CELEX: 51993PC0544
Language: en
Date: 1993-11-09
Title: Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION relating to the objectives and detailed rules for restructuring the Community fisheries sector over the period 1 January 1994 to 31 December 1996 with a view to achieving a lasting balance between the resources and their exploitation

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                              C0M(93) 544 final
                                              Brussels, 9 November 1993
                                Proposal for a
                              COUNCIL DECISION
      relating to the objectives and detailed rules for restructuring
               the Community fisheries sector over the period
       1 January 1994 to 31 December 1996 with a view to achieving a
        lasting balance between the resources and their exploitation
                        (presented by the Commission)
K-
 ---pagebreak---                           EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
                                                                                      <d
Reference :     Implementation of article 11 of Regulation (EEC) No. 3760/92 of 20
                December 1992
1. Legal obligation
In the application of the provisions of article 11 of Council Regulation (EEC) No.
3760/92 dated 20 December 1992, the Council is required to fix by a procedure
established by article 43 of the treaty, on a multiannual basis and for thefirsttime by 1
January 1994 at the latest, the objectives and detailed rules for restructuring the
Communityfisheriessector with a view to achieving a balance on a sustainable basis
between resources and their exploitation.
2. Constrainingfishingeffort
The disquieting report on the state of certainfishstocks, especially demersal, led the
 Council during its meeting of 23.11.92 to propose a certain number of guidelines
 concerning measures to limitfishingeffort, normally adopted by the Commission,
under the Multiannual Guidance Programmes for thefishingfleet.
 These programmes fix for afive-yearlyperiod the objectives for the limitation of the
 capacity of the Community fleet in order to reduce its tonnage and power to a level
 compatible with exploitation rates on stocks which are as close as possible to those for
 optimum economic exploitation.
 On the 21.12.1992, taking into account the guidelines recommended by the Council,
 the Commission adopted eleven Decisions constraining thefishingeffort of the
 different $eg«*ents making up the fleets of the Member States of the Community.
  3. Content of the proposed draft Decision.
  The provisions of article 11 of Regulation (EEC) 3760/92fromnow on give the
  Council the responsibility offixing,for thefirsttime before 1.1.1994, the objectives
  and detailed rules constrainingfishingeffort that were previously allotted to the
  Commission.
  This responsibility gives the measures to reducefishingeffort a more restrictive
  character, allowing the objectives fixed by the Multiannual Guidance Programmes for
  thefishingfleetto be more easily attained.
 ---pagebreak--- For this reason it is proposed that the Council:                                       3
•    Set in a Decision the guidelines for afive-yearperiod that it itself recommended
    during its meeting of 23.11.1992, namely:
                 a decrease of 20% in thefishingeffort applied to demersal fisheries,
                 a decrease of 15% in thefishingeffort applied to benthic fisheries,
                 a stabilisation offishingeffortapplied to other fisheries,
•   recognise and confirm the provisions of the Multiannual Guidance Programmes for
    thefishingfleetadopted by the Commission on 21.12.92 by translating these
    guidelines into objectives and detailed rules for the reduction offishingeffort by
    theCommumtyfleet to be realised by 31.12.1996 at the latest,
 •   ensure transparency ki the implementation and the follow «p of the programmes
    until their expiry in 1996 by annual communicationsfromtitejCosimission to the >
    Council on their progress.
 ---pagebreak---                                                                       V
                            COUNCIL DECISION
    relating to the objectives and detailed rules for restructuring
             the Community fisheries sector over the period
     1 January 1994 to 31 December 1996 with a view to achieving a
      lasting balance between the resources and their exploitation.
                              (93/    / EEC)
THE COUNCIL OP THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY
having regard to the Treaty establishing the European           Economic
Community     , and in particular Article 43 thereof,
having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament
having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee   ,
whereas Regulation (EEC) n°3760/92 (1) pertaining to a community
system for fisheries and aquaculture and in particular Article 11
thereof establishes provisions aiming to ensure that the fisheries
sector     is restructured so as to take account of the available and
accessible resources, taking into account the characteristics of each
fishery as well as the possible economic and social consequences,
whereas it is therefore appropriate that the aims and procedures
to restructure the Community fleet are established by fishery or
group of fisheries,
 (1) O.J.n°L 3*9 au 31.12.1992, P.l
 ---pagebreak--- whereas, on the basis of a disquieting official report on the state
of the resources accessible to Community vessels, the Council agreed
that it was necessary to ensure a limitation of the fishing effort of
the various segments of       the   Community fleets   by   a   concerted
programme of action, equitable between the various         Member States
but also differentiated according to the fisheries,
whereas on the basis of this official report the Council          defined
objectives for the Multiannual Guidance Programmes for the fishing
fleet over the period 1993/96, which served as a basis for the
development of these programmes and which consequently reflect the
objectives and procedures to restructure the fishing fleet over the
period 1993/96; whereas the implementation of Article 11 of Council
regulation (EEC) n°3760/92 makes these objectives obligatory,
whereas the provisions adopted under the Decisions concerning the
Multiannual Guidance Programmes for the fishing fleets            do not
prejudge any provisions which may be implemented         under technical
measures aiming to reduce the fishing mortality due to fleets using
static gears.
 HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION
                                 Article 1
 1. By 31.12.1996 at the latest, and in relation to the objectives fixed
 in the transitional guidance programmes (2) for 31.12.1991, the
 fishing effort of the fleet of each Community Member State must have
 decreased by:
      -   20%  for trawlers bottom trawling for demersal stocks,
      -   15% for dredgers and beam trawlers targeting benthic   stocks,
      -   0% x.e. no increase for the other segments of fleet,
 2. At least 55% of the required effort reductions must be purely by
 capacity reductions.
                                  Article 2
 The implementation of the objectives and procedures referred to in
 Article 1 is ensured by the Commission           under the Multiannual
 Guideline plans for the fishing fleet as approved by the Commisson
 Decisions of 21 December 1992 (1) and possibly amended        within the
  framework of the same procedure       provided that these changes were
 made before 31.12.1993.
  (1) OJ n° 401 of 31.12.92, p.3
  (2) OJ n° L193 of 13.7.92, pp.1 to 52
 ---pagebreak---                               Article 3                               G
By 31.12.1996 at the latest, the Council will fix the objectives and
procedures provided for, on an annual or multiannual basis,        in
accordance with the provisions of Article 11 of Regulation (EEC)
n°3760/92.
                               Article 4
The Commission will submit an annual report to the Council on the
progress of the Multiannual Guidance Programmes for the fishing fleet
                               Article 5
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
 Done at Brusse1,
                                         For the Council
                                          The President
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                }
                                                                     ISSN 0254-1475
                                                              COM(93) 544 final
                                                      DOCUMENTS
EN                                                                              03
                                Catalogue number : CB-CO-93-580-EN-C
                                                             ISBN 92-77-60665-7
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