Commission Regulation (EC) No 2602/2001 of 27 December 2001 establishing additional technical measures for the recovery of the stock of hake in ICES subareas III, IV, V, VI and VII and ICES Divisions VIIIa,b,d,e

Commission Regulation (EC) No 2602/2001
of 27 December 2001
establishing additional technical measures for the recovery of the stock of hake in ICES subareas III, IV, V, VI and VII and ICES Divisions VIIIa,b,d,e
THE COMMISSION THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 850/98 of 30 March 1998 for the conservation of fishery resources through technical measures for the protection of juveniles of marine organisms(1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 973/2001(2), and in particular Article 45(1) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Whereas:
(1) In November 2000, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) indicated that the stock of hake in ICES subareas III, IV, V, VI and VII and ICES Division VIIIa,b,d,e is at serious risk of collapse.
(2) The majority of the stock inhabits ICES subareas V, VI, and VII and ICES Divisions VIIIa,b,d,e.
(3) Commission Regulation (EC) No 1162/2001 of 14 June 2001 establishing measures for the recovery of the stock of hake in ICES subareas III, IV, V, VI and VII and ICES Divisions VIIIa,b,d,e and associated conditions for the control of activities of fishing vessels(3) lays down a number of additional technical measures relevant to the recovery of this stock.
(4) Those technical measures will remain in force until 1 March 2002. However, by that date the revision of Regulation (EC) No 850/98 will not have been achieved. An interruption of the application of the measures would cause serious harm to the stock of hake.
(5) Therefore immediate action in conformity with conditions laid down in Article 45(1) of Regulation (EC) No 850/98 is required to ensure that the measures laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1162/2001 continue to apply until the revision of Regulation (EC) No 850/98 is adopted by the Council.
(6) Article 2(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1162/2001 provides a derogation which is justified by the fact that the limit on the catches of hake would cause serious economic problems for small fishing vessels working on a daily basis. The derogation has negligible consequences regarding the conservation and recovery of the hake stock.
(7) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Fisheries and Aquaculture,