(1)

Council Regulation (EU) 2023/194 (1) fixes for 2023 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks applicable in Union waters and, for Union fishing vessels, in certain non-Union waters.

(2)

Regulation (EU) 2023/194 sets a provisional total allowable catch (TAC) for anchovy in International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) subareas 9 and 10 and Union waters of Committee for Eastern Central Atlantic Fisheries (CECAF) division 34.1.1 for the period from 1 July to 30 September 2023, pending the publication by ICES of its scientific advice for the period from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024, and allows fishing for that stock to continue. Following the publication of that ICES advice on 21 June 2023, the definitive TAC for the period from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024 should be set at the level of 20 555 tonnes, in accordance with that advice.

(3)

Regulation (EU) 2023/194 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(4)

Given the urgency of avoiding any interruption of fishing activities, this Regulation should enter into force on the date of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

(5)

The TAC for anchovy in ICES subareas 9 and 10 and Union waters of CECAF division 34.1.1 should apply from 1 July 2023. Such retroactive application does not affect the principles of legal certainty and protection of legitimate expectations, as the fishing opportunities concerned are increased by the amendment,