guinea-Bissau authorities:  - fine of 1 000 ECU per tonne not landed, and  - withdrawal and non-renewal of the licence of the vessel concerned or another vessel belonging to the same shipowner.  e) By-catch  Cephalopod and fin fish trawlers may not take more than 5 tonnes of shrimps per year per vessel as by-catch.  In the case of by-catches exceeding this limit, shipowners shall be required to pay to the Office of the Secretary of State for Fisheries a sum equal to 50 % of their commercial value at a price fixed according to the procedure set out in d).  Provisions on by-catches of other crustaceans may be adopted at the next meeting of the Joint Committee.  2. Provisions applicable to tuna vessels and longliners  a) The fees shall be set at 20 ECU per tonne caught within Guinea-Bissau's fishing zone.  b) Applications for licences for tuna vessels and longliners shall be issued following payment to the Office of the Secretary of State of an overall lump sum of 35 000 ECU equivalent to the fees for:  - 1 600 tonnes of tuna caught per year in the case of seiners,  - 100 tonnes of tuna caught per year in the case of pole-and-line vessels,  - 50 tonnes of swordfish caught per year in the case of longliners.  A provisional statement of the fees due for the fishing year shall be drawn up by the Commission of the European Communities at the end of each calendar year on the basis of the catch statements made by the shipowners and forwarded simultaneously to the Guinea-Bissau authorities and the Commission departments responsible. The corresponding amount shall be paid by shipowners to the Office of the Secretary of State for Fisheries no later than 31 March of the following year.  The final statement of the fees due shall be drawn up by the Commission following verification of the volume of catch by a specialist scientific body in the region. The final statement shall be communicated to the Guinea-Bissau authorities and notified to the shipowners, who shall have 30 days to discharge their financial obligations.  However, if the amount of the statement is lower than the abovementioned advance, the resulting balance shall not be reimbursable.  c) The competent authorities of Guinea-Bissau shall examine each application for a licence in order to ensure that it complies with the provisions of the Agreement and with the laws of Guinea-Bissau.  The competent Guinea-Bissau authorities shall inform the Community authroities of their decisions.  d) Should there be any difficulties or additional information needed when applications are examined and licences issued, consultations shall be held between the representatives of the Contracting Parties, in particular through the Office of the Secretary of State for Fisheries and the Delegation of the Commission of the European Communities in Guinea-Bissau.  B. Statement of catch  1. All vessels authorized to fish in Guinea-Bissau's waters under the Agreement shall be obliged to forward to the Office of the Secretary of State for Fisheries a statement of their catch made out according to the specimen annexed hereto.  Such statement of catch must be drawn up for each month and presented at least once every quarter.  Should this provision not be adhered to, the Government of Guinea-Bissau reserves the right to suspend the licence of the offending vessel until the formality has been complied with.  2. Any Community vessel fishing in Guinea-Bissau's fishing zone shall allow on board, and assist in the accomplishment of his duties, any official of Guinea-Bissau responsible for inspection and monitoring. C. Training grants  The two Parties agree that an essential condition for the success of their cooperation is that the competence and know-how of persons engaged in sea fishing should be improved. To this end, the Community shall make it easier for nationals of Guinea-Bissau to find places in establishments in its Member States and shall provide for that purpose, during the period from 16 June 1986 to 15 June 1989, sixteen study and training grants of a maximum duration of five years in the various scientific, technical and economic subjects connected with fisheries. The equivalent of one of these grants of five years will be converted to cover the costs of participation in international meetings in the fisheries sector.  D. Signing on of seamen  Shipowners who have been issued fishing licences under the Agreement shall contribute to the on-the-job vocational training of Guinea-Bissau nationals subject to the conditions and limits set out below:  1. Each trawler owner shall undertake to employ:  - one fisherman on vessels of less than 200 GRT,  - two fishermen on vessels of between 200 and 300 GRT,  - three fishermen on vessels of more than 300 GRT,  and apply the salary scales applicable in Guinea-Bissau.  2. Owners of tuna vessels and longliners shall undertake to employ Guinea-Bissau nationals either on board their vessels or in appropriate posts on land, to have been approved by the Guinea-Bissau authorities. The number of those to be employed and the duration of employment shall be decided on a general basis taking into account the scale of these vessels' activities in Guinea-Bissau's fishing zone and the employment of other nationals of countries in whose fishing zones the said vessels fish.  3. The employment contracts of the fishermen shall be drawn up in Bissau between the shipowner's representative and the fisherman in agreement with the Office of the Secretary of State for Fisheries. These contracts shall cover the social security arrangements applicable to the fishermen (including life, accident and sickness insurance).  E. Taking on board of observers  Each trawler shall take on board an observer designated by the Office of the Secretary of State for Fisheries The skipper shall assist the observer in the accomplishment of his duties and the observer shall be accorded the conditions enjoyed by officers of that vessel. The salary and the social contributions of the observer shall be borne by the Government of Guinea-Bissau.  REPUBLIC OF GUINEA-BISSAU  OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FISHERIES  APPLICATION FOR A FISHING LICENCE (1)  1. Valid from: .......... to: .......... 2. Name of vessel:  .......... 3. Name of shipowner:  .......... 4. Port and registration number:  .......... 5. Type of fishing:  .......... 6. Authorized mesh size:  .......... 7. Length of vessel:  .......... 8. Width of vessel:  .......... 9. Gross registered tonnage:  .......... 10. Hold capacity:  .......... 11. Engine rating:  .......... 12. Type of construction:  .......... 13. Usual number of seamen aboard:  .......... 14. Radio/electrical equipment:  .......... 15. Master's name:  .......... The above information is the sole responsibility of the shipowner or his representative.  Date of application:  .......... (1) The original application form is issued in French and Portuguese only.  >TABLE>INSTRUCTIONS FOR FILLING IN THE LOG-BOOK  Each ship's master shall be responsible for the information supplied every month to the Office of the Secretary of State for Fisheries. He shall fill in this log-book in a spirit of frank cooperation.  The following information is requested:  1. Month:  .......... Year:  .......... 2. Name of vessel:  .......... Nationality (flag):  .......... 3. Engine rating in HP:  .......... Gross registered tonnage (GRT):  .......... 4. Fishing method (gear):  .......... Port of landing:  .......... The statistical table of catches and fishing activity is divided into two parts:  The first part shows the daily fishing activity (each horizontal line corresponds to a day's activity). The first page should be used for the first half of the month and the second page for the last half.  The master should indicate the fishing zone by noting the latitude and longitude. He should note the number of times the net is thrown per day. He should give the total number of fishing hours for each day.  The second part of the log is for information on catches, in kilograms or in tonnes. It should be clearly stated whether the figure is in kilograms or tonnes. There are seven columns, one for each species. Only the six most important species fished should be entered in the log. The column before the total (headed 'other') should be reserved for the sum of all other species fished.  The monthly logs, once filled in, should be sent every month to the Office of the Secretary of State for Fisheries for those vessels landing their catches in Bissau. For other vessels, the monthly logs should be sent, duly filled in, to the Office of the Secretary of State for Fisheries every three months. PROTOCOL  establishing rights and financial compensation for the period from 16 June 1986 to  15 June 1989  Article 1  For a period of three years from 16 June 1986 the limits referred to in Article 4 of the Agreement shall be as follows:  1. Trawlers: 11 000 GRT per month, annual average  2. 45 freezer tuna seiners: 900 GRT on average  3. 25 wet pole-and-line tuna vessels: 130 GRT on average  4. 6 longliners: 160 GRT on average  Article 2  The financial compensation referred to in Article 9 of the Agreement shall be, for the period referred to in Article 1 of this Protocol, 7 500 000 ECU, payable in three annual instalments.  Article 3  The use to which the compensation provided for in Article 2 is put shall be the sole responsibility of the Government of Guinea-Bissau.  The compensation shall be paid into the account of the 'Office of the Secretary of State for Fisheries'.  Article 4  At the request of the Community, the fishing rights referred to in Article 1 (1) may be increased by successive instalments of 1 000 GRT a month on annual average. In this case, the financial compensation referred to in Article 2 shall be increased proportionately pro rata temporis.  Article 5  The Community shall also contribute a sum of 400 000 ECU towards the financing of a Guinea-Bissau scientific programme to ensure the operation of a marine biology laboratory aand improve information on the fishery resources within the exclusive economic zone of Guinea-Bissau.  This sum shall be made available to the Office of the Secretary of State for Fisheries.  The competent Guinea-Bissau authorities shall send to the Commission of the European Communities a brief report on the utilization of the funds.  Article 6  Should the Community fail to make the payments provided for in this Protocol, the Agreement on fishing shall be suspended.