CELEX: 51996PC0625
Language: en
Date: 1996-12-03
Title: Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) laying down for 1997 certain measures for the conservation and management of fishery resources applicable in vessels flying the flag of certain non-member countries in the 200-nautical-mile zone off the coast of the French department of Guyana

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                                 Brussels, 03.12.1996
                                                 COM(96)625 final
                                  Proposal for a
                       COUNCIL REGULATION (EC)
 laying down for 1997 certain measures for the conservation and management of fishery
resources applicable in vessels flying the flag of certain non-member countries in the 200-
           nautical-mile zone off the coast of the French department of Guyana
                        (presented by the Commission)
 ---pagebreak---  ---pagebreak---                         EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
1. The proposed regulation fixes the fishing arrangements for vessels of third countries
   in the fishing zone of the French Department of Guiana for the period 1 January 1997
   to 31 December 1997.
2. The proposal is based on principles already followed in the past, in particular in
   Council Regulation (EC) n* 3091/951, which established these arrangement for the
   period from 1 January 1996 to 31 December 1996.
3. In 1996, licences for fishing snappers and sharks in Venezuela were issued.
   Taking into account scientific advice on the state of stock evolution, it is proposed
   that, for 1997, the quotas and licences foreseen for 1996 remain unchanged.
1   OJN* 330, 30.12.1995
 ---pagebreak---                                                PROPOSAL FOR A
                                      COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) N*
                                                      of
           laying down for 1997 certain measures for the conservation and management of fishery
            resources applicabel in vessels flying the flag of certain non-member countries in the
                    200-nautical-mile zone off the coast of the French department of Guiana
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,                           Whereas the continuity of the system should be
                                                             assured, in particular by maintaining the restriction
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the                 on some fish stocks in the zone in order to conserve
European Community,                                          the stock and ensure adequate profitability for the
                                                             fishermen concerned;
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No
3760/92 of 20 December 1992 establishing a                   Whereas the processing industry based in the
Community system for fisheries and aquaculture(1),           French department of Guiana depends on landings
and in particular Article 8, paragraph 4,                    from vessels of non-member countries operating in
                                                             the fishing zone off that department;
Having regard        to   the    proposal from   the
Commission,                                                  Whereas therefore, it is necessary to ensure that
                                                             those vessels which are under contract to land their
Whereas, in accordance with Article 8 of                     catches in the French department of Guiana can
Regulation (EEC) No 3760/92, the Council                     continue to fish;
determines for each fishery or group of fisheries on
a case-by-case basis, the total allowable catch              Whereas shrimp fishing licences calculated on the
and/or the total allowable fishing effort in order to        basis of scientific advice have been issued to non-
ensure a rational and responsible exploitation on a          member countries whose vessels fish in the zone of
durable basis,                                               the said department;
Whereas, since 1977, the Community has operated              Whereas the fishing activities covered by this
a system of conservation and management of                   Regulation are subject to the control measures
fishery resources applicable to vessels flying the           provided for by Council Regulation (EEC) No
flag of certain non-member countries in the 200-             2847/93 of 12 October 1993 establishing a control
nautical-mile-zone off the coast of the French               system applicable to the common fisheries policy(3);
department of Guiana most recently laid down by
Council Regulation (EC) No 3091/95(2); whereas the
latter Regulation expires on 31 December 1996,
(1)      OJn* L 389, 31.12.1992, p. 1
(2)      OJ n" L 330, 30.12.1995, p. 122
(3)      OJn'L 261, 20.10.1993, p. 1
                                                         3,
 ---pagebreak--- HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:                             Annex I.
                                                         3. The period of validity of each of the licences
                      Article 1                          referred to in paragraph 1 shall be limited to the
                                                         fishing period provided for in the fishing plan on
Vessels flying the flag of one of the countries listed   the basis of which the licence was issued.
in Annex I shall be authorized, during the period
 1 January to 31 December 1997 to fish for the           4. All licences referred to in paragraph 1 issued to
species listed in the said Annex in the part of the      vessels of a non-member country shall cease to be
200-nautical-mile fishing zone off the coast of the      valid as soon as it is established that the quota laid
French department of Guiana that lies more than 12       down in point 1 of Annex I for that country has
nautical miles from the base lines, in conformity        been used up.
with the conditions laid down in this Regulation.
                                                                                Article 4
                      Article 2
                                                         1. Licences may be issued for the fishing of species
1. Fishing in the fishery zone referred to in            other than shrimps to vessels flying the flag of one
Article 1 shall be subject to the possession onboard     of the countries listed in point 2 of Annex I. The
of a licence, issued by the Commission on behalf of      maximum number of such licences for each country
the Community, and to the observance of the              shall be as specified in point 2 of Annex I.
conditions set out in that licence and the control
measures and other provisions regulating fishing         2. Snapper fishing licences shall be granted subject
activities in that zone.                                 to an undertaking by the owner of the vessel
                                                         concerned to land 75% of the catches in the French
2. Applications for licences shall be submitted by       department of Guyana.
the authorities of the non-member countries
concerned to the Commission's services at least 15       3. Shark fishing licences shall be granted subject to
working days before the desired date of                  an undertaking by the owner of the vessel
commencement of validity. Licences will be issued        concerned to land 50% of the catches in the French
to the authorities of the third countries concerned.     department of Guyana.
3. The registration letters and numbers of a vessel
in possession of a licence must be clearly marked                               Article 5
on both sides of the prow and on both sides of the
superstructure at the most visble point. The letters     1. The following information shall accompany
and numbers must be painted in a colour that             applications for licences submitted to the
contrasts with the colour of the hull or                 Commission :
superstructure and must not be obliterated, altered,
covered or masked in any other way.                      a)        name of the vessel;
                                                         b)        registration number;
                      Article 3
                                                         c)        external identification letters and numbers;
 1. Licences may be issued for shrimp fishing to
vessels which fly the flag of one of the countries       d)        port of registration;
listed in point 1 of Annex I. The catch quantities
authorized under such licences, the maximum              e)        name and address of the owner or
number of licences and the maximum number of                       charterer,
days at sea during which such licences are valid
shall be as specified for each country in point 1 of     f)        gross tonnage and overall length;
Annex I.
                                                         g)        engine power;
2. The licences referred to in paragraph 1 shall be
issued on the basis of a fishing plan submitted by       h)        cail sign and radio frequency;
the authorities of the country concerned, approved
by the Commission and not exceeding the limits for       i)        intended method of fishing;
the country concerned specified in point 1 of
                                                       k
 ---pagebreak--- j)         species intended to be fished;                 vessels using long lines or traps.
 k)        period for which a licence is requested.        4. Shark fishing shall be authorized only for vessels
                                                           using long lines or mesh nets having a minimum
 2. Each licence shall be valid for one vessel only.       mesh of 100 mm and shall be forbidden in waters
 Where several vessels are taking part in the same         of a depth less than 30 metres.
 fishing operation, each vessel must be in possession
 of a licence.
                                                                                 Article 9
                       Article 6                          A log-book, a model of which appears in Annex II,
                                                           shall be completed after each fishing operation. A
 1. To obtain a fishing licence for snapper or shark,     copy of this log-book shall be sent to the
 as referred to in Article 4, proof must be produced,      Commission within 30 days of the last day of each
 in respect of each of the vessels concerned, that a      fishing trip via the French authorities.
valid contract exists between the shipowner
 applying for the licence and a processing
undertaking situated in the French department of                                Article 10
 Guyana and that it includes an obligation to land at
 least 75% of all snapper catches, or 50% of all           1. The master of each vessel in possession of a
shark catches from the vessel concerned in that           licence referred to in Articles 3 and 4 (1), as
department so that they may be processed in that          concerns tuna fishing, shall observe the special
undertaking's plant.                                      conditions set out in Annex III, and in particular
                                                          forward the information specifies in the Annex.
2. The contract referred to in paragraph 1 must be        These conditions shall form an integral part of the
endorsed by the French authorities, which shall           licence.
ensure that it is consistent both with the actual
capacity of the contracting processing undertaking        2. The master of each vessel in possession of a
and with the objectives for the development of the        licence as referred to in Article 4 (2) and (3) shall,
Guyanese economy. A copy of the duly endorsed             on landing the catch after each trip, submit to the
contract shall be appended to the licence                 French authorities a declaration, for whose accuracy
application.                                              the masster alone is responsible, stating the
                                                          quantities of shrimp caught and kept on board since
3. Where the endorsement referred to in                   the last declaration. This declaration shall be made
paragraph 2 is refused, the French authorities shall      using the form of which a model appears in
give notification of this reusal and state their          Annex IV.
reasons for it to the party concerned and the
Commission.
                                                                                Article 11
                       Article 7
                                                          1. The French authorities shall take all appropriate
Licences may be cancelled with a view to issuing          measures to verify the accuracy of the declarations
new licences. Such cancellation shall take effect on      referred to in Article 10 (2), by checking them in
the date of issuance of the new licence by the            particular against the log-book referred to in
Commission.                                               Article 9. The declaration shall be signed by the
                                                          competent official after it has been verified.
                       Article 8
                                                          2.The French authorities shall ensure that all
 1. Fishing for shrimps of the species Penaeus            landings of shrimps in the French department of
subtilis and Penaeus brasiliensis shall be forbidden      Guyana by vessels in possession of a licence as
in waters of a depth less than 30 metres. During          referred to in Article 4 (2) and (3) shall be the
these fishing activities carried out by vessels using     subject of a declaration as referred to in
trawls, by-catches shall be permitted.                    Article 10 (2).
2. Tuna fishing shall be authorized only for vessels      3. Before the end of each month, the French
using long lines.                                         authorities shall send to the Commission all the
                                                          declarations referred to in paragraph 2 relating to
3. Snapper fishing shall be authorized only for           the preceding month.
                                                      •5"
 ---pagebreak---                                                               3. The granting of a licence may be refused during
                      Article 12                              the period referred to in paragraph 1 to one or more
                                                              vessels belonging to a shipowner who owns a
  1. The granting of licences to vessels from third           vessel whose licence has been withdrawn under this
 countries shall be subject to the undertaking by the         Article or which has fished without a licence in the
 owner of the vessel concerned to permit an observer          zone referred to in Article 1.
 to come on board at the Commission's request.
                                                                                   Article 15
                      Article 13
                                                              If, for a period of one month, the Commission
 1. The French authorities shall take appropriate             receives no communication as referred to in
 measures to ensure that the obligations set out in           Article 10 paragraph 1 concerning a vessel in
 this Regulation are complied with, including the            possession of a licence referred to in Articles 3 and
 regular inspection of vessels.                              4, the licence of such vessel shall be withdrawn.
 2. Where an infringement is formally ascertained,
the French authorities shall, without delay, and in
 any event not later than 30 days from the date on                                 Article 16
which the infringement was ascertained, inform the
 Commission of the name of the vessel concerned              The period of validity of licences valid on
and of any action they may have taken.                       31 December 1996 pursuant to Article 1 of
                                                             Regulation (EC) No 3091/95 may be extended, at
                                                             the request of the authorities of the country
                      Article 14                             concerned, until 31 January 1997. Licences thus
                                                             extended shall be counted against the number of
 1. Licences for vessels which have note complied            corresponding licences laid down in Annex I for the
with the obligations provided for in this Regulation,        duration of the extension, without that total being
including the obligation to land all or part of the          exceeded.
catches laid down in a contract as referred to in
Article 6 shall be withdrawn.
No licence shall be issued to such vessels for a                                   Article 17
period of four to 12 months from the date on which
the infringement was committed.
                                                             This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January
2. Where a vessel fishes without a valid licence in          1997.
the zone referred to in Article 1, and where that
vessel belongs to a shipowner or is managed by a
natural or legal person who has or exercises the
management of one or more other vessels to which
licences have been issued, one of those licences             It shall apply until 31 December 1997.
may be withdrawn.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels,
                                                                         For the Council
                                                                         The President
                                                      6
 ---pagebreak---                                                 ANNEXE I
       Licences referred to in Article 3
 Vessels flying the flag    Quantity of authorized       Maximum number of       Maximum number of
            of                 catches in tonnes         vessels with a licence      days at sea
Barbados                               24                           5                    200
Guiana                                 24                           5                    200
Surinam                               p.m.                        p.m.                   p.m.
Trinidad and Tobago                    60                           8                    350
       Licences referred to in Article 4
        Species                 Vessels flying the flag of             Maximum number of licences
(a)     Tuna               Japan                                                p.m.
                           Korea                                                p.m.
(b)     Snappers           Venezuela                                             41
                           Barbados                                               5
c)      Shark              Venezuela                                              4
                                                   ¥
 ---pagebreak--- g ---pagebreak---                                              ANNEX III
                                          Special conditions
1. Vessels in possession of a licence referred to in Articles 3 and 4 (1) (Thunnidae) must communicate
   information to the Commission of the European Communities in Brussels (telex 24189 FISEU-B) via
   the French authorities at the following times:
   (a)      on each entry into zones extending up to 200 nautical miles off the coast of the French
            department of Guiana, hereinafter called 'the zone';
   (b)      whenever leaving the zone;
   (c)      whenever entering a port of a Member State;
   (d)      whenever leaving a port of a Member State;
   (c)      every week in respect of the previous week from the date of entry into the zone referred to in
            (a) or from the date of leaving the port referred to in (d);
2. Communications transmitted in accordance with the conditions of the licence at the times specified in
   1 above should include the following particulars, where appropriate and should be transmitted in the
   following order:
            name of vessel,
            radio call sign,
            licence number,
            chronological number of the transmission for the trip in question,
            indication of which of the types of transmission, as set out in paragraph 1, is involved,
            date,
            time,
            geographical position,
            quantity of each species caught during the fishing operation (in kilograms),
            quantity of each species caught since the previous transmission of information (in kilograms),
            the geographical coordinates of the position where the catches were made,
            quantities of catches, by species, transferred to other vessels (in kilograms) since the previous
            information,
            the name, call sign and, where applicable, licence number of the vessel to which the catch was
            transferred,
            the master's name.
3. The following code must be used in reporting species caught in accordance with paragraph 2:
   PEN:     Brown shrimp (Penaeidae);
   BOB:     Atlantic sea bob shrimp (Xyphopenaeus kroyerii);
   TUN:     Tunny;
   SKH:     Shark;
   XXX:     Other.
4. In cases where, for reasons of force majeure, the communication cannot be transmitted by the vessel
   in possesssion of a licence, the message may be transmitted by another vessel on behalf of the former.
                                                   <£
 ---pagebreak---                                                    ANNEX IV
                                    Declaration pursuant to Article 10 (2)
                                   LANDING DECLARATION             0)
  Name of vessel:                                                              Registration No:
  Name of master:                                                              Name of agent :
  Master's signature:
  Voyage made from the                                            to the
  Port of landing:
                                 Quantity of shrimps landed (in live-weight)
   'Head-off shrimps:                                                              kg
                                              or (     x 1,6)                      kg (head-on shrimps)
   'Head-on' shrimps:                                                              kg
   Thunnidae:                                 kg         Snapper (Lutjanidae):                        kg
   Shark:                                     kg         Other:                                       kg
0)        One copy is kept by the master, one copy is kept by the control officer, and one copy is to be sent to
          the Commission of the European Communities.
                                                    ÀJO
 ---pagebreak---                                                                   ISSN 0254-1475
                                                            COM(96) 625 final
                                              DOCUMENTS
EN                                                                  03   15 11
                                     Catalogue number : CB-CO-96-620-EN-C
                                                             ISBN 92-78-11969-5
Office for Official Publications of the European Communities
L-2985 Luxembourg
                                               AA