Fishing opportunities in EU and non-EU waters (2022)

KEY POINTS

The fishing opportunities covered by the regulation include:

• catch limits for 2022 and, where specified in the regulation, for 2023;
• fishing effort limits for 2022, except the fishing effort limits set out in the regulation’s Annex II, which apply from 1 February 2022 to 31 January 2023;
• fishing opportunities for the period from 1 December 2021 to 30 November 2022 for certain stocks in the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources Convention area.

This regulation is amended by Regulation (EU) 2022/515.

Scope

The regulation applies to:

• EU-registered fishing vessels and non-EU vessels fishing in EU waters;
• recreational fisheries¹, where these are expressly referred to in the regulation;
• commercial fisheries from shore.

Besides the fishing opportunities that the EU sets autonomously, the regulation covers fishing opportunities resulting from multilateral or bilateral fisheries arrangements, namely:

• shared stocks that are to be jointly managed with Norway in the North Sea and the Skagerrak, with the United Kingdom in the North Sea and the north-western waters, or related to North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission coastal state consultations;
• fishing opportunities resulting from agreements reached in the context of regional fisheries management organisations.

Fishing opportunities for EU vessels in EU waters

The Council is responsible for setting total allowable catches (TACs).

• TACs set out the maximum quantity of fish of different species that can be caught during the year.
• The set limits follow the principle of sustainable exploitation of the various stocks in line with maximum sustainable yield².
• Multiannual management plans have been adopted for EU fishery regions, which include goals for fish stock management.
• The TAC for each individual species is divided into quotas – proportions of the TAC assigned to the EU, the EU Member States or non-EU countries.

Total allowable catches for shared fishing stocks

For fishing stocks shared with Norway and the United Kingdom, the regulation originally set provisional TACs, pending the conclusion of consultations.

• The EU and Norway conducted bilateral consultations for shared stocks in the North Sea and the Skagerrak in November and December 2021.
• On 21 December 2021, the EU and the United Kingdom agreed to set large number of TACs for 2022 following bilateral discussions under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, replacing the provisional TACs and implementing other linked measures. Details are set out in Regulation (EU) 2022/515, which amends this regulation.

Landing obligation

Since 1 January 2019, all EU fishing fleets have been required to adhere to the landing obligation, which has ended the practice of discarding. The regulation:

• states that all catches of regulated commercial species taken on board (including by-catch³) be landed and counted against each Member State’s respective quotas;
• introduces a pool for quota exchanges for those Member States that have no quota to cover their unavoidable by-catches.

Remedial measures

The regulation lists the measures that are functionally linked to fishing opportunities and are to be applied in various fishing zones, along with remedial measures to ensure the rapid return of the stock to levels above the level capable of producing maximum sustainable yield.

Prohibited species

The regulation lists the fishing zones in which fishing vessels are prohibited from fishing, retaining on board, transshipping⁴ or landing certain species.

Fishing authorisations for EU vessels in non-EU waters

• The maximum number of fishing authorisations for EU-registered fishing vessels in non-EU waters is set out in Part A of Annex V to the regulation.
• Member States are able to transfer quotas among themselves, but any transfer must include an appropriate transfer of fishing authorisations and be notified to the European Commission.

Fishing opportunities for EU vessels in waters managed by regional fisheries management organisations

This part of Regulation (EU) 2022/109 is broken down by the regional fishing areas covered by their respective conventions.

For each area, the regulation stipulates:

• any limitations of fishing capacity of vessels that may exist;
• the types of fishing activities that can be undertaken;
• the types of nets that can be used and the types of buoys that are required;
• prohibitions on fishing for given species.

Fishing opportunities for non-EU vessels in EU waters

• Vessels flying the flag of Norway or registered in the Faroes and vessels flying the flag of the United Kingdom (UK), registered in the UK and licensed by a UK fisheries administration, may be authorised to fish in EU waters within the TACs set out in Annex I to this regulation, and are subject to the conditions provided for in this regulation and Regulation (EU) 2017/2403 on the sustainable management of external fishing fleets (see summary).
• A Member State intending to transfer or exchange quotas with the UK may discuss it in outline but must notify the Commission of the outline for endorsement. The Commission then notifies the two parties of the agreed quota transfer or exchange. Fishing opportunities received from or transferred to the UK under the agreed quota transfer or exchange are deemed to be quotas allocated to, or deducted from, the allocation of the Member State concerned. Such transfers and exchanges do not affect the distribution key for allocating fishing opportunities among Member States.
• Vessels flying the flag of Venezuela are subject to the conditions laid down in Regulation (EU) 2022/109 and in Regulation (EU) 2017/2403.
• Regulation (EU) 2022/109 also lists species which non-EU registered vessels, whenever they are found in EU waters, are prohibited to fish, retain on board, transship or land.

Annexes

There are nine annexes to the regulation.