CELEX: 31985D0289
Language: en
Date: 1985-04-24 00:00:00
Title: 85/289/EEC: Commission Decision of 24 April 1985 on the multiannual guidance programme in respect of the fishing fleet submitted by the Netherlands pursuant to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2908/83

No L 157 /38                            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 the
                                Netherlands pursuant to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2908/83
                                                  (Only the Dutch text is authentic)
                                                          (85 /289/ EEC)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN                                       Whereas the vessels fishing for crustaceans need to be
COMMUNITIES ,                                                        modernized ;
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European                Whereas the programme may, having regard to the
Economic Community,                                                  production potential , the measures for the conservation
                                                                     and management of fish stocks, the demand for the
                                                                     products concerned and the guidelines of the common
Having regard to Council Regulation ( EEC) No 2908 /                 fisheries policy, constitute a suitable framework for
83 of 4 October 1983 on a common measure for restruc­                projects which may qualify for financial support from
turing, modernizing and developing the fishing                       the Community ;
industry and for developing aquaculture ('), and in
particular Article 5 thereof,                                        Whereas the measures provided for in this Decision are
                                                                     in accordance with the opinion of the Standing
Whereas the Netherlands Government forwarded on 30                   Committee for the Fishing Industry,
November 1984 a multiannual guidance programme in
respect of the fishing industry, hereinafter called 'the             HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION :
programme'; whereas it forwarded on 13 February
1985 the latest additional information concerning this                                        Article 1
programme ;
                                                                     The multiannual guidance programme in respect of the
Whereas the period of implementation of the                          fishing fleet forwarded by the Netherlands Government
programme covers at least the proposed duration of the               on 30 November 1984, as last supplemented on 13
common measure, in accordance with the first para­                   February 1985 , the main features of which are set out in
graph of Article 3 of Regulation ( EEC) No 2908/83 ;                 Annex I hereto, is hereby approved subject to the
                                                                     provisions set out in Annex II hereto.
Whereas the programme contains the information
referred to in Article 4 of Regulation ( EEC) No 2908/
                                                                                              Article 2
83 ;
                                                                     This Decision is addressed to the Kingdom of the
Whereas the growth of the Dutch fishing fleet in recent              Netherlands .
years has resulted in overcapacity in relation to the
stocks available ; whereas the fleet, and in particular the
cutter fleet, must be reduced in order to bring it into               Done at Brussels, 24 April 1985 .
line with fish stocks ;
                                                                                                          For the Commission
Whereas a system of licences for the cutter fleet was
                                                                                                         Frans ANDRIESSEN
introduced with effect from 1 February 1985 so that its
capacity could be better controlled ;                                                                        Vice-President
(•) OJ No L 290, 22 . 10. 1983 , p. 1 .
 ---pagebreak--- 15 . 6. 85                           Official Journal of the European Communities                                          No L 157/39
                                                              ANNEX I
           MAIN FEATURES OF THE GUIDANCE PROGRAMME IN RESPECT OF THE FISHING FLEET
           DRAWN UP BY THE NETHERLANDS GOVERNMENT WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF
                                         COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 2908/83
            1.    Purpose of the programme
                  Restructuring of the fishing fleet with a view to adjusting its capacity to available fish stocks.
           2.     Delimination of the area concerned by the programme
                  The territory of the Netherlands with the exception of the IJsselmeer.
           3.     Duration of the programme
                  The programme will remain in force until 31 December 1986.
           4.     Objective of the programme
                  The objective of the programme is to :
                 — search for a better relationship between production costs and returns, in association with
                     catch possibilities ; to this end, a reduction of the fleet is a first stage towards its adaptation to
                     the catch possibilities,
                 — 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.
           5.    The following measures are proposed to attain these objectives
           5.1 .  Construction
                 — reduction of the capacity of the cutter fleet to 460000 hp and of the distant-water fleet to
                     70000 hp,
                 — control of additions to the cutter fleet by means of a system of licences,
                 — promotion of definitive withdrawal from fishing activity,
                 — promotion of exploratory fishing, particularly in the case of the distant-water fleet,
                 — promotion of joint ventures so as to diversify the activity of the distant-water fleet,
                 — obligation to reduce the engine power of new flatfish vessels by 25 % compared with the
                     power of the vessels they replace and which request State aids.
           5.2 . Modernization
                 Vessel modernization is encouraged provided it does not bring about an increase in engine
                 power.
           6.    Investment forecasts (million ECU)
                 The total amount of investment envisaged for the duration of the programme is 44 million ECU
                 to attain the foreseen objectives.
                 National aid planned for the period 1984 to 1986 :
                 — Restructuring :                                    2,3 million ECU
                 — Exploratory fishing/joint ventures :               3,6 million ECU
                 — Definitive withdrawal :                             1,2 million ECU
                                                               Total  7,1 million ECU
                 These figures, and the allocation among the various measures, are intended only as a guide.
 ---pagebreak--- No L 157 /40                       Official Journal of the European Communities                                      15 . 6. 85
                                                        ANNEX II
                                                 FINAL CONCLUSIONS
            1. The Commission notes that the programme submitted by the Netherlands Government to serve as
               the future framework for Community and national aid constitutes an initial action , 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 the persons employed in the industry .
           2.  On the basis of the figures available at the start of 1985 on the capacity of the existing fleet plus
               vessels under construction , expressed in terms of engine power, in order to attain the objective
               which has been set the distant-water fleet would have to be reduced by about 20000 hp.
               For cutter-fishing, the diminution of power in order to realize the objective established entails a
               reduction of 75000 hp to which should be added the increase after the introduction of the
               licencing system of 1 February 1985 . The implementation of the programme will therefore have to
               be accompanied by continuous monitoring of developments in respect both of the construction of
               new vessels and the modernization of the existing fleet.
               The Commission therefore request the Dutch authorities to keep it informed of developments in
               the structural situation and to take any measures necessary to ensure that capacity is properly
               adjusted , especially in the framework of the licensing system introduced for the cutter fleet with
               effect from 1 February 1985 .
            3. The Commission wishes to point out that the investment forecasts contained in the programme
               are without prejudice to any Community financial aid .
            4. The Commission considers, lastly , that the programme forecasts and their actual implementation
               should form the subject of a more detailed analysis, having regard in particular to the stock
               evaluation studies currently in progress, 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 the Netherlands.