This document is an excerpt from the EUR-Lex website
Document 32020R0455
Council Regulation (EU) 2020/455 of 26 March 2020 amending Regulation (EU) 2019/1838 as regards certain fishing opportunities for 2020 in the Baltic Sea and other waters, and Regulation (EU) 2020/123 as regards certain fishing opportunities for 2020 in Union and non‐Union waters
Council Regulation (EU) 2020/455 of 26 March 2020 amending Regulation (EU) 2019/1838 as regards certain fishing opportunities for 2020 in the Baltic Sea and other waters, and Regulation (EU) 2020/123 as regards certain fishing opportunities for 2020 in Union and non‐Union waters
Council Regulation (EU) 2020/455 of 26 March 2020 amending Regulation (EU) 2019/1838 as regards certain fishing opportunities for 2020 in the Baltic Sea and other waters, and Regulation (EU) 2020/123 as regards certain fishing opportunities for 2020 in Union and non‐Union waters
ST/6819/2020/INIT
OJ L 97, 30.3.2020, p. 1–10
(BG, ES, CS, DA, DE, ET, EL, EN, FR, GA, HR, IT, LV, LT, HU, MT, NL, PL, PT, RO, SK, SL, FI, SV)
No longer in force
30.3.2020 |
EN |
Official Journal of the European Union |
L 97/1 |
COUNCIL REGULATION (EU) 2020/455
of 26 March 2020
amending Regulation (EU) 2019/1838 as regards certain fishing opportunities for 2020 in the Baltic Sea and other waters, and Regulation (EU) 2020/123 as regards certain fishing opportunities for 2020 in Union and non‐Union waters
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 43(3) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,
Whereas:
(1) |
Council Regulation (EU) 2019/1838 (1) fixes for 2020 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks applicable in the Baltic Sea. It establishes spawning closure periods for the two Baltic cod stocks. Ensuring uninterrupted time series of comparable data on fish stocks is an essential element for the scientific assessment of those stocks. It is therefore appropriate to allow, during the respective closure periods, fishing operations conducted exclusively for the purpose of scientific investigation and in full compliance with the conditions set out in Article 25 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1241 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2). Regulation (EU) 2019/1838 should therefore be amended accordingly. |
(2) |
Council Regulation (EU) 2020/123 (3) fixes for 2020 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks applicable in Union waters and, for Union vessels, in certain non‐Union waters. It should be clarified that the restrictions set out in Article 10(6) of that Regulation apply to recreational fisheries including from shore. |
(3) |
At their annual meeting in July 2019, the Parties to the Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement (SIOFA) decided on bottom fishing measures and on fishing effort limitation in the SIOFA area. Those measures were implemented in Union law by Regulation (EU) 2020/123. At that meeting, the Parties to the SIOFA also agreed on five interim protected areas in which specific rules apply for fishing vessels in order to protect benthic ecosystems. Therefore, further changes should be made to that Regulation to ensure that implementing rules properly reflect the decisions taken by the Parties to the SIOFA. |
(4) |
The catch limits for sandeels in the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) divisions 2a and 3a and ICES subarea 4 should be amended in line with the latest scientific advice from ICES, issued on 27 February 2019 and 27 February 2020. |
(5) |
At its annual meeting in November 2019, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) decided on new reporting obligations for tropical tunas. Member States are required to transmit data on monthly catches for large longline vessels (overall length of 20 metres and above) and for purse seiners fishing for bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) and yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) in the Atlantic Ocean. When catches of bigeye tuna reach 80 % of the quota, Member States are required to transmit data on the catches for those vessels on a weekly basis. |
(6) |
Those measures should be implemented in Union law by amending accordingly the total allowable catch (TAC) tables for bigeye tuna and yellowfin tuna in the Atlantic Ocean set out in Regulation (EU) 2020/123. |
(7) |
Fishing effort limits for Union fishing vessels in the ICCAT Convention Area are based on information provided in the fishing capacity and farming plans for bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) communicated by Member States to the Commission. Those fishing effort limits are reported through the Union plan endorsed by ICCAT during the Intersessional meeting of Panel 2 held on 5 and 6 March 2020. They should be established as part of fishing opportunities. |
(8) |
Regulation (EU) 2020/123 should therefore be amended accordingly. |
(9) |
The catch limits provided for in Regulations (EU) 2019/1838 and (EU) 2020/123 apply from 1 January 2020. The provisions on catch limits introduced by this amending Regulation should therefore also apply from that date. Such retroactive application is without prejudice to the principles of legal certainty and protection of legitimate expectations as the fishing opportunities concerned have not yet been exhausted. |
(10) |
The United Kingdom has been consulted in accordance with Article 130(1) of the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, |
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Amendment of Regulation (EU) 2019/1838
The Annex to Regulation (EU) 2019/1838 is amended in accordance with Annex I to this Regulation.
Article 2
Amendment of Regulation (EU) 2020/123
Regulation (EU) 2020/123 is amended as follows:
(a) |
in Article 10, paragraph 6 is replaced by the following: ‘6. In recreational fisheries, including from shore, in ICES divisions 8a and 8b, a maximum of two specimens of European seabass may be caught and retained per fisherman per day. The minimum size of European seabass retained shall be 42 cm. This paragraph shall not apply to fixed nets, which may not be used to catch or retain European seabass.’; |
(b) |
the following Article is inserted: ‘Article 28a Mobulid rays 1. It shall be prohibited for Union fishing vessels to fish for, to retain on board, to tranship, to land, to store, to offer for sale or to sell any part or whole carcass of Mobulid rays (Mobulidae family which includes the genera Manta and Mobula), except for fishing vessels carrying out subsistence fishery (where the fish caught are consumed directly by the families of the fishermen). By way of derogation from the first subparagraph, Mobulid rays that are unintentionally caught by artisanal fishing (fisheries other than longline or surface fisheries, i.e. purse seines, pole and line, gillnet fisheries, handline and trolling vessels, and registered in the IOTC record of authorised vessels) may be landed for purposes of local consumption only. 2. All fishing vessels, other than those carrying out subsistence fishery, shall promptly release alive and unharmed, to the extent practicable, Mobulid rays as soon as they are seen in the net, on the hook, or on the deck, and shall do so in a manner that will result in the least possible harm to the individuals captured.’; |
(c) |
Article 30 is deleted; |
(d) |
Annexes IA, ID, IK and VI are amended in accordance with Annex II to this Regulation. |
Article 3
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 2020.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 26 March 2020.
For the Council
The President
A. METELKO-ZGOMBIĆ
(1) Council Regulation (EU) 2019/1838 of 30 October 2019 fixing for 2020 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks applicable in the Baltic Sea and amending Regulation (EU) 2019/124 as regards certain fishing opportunities in other waters (OJ L 281, 31.10.2019, p. 1).
(2) Regulation (EU) 2019/1241 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on the conservation of fisheries resources and the protection of marine ecosystems through technical measures, amending Council Regulations (EC) No 1967/2006, (EC) No 1224/2009 and Regulations (EU) No 1380/2013, (EU) 2016/1139, (EU) 2018/973, (EU) 2019/472 and (EU) 2019/1022 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 894/97, (EC) No 850/98, (EC) No 2549/2000, (EC) No 254/2002, (EC) No 812/2004 and (EC) No 2187/2005 (OJ L 198, 25.7.2019, p. 105).
(3) Council Regulation (EU) 2020/123 of 27 January 2020 fixing for 2020 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks, applicable in Union waters and, for Union fishing vessels, in certain non-Union waters (OJ L 25, 30.1.2020, p. 1).
ANNEX I
The Annex to Regulation (EU) 2019/1838 is amended as follows:
(1) |
Footnote 2 of the fishing opportunities table for cod in ICES subdivisions 25‐32 is replaced by the following:
|
(2) |
Footnote 2 of the fishing opportunities table for cod in ICES subdivisions 22‐24 is replaced by the following:
|
ANNEX II
Annexes IA, ID, IK and VI to Regulation (EU) 2020/123 are amended as follows:
(1) |
in Annex IA, the table for sandeels and associated by‐catches in Union waters of ICES divisions 2a and 3a and ICES subarea 4 is replaced by the following:
Special condition: within the limits of the abovementioned quotas, no more than the quantities indicated below may be taken in the following sandeels management areas, as defined in Annex III: Zone: Union waters of sandeels management areas
|
(2) |
Annex ID is amended as follows:
|
(3) |
in Annex IK, the following part is added: ‘Interim Protected Areas Atlantis Bank
Coral
Fools Flat
Middle of What
Walter’s Shoal
|
(4) |
Annex VI is replaced by the following: ‘ANNEX VI ICCAT CONVENTION AREA (1)
|
(1) Excluding waters within six nautical miles of the UK baselines at Shetland, Fair Isle and Foula.
(2) Up to 2 % of the quota may consist of by‐catches of whiting and mackerel (OT1/*2A3A4). By‐catches of whiting and mackerel 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.
(3) Catches of bigeye tuna by purse seiners (BET/*ATLPS) and long liners with an overall length of 20 metres and above (BET/*ATLLL) shall be reported separately.
(4) As of June 2020, when catches reach 80 % of the quota, Member States are required to transmit the catches for these vessels on a weekly basis.’
(5) Catches of yellowfin tuna by purse seiners (YFT/*ATLPS) and long liners with an overall length of 20 metres and above (YFT/*ATLLL) shall be reported separately.’
(6) This number may be increased if a purse seiner is replaced by 10 longline vessels in accordance with footnote 2 or 4 of Table A in Section 4.
(7) Communicated in the national capacity plan as part of the sectorial quota.
(8) The numbers in this table may be further increased, provided that the international obligations of the Union are complied with.
(9) One medium size purse seiner may be replaced by no more than 10 longline vessels or one small purse seiner and no more than three longline vessels.
(10) One medium size purse seiner may be replaced by no more than 10 longline vessels or one small size purse seiner and three other artisanal vessels.
(11) One medium size purse seiner may be replaced by no more than 10 longline vessels.
(12) Polyvalent vessels, using multi-gear equipment.
(13) Baitboats of the outermost regions of Azores and Madeira.
(14) Line vessels operating in the Atlantic Ocean.
(15) Polyvalent vessels, using multi-gear equipment (longline, handline, trolling line).
(16) This number may be further increased, provided that the international obligations of the Union are complied with.
(17) The farming capacity of 500 tonnes for Portugal is covered by the unused capacity of the Union set out in Table A.