(1)

Article 43(3) of the Treaty provides that the Council, on a proposal from the Commission, is to adopt measures on the fixing and allocation of fishing opportunities.

(2)

Council Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 of 20 December 2002 on the conservation and sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources under the Common Fisheries Policy (1) requires that measures governing access to waters and resources and the sustainable pursuit of fishing activities be established taking into account available scientific, technical and economic advice and, in particular, the report drawn up by the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF), as well as in the light of any advice received from Regional Advisory Councils.

(3)

It is incumbent upon the Council to adopt measures on the fixing and allocation of fishing opportunities by fishery or group of fisheries, including certain conditions functionally linked thereto, as appropriate. Fishing opportunities should be distributed among Member States in such a way as to assure each Member State relative stability of fishing activities for each stock or fishery and having due regard to the objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy established in Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002.

(4)

The total allowable catches (TACs) should be established on the basis of available scientific advice, taking into account biological and socioeconomic aspects whilst ensuring fair treatment between fishing sectors, as well as in light of the opinions expressed during the consultation of stakeholders, in particular at the meetings with the Advisory Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture and the Regional Advisory Councils concerned.

(5)

For stocks subject to specific multiannual plans, the fishing opportunities should be established in accordance with the rules laid down in those plans. Consequently, catch limits and fishing effort limits for the cod stocks in the Baltic Sea should be established in accordance with the rules laid down in Council Regulation (EC) No 1098/2007 of 18 September 2007 establishing a multiannual plan for the cod stocks in the Baltic Sea and the fisheries exploiting those stocks (2) (‘the Baltic Sea Cod Plan’).

(6)

In the light of the most recent scientific advice, flexibility in the management of the fishing effort for cod stocks in the Baltic Sea can be introduced without jeopardising the objectives of the Baltic Sea Cod Plan and without resulting in an increase in fishing mortality. Such flexibility would allow for a more efficient management of the fishing effort where quotas are not allocated equally among the fleet of a Member State and would facilitate swift reactions to quota exchanges. A Member State should, therefore, be allowed to allocate to vessels flying its flag additional days absent from port where an equal amount of days absent from port is withdrawn from other vessels flying the flag of that Member State.

(7)

In the light of the most recent scientific advice, it is appropriate to introduce such flexibility in the management of the fishing effort for cod stocks in the Baltic Sea already in 2011. Consequently, Annex II to Council Regulation (EU) No 1124/2010 of 29 November 2010 fixing for 2011 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks applicable in the Baltic Sea (3) should be amended accordingly.

(8)

The use of fishing opportunities set out in this Regulation should be subject to Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 of 20 November 2009 establishing a Community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the common fisheries policy (4) and in particular to Articles 33 and 34 thereof concerning respectively the recording of catches and fishing effort and the information on data on the exhaustion of fishing opportunities. It is therefore necessary to specify the codes relating to landings of stocks subject to this Regulation which are to be used by the Member States when sending data to the Commission.

(9)

In accordance with Article 2 of Council Regulation (EC) No 847/96 of 6 May 1996 introducing additional conditions for year-to-year management of TACs and quotas (5), the stocks that are subject to the various measures referred to therein must be identified.

(10)

In order to avoid the interruption of fishing activities and to ensure the livelihood of Union fishermen, it is important to open those fisheries on 1 January 2012. However, since Regulation (EU) No 1124/2010 applies from 1 January 2011, the provisions of the present Regulation allowing flexibility in the management of the fishing effort for cod stocks in the Baltic Sea should apply from 1 January 2011. For reasons of urgency, this Regulation should enter into force immediately after its publication,