Catch statistics for fishing in the Atlantic

 

SUMMARY OF:

Regulation (EC) No 216/2009 on nominal catch statistics by EU countries fishing in certain areas other than those of the North Atlantic

Regulation (EC) No 217/2009 on catch and activity statistics by EU countries fishing in the north-west Atlantic

Regulation (EC) No 218/2009 on nominal catch statistics by EU countries fishing in the north-east Atlantic

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THESE REGULATIONS?

The 3 regulations concern the submission by EU countries to the European Commission (Eurostat) of accurate and timely statistics on fishing vessel catches in:

• the north-west Atlantic — Regulation (EC) No 217/2009;
• the north-east Atlantic — Regulation (EC) No 218/2009;
• areas other than the north Atlantic, i.e. the eastern central Atlantic, the Mediterranean and Black seas, the south-west Atlantic, the south-east Atlantic, the western Indian Ocean — Regulation (EC) No 216/2009.

Regulations (EC) No 217/2009, (EC) No 218/2009 and (EC) No 216/2009 repeal and revise previously existing EU regulations on fishing catch and activity statistics (Regulations (EEC) No 2018/93, (EEC) No 3880/91 and (EC) No 2597/95 respectively).

KEY POINTS

Each of the regulations requires EU countries to submit to the Commission (Eurostat) data on annual nominal catches* by vessels registered in or flying the flag of that country. The data are recorded as the live weight equivalent of the landings (the fish brought ashore) or transhipments* to the nearest tonne.

Each regulation specifies the deadline by which EU countries must supply the required data to the Commission (Eurostat) and the formats in which the data should be transmitted.

As far as fishing in the north-west Atlantic is concerned, Regulation (EC) No 217/2009 additionally requires data on catches and corresponding fishing activity subdivided by calendar month of capture, fishing gear, vessels size and main species sought. If the country in question has not fished in the north-west Atlantic in the preceding calendar year, it has to inform the Commission of this.

The Commission may amend the lists of species and statistical fishing regions, the descriptions of those fishing regions and the permitted degree of aggregation of data.

Except where rules adopted under the EU’s common fisheries policy require otherwise, EU countries may use sampling techniques to obtain catch data for those parts of the fleet for which the complete coverage of the data would involve the excessive application of administrative procedures.

EU countries had to submit reports to the Commission providing:

• details of how their data were obtained,
• any sampling procedures used,
• the proportion of the total data obtained by sampling and
• specifying the degree of representativeness and reliability of those data

These reports must be submitted by:

• 1 January 1993 (Regulation (EC) No 218/2009),
• 28 July 1994 (Regulation (EC) No 217/2009) and
• 14 November 1996 (Regulation (EC) No 216/2009).

FROM WHEN DO THE REGULATIONS APPLY?

They apply from 20 April 2009.

BACKGROUND

For more information, see:

• Fishery statistics (Eurostat).

KEY TERMS

MAIN DOCUMENTS

Regulation (EC) No 216/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2009 on the submission of nominal catch statistics by Member States fishing in certain areas other than those of the North Atlantic (recast) (OJ L 87, 31.3.2009, pp. 1-41)

Successive amendments to Regulation (EC) No 216/2009 have been incorporated into the original document. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.

Regulation (EC) No 217/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2009 on the submission of catch and activity statistics by Member States fishing in the north-west Atlantic (recast) (OJ L 87, 31.3.2009, pp. 42-69)

See consolidated version.

Regulation (EC) No 218/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2009 on the submission of nominal catch statistics by Member States fishing in the north-east Atlantic (recast) (OJ L 87, 31.3.2009, pp. 70-108)

See consolidated version.

last update 04.12.2017