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Summaries of EU Legislation

Sustainable exploitation of fish in the Mediterranean

SUMMARY OF:

Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 — management measures for the sustainable exploitation of fishery resources in the Mediterranean Sea

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE REGULATION?

It aims to apply a precautionary approach to protect and conserve living aquatic resources (fish and shellfish) and marine ecosystems and to provide for their sustainable exploitation.

KEY POINTS

The biological, social and economic characteristics of Mediterranean fisheries mean that the EU has to put in place a specific fisheries management framework. It covers fishing carried out by EU vessels whether in EU waters or in international waters, by non-EU vessels in EU fishing zones or fishing carried out by citizens of the EU in the Mediterranean Sea.

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea contains principles and rules relating to the conservation and management of the living resources of the high seas1, while the Barcelona Convention is a protocol concerning specially protected areas and biological diversity in the Mediterranean.

Protecting habitats

To protect habitats (including all Natura 2000 sites), with some exceptions for smaller vessels, the following are banned in most cases:

  • trawl nets2, dredges3, purse seines4, boat seines5, shore seines6 or similar nets above seagrass beds;
  • trawl nets, dredges, shore seines or similar nets above coral habitats and mäerl beds (coralline algae that grow unattached on the sea bed).

Protected areas

The regulation protects coastal areas from fishing, with different levels of restrictions depending on the type of gear, by banning or restricting fishing activities along the following lines:

  • towed gears7 are generally banned within 3 nautical miles of the coast;
  • dredges are authorised within 3 nautical miles irrespective of the depth provided that the catch of species other than shellfish is no more than 10% of the total;
  • trawl nets are banned within 1.5 nautical miles of the coast;
  • boat dredges and hydraulic dredges are banned within 0.3 nautical miles of the coast;
  • purse seines are banned within 300 metres of the coast;
  • dredges for sponge fishing are banned within 0.5 nautical miles of the coast;
  • towed nets, surrounding nets, purse seines, boat dredges, mechanised dredges, gillnets8, trammel nets9 and combined bottom-set nets are banned for leisure fisheries, as is the use of longlines for highly migratory species.

Fishery management

EU countries concerned are to adopt plans for specific Mediterranean fisheries, including:

  • fishing effort management measures;
  • specific technical measures, including temporary exemptions;
  • vessel-monitoring systems;
  • temporary or permanent restrictions to zones reserved for certain gears or vessels;
  • issuing of special fishing permits.

Control measures

The regulation includes control measures for the following:

  • catch of target species;
  • trans-shipment10;
  • designated ports;
  • catch monitoring;
  • a 25-nautical mile management zone around Malta.

The regulation amends Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 and repeals Regulation (EC) No 1626/94.

FROM WHEN DOES THE REGULATION APPLY?

It has applied since .

BACKGROUND

For more information, see:

KEY TERMS

  1. High seas: the open ocean, not part of the exclusive economic zone, territorial sea or internal waters of any state (Source: 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea).
  2. Trawl nets: nets which are actively towed by the main boat engine and consisting of a cone- or pyramid-shaped body closed at the back, which can extend at the opening by the wings or can be mounted on a rigid frame. Such nets can be towed either on the sea bottom (bottom trawl net) or in midwater (pelagic trawl net).
  3. Dredges: gears which are either actively towed by the main boat engine (boat dredge) or hauled by a motorised winch from an anchored vessel (mechanised dredge) to catch bivalves, gastropods or sponges and which consist of a net bag or metal basket mounted on a rigid frame or rod of variable size and shape whose lower part may carry a scraper blade, and may be equipped with skids and diving boards.
  4. Purse seines: any surrounding net the bottom of which is drawn together by means of a purse line at the bottom of the net, which passes through a series of rings along the ground rope, enabling the net to be pursed and closed. Purse seines may be used to catch small pelagic species, large pelagic species or demersal species.
  5. Boat seines: surrounding nets and towed seines which are operated and hauled by means of ropes and winches from a boat under way or at anchor and not towed by means of the main boat engine, consist of two lateral wings and a central bunt either in the form of a spoon or with a bag in the rearmost part and may operate from the surface to the bottom depending on the target species.
  6. Shore seines: surrounding nets and towed seines set from a boat and operated from the shore.
  7. Towed gears: any fishing gear, with the exclusion of troll lines, towed either by the engine power of the fishing vessel or hauled by means of winches with the fishing vessel either anchored or slowly under way, including in particular towed nets and dredges.
  8. Gillnets: any net made up of a single piece of net held vertically in the water by floats and weights fixed or capable of being fixed by any means to the bottom of the sea and maintain the gear in place either close to the bottom or floating in the water column (the physical (temperature, salinity, light penetration) and chemical (pH, dissolved oxygen, nutrient salts) characteristics of seawater at different depths for a defined geographical point).
  9. Trammel nets: any net made up of two or more pieces of net hung jointly in parallel on a single headline, fixed, or capable of being fixed by any means to the bottom of the sea.
  10. Trans-shipment: the transfer of a catch, typically from a smaller fishing boat to a larger one which then incorporates it into a larger batch for shipment.

MAIN DOCUMENT

Council Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 of concerning management measures for the sustainable exploitation of fishery resources in the Mediterranean Sea, amending Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1626/94 (OJ L 409, , pp. 11-85)

Successive amendments to Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 have been incorporated into the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.

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