Commission Regulation (EC) No 1162/2001 of 14 June 2001 establishing measures for the recovery of the stock of hake in ICES sub-areas III, IV, V, VI and VII and ICES divisions VIII a, b, d, e and associated conditions for the control of activities of fishing vessels

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1162/2001
of 14 June 2001
establishing measures for the recovery of the stock of hake in ICES sub-areas III, IV, V, VI and VII and ICES divisions VIII a, b, d, e and associated conditions for the control of activities of fishing vessels
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 3760/92 of 20 December 1992 establishing a Community system for fisheries and aquaculture(1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1181/98(2), and in particular Article 15(1) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) In November 2000, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea indicated that the stock of hake in ICES sub-areas III, IV, V, VI and VII and ICES divisions VIII a, b, d, e is at serious risk of collapse.
(2) The majority of this stock of hake inhabits ICES sub-areas V, VI and VII and ICES divisions VIII a, b, d, e.
(3) At the Council meeting of 14 and 15 December 2000, the Commission and the Council noted the urgent requirement to establish a recovery plan for this stock of hake.
(4) The immediate requirement is to reduce catches of juvenile hake by:
- establishing a general increase in the mesh size of towed nets used to catch hake to which end it is necessary to derogate from conditions regarding mesh sizes of towed gears laid down in Annexes I and II 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(3) as last amended by Regulation 973/2001(4),
- establishing geographical areas in which juvenile hake occur in high abundance and specifying that fishing with towed nets may take place in these areas only if these nets are of high mesh size,
- establishing additional conditions to ensure that capture of juvenile hake by beam trawls is reduced.
(5) To provide information on catches of juvenile hake by some vessels targeting hake and by other vessels targeting Norway lobsters, observers should be placed on board vessels engaged in such activities, taking into account the level of fishing activity by each Member State fishing in the appropriate areas.
(6) Control measures additional to those laid down in Council Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 of 12 October 1993 establishing a control system applicable to the common fisheries policy(5), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2846/98(6), and specific control programmes defined according to Article 34c of the said Regulation are required to ensure compliance with the measures laid down in this Regulation.
(7) Further conservation measures affecting fishing for Nephrops, which involves significants by-catches of hake, may be proposed in the light of recent scientific advice from ICES and the results of trials of more selective fishing gear that are currently being conducted.