Multiannual recovery plan for Mediterranean swordfish

SUMMARY OF:

Regulation (EU) 2019/1154 on a multiannual recovery plan for Mediterranean swordfish

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE REGULATION?

It lays down rules for the European Union (EU) implementation of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas’ (ICCAT) multiannual recovery plan for swordfish in the Mediterranean Sea.
The aim is to achieve a maximum sustainable yield* of Mediterranean swordfish by 2031, with at least a 60% probability of achieving that target.

KEY POINTS

The regulation applies to:

EU vessels carrying out commercial or recreational fishing, which catch, transship* or carry on board Mediterranean swordfish, whether inside or outside the ICCAT Convention area;
non-EU vessels
- carrying out commercial or recreational Mediterranean swordfish fishing in EU waters
- inspected in EU Member State ports with Mediterranean swordfish or fishery products on board.

The recovery plan started in 2017 and continues until 2031.

Management measures

Member States must:

ensure that the fishing effort* of their vessels respects the fishing opportunities* they are given;
use transparent and objective criteria — notably environmental, social and economic criteria — when sharing out national quotas among their fleet and consider the needs of traditional and artisanal fishing;
provide for a maximum by-catch* of swordfish within their quota;
limit the number of vessels allowed to catch Mediterranean swordfish to the annual average number of vessels fishing between 2013 and 2016;
operate national scientific observer programmes for pelagic longline vessels and ensure that observers are deployed on at least 10% of vessels over 15 metres in length (Annex I sets out the terms and duties of the programmes).

Technical conservation

Fishing is not allowed between 1 January and 31 March each year. An additional closure period applies to longline vessels targeting Mediterranean albacore between 1 October and 30 November.
Mediterranean swordfish less than 100 cm in length and weighing under 11.4 kg may not be caught, landed, stored, sold or displayed.
Vessels may not use more than 2,500 hooks and longlines must not exceed 30 nautical miles (55.56 km).

Controls

Fishing vessels:

need Member State authorisation and must be included in the ICCAT register;
must transmit uninterrupted data from their vessel monitoring system — even when in port — to national monitoring centres, which forward this information at least every 2 hours to the European Commission, which in turn sends it to the ICCAT secretariat;
may not be chartered to catch Mediterranean swordfish;
must keep a fishing logbook (Annex II sets out the data to be recorded) and provide this data to their national authorities;
may only land or transship catches of Mediterranean swordfish and by-catches in designated ports (transshipment at sea is prohibited) and must give the ports prior notification of their arrival.

Member States must inform the Commission when 80% of a swordfish quota has been reached and thereafter report on catches on a weekly basis.

Inspections

Member States must:

establish and implement annual inspection plans, which the Commission will integrate into an EU inspection plan;
deploy an inspection and control vessel whenever more than 50 of their vessels are catching swordfish;
physically inspect, either in port or at sea, vessels that break the rules.

Joint international inspections are carried out according to the ICATT Scheme for Joint International Inspection (Annex III details how these operate).

The Commission may assign EU inspectors to accompany national inspectors.

Recreational fisheries

Member States must:

establish a recreational fisheries quota within their national quota;
prohibit swordfish caught during recreational fishing from being sold or marketed;
allow only rod and line vessels to participate in recreational fishing;
require details of the vessels involved, their owners and catch data, including the weight of each swordfish caught.

Member States must also submit a wide range of information — annual reports, fishing plans, details of authorised vessels, inspections made and data collected by scientific observers — to the Commission, which will forward much of it to the ICCAT secretariat.

The Commission:

may adopt implementing and delegated acts;
reports to the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union on the recovery plan’s performance by 31 December 2025.

The regulation makes small amendments to:

Regulation (EU) 2017/2107 on the management, conservation and control measures applicable in the ICCAT convention area by deleting articles 20 to 26;
Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 on the sustainable exploitation of fish stocks in the Mediterranean Sea (see summary) by reducing the number of hooks per vessels from 3,500 to 2,500.

FROM WHEN DOES THE REGULATION APPLY?

It has applied since 15 July 2019.

BACKGROUND

The International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (see summary) provides for regional cooperation on the conservation and management of tunas and tuna-like species in the Atlantic Ocean and adjoining seas — and establishes ICCAT. The EU has been a contracting party to the ICCAT Convention since 14 November 1997.
The EU accounts for some 70% of the total catches of Mediterranean swordfish. Greece, Spain and Italy catch the most, with a further 10% shared between France, Croatia, Cyprus and Malta. Other countries, notably Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey, also exploit the stock.
The regulation essentially implements the multiannual recovery plan adopted by ICCAT in 2016. However, it introduces some stronger control and monitoring requirements.

KEY TERMS

Maximum sustainable yield: the maximum catch that can be taken from a stock without damaging its long-term health.

Transship: transferring a catch from a vessel to another vessel.

Fishing effort: a measure of the amount of fishing through inputs such as days at sea, length of nets and number of hooks.

Fishing opportunities: a quantified legal entitlement to fish expressed by catches or fishing effort.

By-catch: unwanted fish and marine species caught unintentionally.

MAIN DOCUMENT

Regulation (EU) 2019/1154 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on a multiannual recovery plan for Mediterranean swordfish and amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 and Regulation (EU) 2017/2107 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 188, 12.7.2019, pp. 1–24)

Multiannual recovery plan for Mediterranean swordfish

SUMMARY OF:

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE REGULATION?

KEY POINTS

FROM WHEN DOES THE REGULATION APPLY?

BACKGROUND

KEY TERMS

MAIN DOCUMENT

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