Article 1 Subject matter
This Regulation fixes the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks in the Baltic Sea for 2024 and amends certain fishing opportunities in other waters fixed by Regulation (EU) 2023/194.
Article 2 Scope
1. This Regulation applies to Union fishing vessels operating in the Baltic Sea. 2. This Regulation also applies to recreational fisheries where they are expressly referred to in the relevant provisions.
Article 3 Definitions
For the purposes of this Regulation, the definitions laid down in Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 apply. In addition, the following definitions apply: (1) ‘subdivision’ means an International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) subdivision of the Baltic Sea as defined in Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 218/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 9 ) ; (2) ‘total allowable catch (TAC)’ means: (a) in fisheries subject to the exemption from the landing obligation laid down in Article 15(4) to (7) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013, the quantity of fish that may be landed from each stock each year; (b) in all other fisheries, the quantity of fish that may be caught from each stock each year; (3) ‘quota’ means a proportion of the TAC allocated to the Union, a Member State or a third country; (4) ‘recreational fisheries’ means non-commercial fishing activities exploiting marine biological resources such as for recreation, tourism or sport; (5) ‘analytical assessment’ means a quantitative evaluation of trends in a given stock, based on data about that stock’s biology and exploitation, including based on proxies, which scientific review has indicated to be of sufficient quality to provide scientific advice; (6) ‘analytical TAC’ means a TAC for which an analytical assessment is available; (7) ‘precautionary TAC’ means a TAC for which an analytical assessment is not available, and either an assessment based on the precautionary approach is available or no assessment is available.
Article 4 TACs and allocations
The TACs, quotas and, where appropriate, measures functionally linked thereto are set out in the Annex.
Article 5 Special provisions on allocation of fishing opportunities
1. The allocation of fishing opportunities among Member States set out in this Regulation shall be without prejudice to: (a) exchanges made pursuant to Article 16(8) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013; (b) deductions and reallocations made pursuant to Article 37 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009; (c) additional landings allowed under Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 or under Article 15(9) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013; (d) quantities withheld in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 or transferred under Article 15(9) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013; (e) deductions made pursuant to Articles 105, 106 and 107 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009. 2. Stocks subject to precautionary or analytical TACs for the purposes of the year-to-year management of TACs and quotas provided for in Regulation (EC) No 847/96 are identified in the Annex to this Regulation. 3. Except where otherwise specified in the Annex to this Regulation, Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 applies to stocks subject to a precautionary TAC and Article 3(2) and (3) and Article 4 of that Regulation apply to stocks subject to an analytical TAC. 4. Articles 3 and 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 do not apply where a Member State uses the year-to-year flexibility provided for in Article 15(9) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013.
Article 6 Conditions for landing of catches and by-catches
The stocks of non-target species within safe biological limits referred to in Article 15(8) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 to which the derogation from the obligation to count catches against the relevant quotas applies are identified in the relevant TAC tables in the Annex to this Regulation.
Article 7 Closures to protect cod spawning
1. It shall be prohibited to fish with any type of fishing gear in subdivisions 25 and 26 from 1 May to 31 August. 2. The prohibition laid down in paragraph 1 shall not apply to the following cases: (a) fishing operations conducted for the exclusive purpose of scientific investigations, provided that those investigations are carried out in compliance with the conditions set out in Article 25 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1241; (b) Union fishing vessels of less than 12 metres in length overall that fish with gillnets, entangling nets or trammel nets, with bottom set lines, longlines, drifting lines, handlines and jigging equipment or similar passive gear, in areas where the water depth is less than 20 metres according to the coordinates on the official sea chart issued by the competent national authorities; (c) Union fishing vessels that fish in subdivision 25 for pelagic stocks for direct human consumption, using gears with a mesh size of 45 mm or less, in areas where the water depth is less than 50 metres according to the coordinates on the official sea chart issued by the competent national authorities, and whose landings are sorted. 3. It shall be prohibited to fish with any type of fishing gear in subdivisions 22 and 23 from 15 January to 31 March and in subdivision 24 from 15 May to 15 August. 4. The prohibition laid down in paragraph 3 shall not apply to the following cases: (a) fishing operations conducted for the exclusive purpose of scientific investigations, provided that those investigations are carried out in compliance with the conditions set out in Article 25 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1241; (b) Union fishing vessels of less than 12 metres in length overall that fish with gillnets, entangling nets or trammel nets, with bottom set lines, longlines, drifting lines, handlines and jigging equipment or similar passive gear, in areas where the water depth is less than 20 metres according to the coordinates on the official sea chart issued by the competent national authorities; (c) Union fishing vessels that fish in subdivision 24 for pelagic stocks for direct human consumption, using gears with a mesh size of 45 mm or less, in areas where the water depth is less than 40 metres according to the coordinates on the official sea chart issued by the competent national authorities, and whose landings are sorted; (d) Union fishing vessels that fish with dredges for bivalve molluscs in subdivision 22, in areas where the water depth is less than 20 metres according to the coordinates on the official sea chart issued by the competent national authorities. 5. Masters of Union fishing vessels referred to in paragraph 2, point (b), and paragraph 4, points (b) and (c), shall ensure that their fishing activity can be monitored at any time by the control authorities of the competent Member State.
Article 8 Closures to protect herring spawning in subdivisions 25-27, 28.2, 29 and 32
It shall be prohibited to fish for pelagic species using pelagic trawl during the following periods: — in subdivisions 25 and 26 from 1 April to 30 April, — in subdivisions 27 and 28.2 from 16 April to 15 May, — in subdivisions 29 and 32 from 1 May to 31 May.
Article 9 Measures on recreational fisheries of cod in subdivisions 22 to 26
Recreational fisheries of cod shall be prohibited in subdivisions 22 to 26.
Article 10 Measures on recreational fisheries of salmon in subdivisions 22 to 31
1. Recreational fisheries of salmon shall be prohibited in subdivisions 22 to 31. Any specimen of salmon accidentally caught shall be immediately released back into the sea. 2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, recreational fisheries of salmon shall be allowed under the following cumulative conditions: (a) no more than one specimen of adipose fin-clipped salmon may be caught and retained per recreational fisher per day; (b) after catching the first adipose fin-clipped salmon, the recreational fisher shall stop the fishing of salmon for the remainder of the day; (c) all specimens of any fish species retained shall be landed whole. 3. By way of further derogation from paragraph 1, recreational fisheries of salmon shall be allowed in subdivision 31 from 1 May to 31 August in areas within four nautical miles measured from the baselines. 4. This Article is without prejudice to more stringent national measures under Articles 19 and 20 of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013.
Article 11 Measures for the conservation of the sea trout and salmon stocks in subdivisions 22 to 32
1. Union fishing vessels shall not fish for sea trout beyond four nautical miles measured from the baselines in subdivisions 22 to 32. When fishing for salmon beyond four nautical miles measured from the baselines in subdivision 32, by-catches of sea trout shall not exceed 3 % of the total catch of salmon and sea trout on board at any moment or landed after each fishing trip. 2. Fishing with longlines for sea trout or salmon beyond four nautical miles measured from the baselines in subdivisions 22 to 31 shall be prohibited. 3. This Article is without prejudice to more stringent national measures under Articles 19 and 20 of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013.
Article 12 Data transmission
When Member States send data relating to quantities of stocks caught or landed to the Commission pursuant to Articles 33 and 34 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009, they shall use the stock codes set out in the Annex to this Regulation.
Article 13 Amendments to Regulation (EU) 2023/194
Regulation (EU) 2023/194 is amended as follows: (1) in Annex IA, Part B, the fishing opportunities table for Norway pout ( Trisopterus esmarkii ) in ICES division 3a (‘the Skagerrak-Kattegat’), United Kingdom and Union waters of ICES subarea 4 and United Kingdom waters of ICES division 2a (‘the North Sea’) is replaced by the following: ‘Species: Norway pout and associated by-catches Trisopterus esmarkii Zone: 3a; United Kingdom and Union waters of 4; United Kingdom waters of 2a (NOP/2A3A4.) Year 2023 2024 Denmark 49 478 (1)(3) 8 226 (1)(6) Analytical TAC Article 3(2) and (3) of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 shall not apply. Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 shall not apply. Germany 9 (1)(2)(3) 2 (1)(2)(6) Netherlands 36 (1)(2)(3) 6 (1)(2)(6) Union 49 524 (1)(3) 8 234 (1)(6) United Kingdom 10 204 (2)(3) 2 058 (2)(6) Norway 0 (4) 0 (4) Faroe Islands 0 (5) 0 (5) TAC 59 728 10 292 (1) Up to 5 % of the quota may consist of by-catches of haddock and whiting (OT2/*2A3A4). By-catches of haddock and whiting counted against the quota pursuant to this provision and by-catches of species counted against the quota pursuant to Article 15(8) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 shall, together, not exceed 9 % of the quota. (2) Quota may be fished in United Kingdom and Union waters of ICES zones 2a, 3a and 4 only. (3) May only be fished from 1 November 2022 to 31 October 2023. (4) A sorting grid shall be used. (5) A sorting grid shall be used. This amount includes a maximum of 15 % of unavoidable by-catches (NOP/*2A3A4), to be counted against this quota. (6) May only be fished from 1 November 2023 to 31 October 2024.’; (2) in Annex IA, Part B, the fishing opportunities table for haddock ( Melanogrammus aeglefinus ) in ICES Subarea 4 and United Kingdom waters ICES division 2a is replaced by the following: ‘Species: Haddock Melanogrammus aeglefinus Zone: 4; United Kingdom waters of 2a (HAD/2AC4.) Belgium 363 (1) (2) Analytical TAC Article 8(2) of this Regulation applies Denmark 2 495 (1) (2) Germany 1 588 (1) (2) France 2 768 (1) (2) Netherlands 272 (1) (2) Sweden 223 (1) (2) Union 7 709 (1) (2) Norway 13 432 (3) United Kingdom 37 261 TAC 58 402 (1) Special condition: of which up to 10 % may be fished in United Kingdom, Union and international waters of 6a north of 58°30΄N (HAD/*6AN58). (2) Special condition: of which up to 10 % may be fished in Union waters of 3a (HAD/*03A-C) (3) Of which 11 182 tonnes may be taken in Union waters (HAD/*04-EU). Catches taken within this quota are to be deducted from Norway’s share of the TAC. Special condition: within the limits of these quotas, no more than the quantity given below may be taken in the following zones: Norwegian waters of 4 (HAD/*04N-) Union 4 774 ’; (3) in Annex IB, the fishing opportunities table for capelin ( Mallotus villosus ) in Greenland waters of ICES subareas 5 and 14 is replaced by the following: ‘Species: Capelin Mallotus villosus Zone: Greenland waters of 5 and 14 (CAP/514GRN) Denmark To be established Analytical TAC Article 3(2) and (3) of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 shall not apply. Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 shall not apply. Germany To be established Sweden To be established All Member States To be established (1) Union To be established (2) (3) Norway To be established (3) TAC Not relevant (1) Denmark, Germany and Sweden may access the ‘All Member States’ quota only once they have exhausted their own quota. However, Member States with more than 10 % of the Union quota shall not access the ‘All Member States’ quota at all. Catches to be counted against this shared quota shall be reported separately (CAP/514GRN_AMS). (2) Fishing may start when the Union accepts an offer for such quotas from the Greenland authorities in the framework of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Union on the one hand, and the Government of Greenland and the Government of Denmark on the other hand and the implementing Protocol thereto ( *1 ) . Member States shall ensure that their catches do not exceed the quantity received from the Greenland authorities, after deduction of quantities transferred to Norway. (3) For a fishing period from 15 October 2023 to 15 April 2024.
Article 14 Entry into force and application
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union . It shall apply from 1 January to 31 December 2024. By way of derogation from the second paragraph: (a) Article 13, point (1), shall apply from 1 November 2023 until 31 October 2024; (b) Article 13, point (2) shall apply from 1 November 2023 until 31 December 2023.