(1)

By Decision 2012/419/EU (3), the European Council amended the status of Mayotte with regard to the Union with effect from 1 January 2014. Therefore, from that date Mayotte will cease to be an overseas territory to and become an outermost region within the meaning of Articles 349 and 355(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union ( TFEU). Following this change in Mayotte's legal status, Union law will apply to Mayotte from 1 January 2014. It is appropriate to provide for certain specific measures justified by the particular structural, social and economic situation of Mayotte in a number of areas which is compounded by its remoteness, insularity, small size, difficult topography and climate . [Am. 2]

(2)

In the field of fisheries and animal health, the following Regulations should be amended.

(3)

As regards 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 (4), the waters around Mayotte should be included within the scope of that Regulation and the use of purse-seines on tuna and tuna-like schools of fish inside the area within 24 nautical miles from the baselines of the island should be prohibited in order to preserve the shoals of large migratory fish in the vicinity of the island of Mayotte. [Am. not concerning all languages]

(4)

As regards Council Regulation (EC) No 104/2000 of 17 December 1999 on the common organisation of the markets in fishery and aquaculture products (5), in view of the very fragmented and under-developed marketing schemes of Mayotte, the application of the rules on the labelling of fishery products would impose on retailers a burden that is disproportionate to the information that will be transmitted to the consumer. It is therefore appropriate to provide for a temporary derogation from the rules concerning the labelling of fishery products offered for retail sale to the final consumer in Mayotte.

(5)

As regards Council Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 of 20 December 2002 on the conservation and sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources under the Common Fisheries Policy (6), specific measures should be introduced with respect to the fleet register and the access regime.

(6)

First, an important part of the fleet flying the flag of France and operating from the French Department of Mayotte is composed by vessels of less than 9 10 meters which are dispersed around the island, have no specific landing sites and still need to be identified, measured and equipped with minimum safety implements in order to be included in the register of Union fishing vessels; as a consequence, France will not be able to complete this register until 31 December 2016 2020 . France should, however, install a provisional fleet register guaranteeing minimum identification of the vessels of this segment in order to avoid proliferation of informal fishing vessels. [Am. 4]

(7)

Second, it is necessary for the protection of the sensitive ecological and biological situation of the waters around Mayotte and the preservation of the local economy of that island, having regard to its structural, social and economic situation, to limit certain fishing activities in those waters to vessels registered in the ports of that island. [Am. 5]

(8)

As regards Council Regulation (EC) No 639/2004 of 30 March 2004 on the management of fishing fleets registered in the Community outermost regions (7), a particular feature of Mayotte is that no objective has been set for its fleet under Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 which refers to the Multiannual Guidance Programme 1997-2002. From the point of view of conservation of fish resources, it is appropriate to freeze the fishing capacity of the fleets at current levels, especially for the segment of large vessels with a great fishing capacity. However, for smaller vessels, in view of the fact that France presented to the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) a development plan indicating the expected evolution of the fleet based in Mayotte, to which no IOTC contracting party, including the Union, has objected, it is appropriate, due to the current specific social and economic circumstances of Mayotte, to use the objectives of that plan as reference levels for the capacity of the fleet registered in the ports of Mayotte and to allow France to increase its fleet up to the objectives of its development plan. [Am. 6]

(9)

As regards Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 laying down health rules as regards animal by-products and derived products not intended for human consumption and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 (8), it should be noted that Mayotte has no industrial capacity for the processing of animal by-products. It is therefore appropriate to allow France a period of five years in order to establish the infrastructure necessary for the identification, handling, transport, treatment and disposal of animal by-products in Mayotte in full compliance with Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009.

(10)

As regards Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 of 20 November 2009 establishing a Community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the common fisheries policy, amending Regulations (EC) No 847/96, (EC) No 2371/2002, (EC) No 811/2004, (EC) No 768/2005, (EC) No 2115/2005, (EC) No 2166/2005, (EC) No 388/2006, (EC) No 509/2007, (EC) No 676/2007, (EC) No 1098/2007, (EC) No 1300/2008, (EC) No 1342/2008 and repealing Regulations (EEC) No 2847/93, (EC) No 1627/94 and (EC) No 1966/2006 (9), it appears that France will not be in a position to comply with all Union control obligations for the segment ‘Mayotte. Pelagic and demersal species. Length < 9m 10m ’ of the fleet of Mayotte by the date on which Mayotte becomes an outermost region. The vessels of that segment, dispersed around the island, have no specific landing sites and still need to be identified. In addition, it is necessary to train fishermen and controllers and to set up the appropriate administrative and physical infrastructure. It is therefore necessary to provide for a temporary derogation from certain rules concerning the control of fishing vessels and their characteristics, their activities at sea, their gear and their catches at all stages from the vessel to the market in respect of that segment of the fleet. However, in order to attain at least some of the most important objectives of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009, France should establish a national control system allowing it to control and monitor the activities of that segment of the fleet and to comply with the international reporting obligations of the Union. [Am. 7]

(11)

Regulations (EC) No 850/98, (EC) No 104/2000, (EC) No 2371/2002, (EC) No 639/2004, (EC) No 1069/2009 and (EC) No 1224/2009 should therefore be amended accordingly,

(1)

In Article 2(1), point (h) is replaced by the following:

(1a)

In Article 2, the following paragraph is inserted:

‘3a.     The “Marine Natural Park of Mayotte” shall mean the entire exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Mayotte (68 381 km2). The land area of the park shall extend to the upper foreshore, which marks the boundary of the maritime public domain.’. [Am. 8]

(2)

The following article is inserted after Article 34:

‘Article 34a

Restrictions on fishing activities in the 24-mile zone around the island of Mayotte

Vessels shall be prohibited from using any purse-seine on tuna and tuna-like schools of fish inside the areas within 24 nautical miles of the coasts of the island of Mayotte, measured from the baselines from which territorial waters are measured. [Am. not concerning all languages]

Fishing under drifting fish aggregating devices (FADs) and under large marine mammals and whale sharks (natural FADs) shall be prohibited in the whole of the Mayotte Marine Natural Park.’ [Am. 10]

(1)

In Article 15, the following paragraphs are added:

‘5.   By way of derogation from paragraph 1, France shall be exempted until 31 December 2016 2021 from the obligation to include in its register of Union fishing vessels those vessels which are less than 9 10 meters in overall length and operate from Mayotte. [Am. 12]

6.   Until 31 December 2016 2021 , France shall keep a provisional register of fishing vessels which are less than 9 10 meters in overall length and operate from Mayotte. That register shall contain, for each vessel, at least its name, its overall length and an identification code.’[Am. 13]

(2)

The following article is inserted after Article 18:

‘Article 18a

Mayotte

By way of derogation from Article 17, in the waters up to 100 nautical miles from the baselines of Mayotte and in the whole of the Mayotte Marine Natural Park , France may adopt the conservation measures considered necessary for the preservation of the natural resources protected by the legislation establishing that park, including measures to restrict fishing to fishing vessels registered in the ports of Mayotte, either in the register of Union vessels or in the provisional register referred to in Article 15(6), except for Union vessels that, within the two years preceding 1 January 2014, fished in those waters for at least 40 days insofar as they do not exceed the fishing effort traditionally exerted.’[Am. 14]