Regulation (EC) No 762/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 on the submission by Member States of statistics on aquaculture and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 788/96 (Text with EEA relevance)

13.8.2008 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 218/1
REGULATION (EC) No 762/2008 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 9 July 2008
on the submission by Member States of statistics on aquaculture and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 788/96
(Text with EEA relevance)
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 285(1) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty (1),
Whereas:
(1) Council Regulation (EC) No 788/96 of 22 April 1996 on the submission by Member States of statistics on aquaculture production (2) requires the Member States to submit annual data on the volume of production.
(2) The increased contribution by aquaculture to the Community's total fisheries production requires a wider range of data for a rational development and management of this sector within the Common Fisheries Policy.
(3) The increasing importance of hatcheries and nurseries for aquaculture activity requires detailed data for a suitable monitoring and management of this sector within the Common Fisheries Policy.
(4) Information on both the volume and value of the production is required to review and assess the market for aquaculture products.
(5) Information on the structure of the sector and on the technologies employed is required to ensure an environmentally sound industry.
(6) Regulation (EC) No 788/96 should be repealed.
(7) In order to ensure a smooth transition from the regime applicable under Regulation (EC) No 788/96, this Regulation should allow for a transitional period of up to three years to be granted to Member States where its application to their national statistical systems would require major adaptations and would be likely to cause significant practical problems.
(8) Since the objective of this Regulation, namely the establishment of a common legal framework for systematic production of Community statistics on the aquaculture sector, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can be better achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective.
(9) Council Regulation (EC) No 322/97 of 17 February 1997 on Community Statistics (3) provides a reference framework for statistics in the field of fisheries. In particular, it requires conformity with principles of impartiality, reliability, relevance, cost-effectiveness, statistical confidentiality and transparency.
(10) The collection and submission of statistical data is an essential tool for the sound management of the Common Fisheries Policy.
(11) The measures necessary for the implementation of this Regulation should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission (4).
(12) In particular, the Commission should be empowered to adopt technical changes to the Annexes to this Regulation. Since those measures are of general scope and are designed to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation, inter alia, by supplementing it with new non-essential elements, they must be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny provided for in Article 5a of Decision 1999/468/EC.
(13) The Commission should be assisted by the Standing Committee for Agricultural Statistics set up by Council Decision 72/279/EEC (5),