52000PC0229

Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION relating to the conclusion of the Protocol defining, for the period 3 December 1999 to 2 December 2002, the fishing opportunities and the financial contribution provided for by the Agreement between the European Community and the Government of Mauritius on fishing in the waters of Mauritius

(presented by the Commission)

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

The Protocol annexed to the fisheries agreement between the European Community and Mauritius expired on 30 November 1999. A new Protocol was initialled by the two parties on 3 December 1999 establishing the technical and financial conditions under which Community fishing vessels can fish in Mauritius waters in the period 3 December 1999 to 2 December 2002.

The Commission is accordingly proposing that the Council adopt by Regulation the conclusion of the new Protocol.

A proposal for a Council Decision on the provisional application of the new Protocol, pending its definitive entry into force, is subject to a separate procedure.

2000/0094 (CNS)

Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION relating to the conclusion of the Protocol defining, for the period 3 December 1999 to 2 December 2002, the fishing opportunities and the financial contribution provided for by the Agreement between the European Community and the Government of Mauritius on fishing in the waters of Mauritius

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 37, in conjunction with Article 300(2) and the first subparagraph of Article 300(3) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission [1],

[1] OJ C , , p. .

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament [2],

[2] OJ C , , p. .

Whereas:

(1) In accordance with the Agreement between the European Community and the Government of Mauritius on fishing in Mauritian waters [3], the Contracting Parties held negotiations with a view to determining amendments or additions to be made to the Agreement at the end of the period of application of the Protocol;.

[3] OJ No L 159, 10.6.89, p. 2.

(2) As a result of these negotiations, a new Protocol defining, for the period 3 December 1999 to 2 December 2002, the fishing opportunities and the financial contribution provided for by the said Agreement was initialled on 3 December 1999;.

(3) It is in the Community's interest to approve this Protocol;

(4) The method for allocating the fishing opportunities among the Member States should be defined on the basis of the traditional allocation of fishing opportunities under the Fisheries Agreement,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

The Protocol defining, for the period 3 December 1999 to 2 December 2002, the fishing opportunities and the financial contribution provided for by the Agreement between the European Community and the Government of Mauritius on fishing in the waters of Mauritius is hereby approved on behalf of the Community.

The text of the Protocol is attached to this Regulation.

Article 2

The fishing opportunities fixed in the Protocol shall be allocated among the Member States as follows:

- Tuna seiners: France 20, Spain 20, Italy 2, United Kingdom 1;

- Surface long-liners: Spain 19, France 13, Portugal 8;

- Vessels fishing by line: France 25 grt/month on an annual average

If licence applications from these Member States do not cover all the fishing opportunities fixed by the Protocol, the Commission may take into consideration licence application from any other Member State.

Article 3

The President of the Council is hereby authorised to designate the persons empowered to sign the Protocol in order to bind the Community [4].

[4] The date of entry into force of the Protocol will be published in the Official Journal of the European Communities by the Secretariat General of the Council.

Article 4

This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels,

For the Council

The President

PROTOCOL DEFINING, FOR THE PERIOD 3 DECEMBER 1999 TO 2 DECEMBER 2002, THE FISHING OPPORTUNITIES AND THE FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION PROVIDED FOR BY THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY AND THE GOVERNMENT OF MAURITIUS ON FISHING IN THE WATERS OF MAURITIUS

Article 1

Pursuant to Article 2 of the Agreement, and for a period of three years from 3 December 1999, the following fishing possibilities shall be accorded:

- tuna seiners: licences for 43 vessels;

- surface longliners: licences for 40 vessels;

- vessels fishing by line: licences for 25 GRT/month on an annual average.

Article 2

1. The financial compensation referred to in article 6 of the Agreement for the above mentioned period is fixed at 206,250 euros per year.

2. This compensation shall cover a catch weight in waters of Mauritius of 5500 tons of catches per year. If the annual amount of catches by Community vessels in the waters of Mauritius exceeds this quantity, the above mentioned compensation shall be increased by 50 euros for each additional ton caught.

3. The use to which this compensation is put shall be the sole competence of Mauritius.

4. The financial compensation shall be paid into an account indicated by the government of Mauritius, in the name of the public Treasury.

Article 3

During the period covered by the Protocol, the Community shall contribute an additional 618,750 euros to financing the measures described below, allocated as follows:

(1) 543,750 euros for scientific and technical programmes to promote better understanding and management of fisheries and living resources in Mauritius' fishing zone, and the implementation of an appropriate monitoring and control surveillance scheme, including an electronic fisheries management information system based on the vessel monitoring system;

(2) 75,000 euros for study grants and practical training courses in the various scientific, technical and economic fields linked to fishing. Of this amount, up to 25,000 euros may be used, at the request of the Mauritian authority responsible for fisheries, to cover the costs of attending international meetings relating to fisheries;

(3) The Mauritian Ministry responsible for fisheries shall transmit an annual report on the implementation of these measures and the results achieved to the Delegation of the European Commission in Mauritius, three months after the anniversary date of the protocol. The Commission reserves the right to request additional information on these results from the Mauritian authority responsible for fisheries and to review the payments concerned in the light of the actual implementation of the measures.

(4) All the amounts indicated shall be paid into an account indicated by the government of Mauritius, in the name of the public Treasury.

Article 4

Should the Community fail to make any of the payments specified in Articles 2 and 3, the Agreement on fishing may be suspended.

Article 5

The Annex to the Agreement between the European Community and the Government of Mauritius on fishing in the waters of Mauritius is hereby repealed and replaced by the Annex to this Protocol.

Article 6

This Protocol with its Annex shall enter into force on the date of its signature.

It shall apply from 3 December 1999.

ANNEX

CONDITIONS FOR THE PURSUIT OF FISHING ACTIVITIES BYCOMMUNITY VESSELS IN THE WATERS OF MAURITIUS

1. LICENCE APPLICATION AND ISSUING FORMALITIES

The application procedure for, and issue of, the licences enabling Community vessels to fish in the waters of Mauritius shall be as follows:

a) The Commission of the European Communities shall present to the Mauritian authority via the representative of the Commission of the European Communities in Mauritius an application, made by the ship-owner, for each vessel that wishes to fish under this Agreement, at least 20 days before the date of commencement of the period of validity requested. The application shall be made on the forms provided for that purpose by Mauritius, a specimen of which is attached as appendix 1.

b) Every licence shall be issued to the ship-owner for one designated vessel. At the request of the Commission of the European Communities the licence for a vessel may and, in cases of force majeure, shall be replaced by a licence for another Community vessel.

c) The licences shall be delivered by the authorities of Mauritius to the representative of the Commission of the European Communities in Mauritius.

d) The licence document must be held on board at all times. However, on receipt of the notification of the advance payment sent by the Commission of the European Communities to the Mauritian authority, the vessel will be included on a list, to be notified to the Mauritian fisheries control authorities. Whilst awaiting receipt of the licence document, a fax copy of this licence document may be obtained and shall be kept on board, which will authorise the vessel to fish, pending delivery on board of the licence document.

e) The Mauritian authority shall communicate before the date of entry into force of the Protocol the arrangements for payments of the licence fees, and in particular the details of the bank account and the currency to be used.

2. VALIDITY OF LICENCES AND PAYMENT OF FEES

1) Advance payments

For tuna seiners and surface longliners, licences shall be valid for a period of one year. They are renewable.

The fee shall be set at 25 euros per ton caught in the waters of Mauritius.

For tuna seiners, licences shall be issued on advance payment of an annual sum of 1,750 euros per tuna seiner, equivalent to the fees for 70 tons of annual catches within the waters of Mauritius.

For surface longliners, licences shall be issued on advance payment to Mauritius of an annual sum of 1,375 euros for surface longliner of more than 150 GRT and 1,000 euros for surface longliners of 150 GRT or less. These amounts correspond respectively to the fees due for 55 tons and for 40 tons of annual catches in Mauritian waters.

For vessels fishing by line, licences shall be valid for three, six or twelve months. The fee shall be fixed in relation to the GRT as follows: 80 euros per year per GRT pro rata temporis.

2) Final statement

For tuna seiners and surface longliners, a final statement of the fees due for the fishing year shall be drawn up by the Commission of the European Communities at the end of each calendar year on the basis of the catch statements made by the ship-owners and confirmed by the scientific institutes competent for verifying catch statistics such as ORSTOM (Office of Overseas Scientific and technical research), IEO (Spanish Oceanographic Institute), IPIMAR (Instituto Nacional das Pescas e do Mar) and any international fishing organisations in the Indian Ocean, as may be designated by the Mauritian authority. The statement shall simultaneously be notified to the Mauritian authority and the ship-owners. The ship-owners shall meet their financial obligations within 30 days of the receipt of the statement. If the amount of the sum due for actual fishing operations is less than the advance payment, the corresponding outstanding sum shall not be recoverable by the ship-owner.

3. DECLARATIONS OF CATCHES

Vessels authorised to fish in the waters of Mauritius under the Agreement shall notify their catch statistics to the Mauritian authority, with a copy for the delegation of the European Communities in Mauritius, in accordance with the following procedure.

Tuna seiners shall complete a fishing form corresponding to the specimen in Appendix 2. Surface longliners shall complete a fishing form corresponding to the specimen in Appendix 3. Vessels fishing by line shall complete a fishing form corresponding to the specimen in Appendix 4.

Forms must be completed legibly and be signed by the master of the vessel. In addition, they must be completed by all vessels which have obtained a licence, even if they have not fished.

The forms shall be forwarded to the Mauritian authority not later than 45 days after each fishing campaign.

4. OBSERVERS

All vessels above 50 GRT shall, at the request of the authorities of Mauritius, take on board an observer designated by these authorities in order to check catches made in the waters of Mauritius. Observers shall have all facilities necessary for the performance of this duty including access to places and documents. An observer must not be present for longer than the time required to fulfil his duties. They shall be provided with suitable food and accommodation while on board. Should a vessel with a Mauritian observer on board leave the waters of Mauritius, every step will be taken to ensure that the observer returns to Mauritius as soon as possible, at the ship-owner's expense.

5. RADIO COMMUNICATION

Vessels above 50 GRT shall communicate, when entering and leaving Mauritian waters, and, every three days, while fishing in Mauritian waters, to a radio station (the name, call sign and frequency of which shall be specified in the licence) or by fax (No 230-208-1929) or by e-mail (fish@intnet.mu), their position and the volume of catches on board.

6. FISHING ZONES

Tuna seiners and surface longliners may fish in the waters of Mauritius except within a distance of 12 nautical miles measured from the baseline.

Vessels fishing by line are only authorised to fish in their traditional grounds, namely Soudan Bank and East Soudan Bank.

7. SUPPLY TO THE TUNA CANNING INDUSTRY

Community tuna vessels shall endeavour to sell part of their catch to the Mauritian tuna canning industry at a price to be fixed in common agreement between Community ship-owners and the owners of the Mauritian tuna canning industry.

8. BOARDING

1) Transmission of information.

The Mauritian authority responsible for fisheries shall inform the Delegation and the flag State, within 48 hours, of the boarding of any fishing vessel flying the flag of a Member State of the Community fishing under the Fisheries Agreement in Mauritius's fishing zone and shall transmit a brief report of the circumstances and reasons leading to such boarding. The Delegation and the flag State shall be kept informed of any proceedings initiated and penalties imposed.

2) Settlement of boarding

In accordance with the law on fisheries and the relevant regulations, infringements may be settled:

a) either by composition, in which case the amount of the fine shall be determined in accordance with the Mauritian legislation laying down minimum and maximum figures;

b) or by legal proceedings, if no composition is possible, in accordance with the Mauritian law.

3) The vessel shall be released and its crew authorised to leave the port:

a) either as soon as the obligation imposed by the composition procedure have been completed on presentation of the receipt for the settlement, or

b) on presentation of proof that a bank security has been lodged, pending completion of the legal proceedings.

Appendix 1

APPLICATION FOR A FOREIGN FISHING VESSEL LICENCE

Name of applicant : ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...

Address of applicant : ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... .......

...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ..........

Name and address of charterers of vessels if different from above : ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... .......

...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ..........

Name and address of agent in Mauritius (if any) : ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ..........

...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ..........

Name of vessel : ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... .......

Type of vessel : ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ............. ...... ...... ...... ...... ........

Country of registry : ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... .........

Port and registration number : ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...

Fishing vessel external identification : ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ............

Radio call sign and frequency : ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ............. ...... ...... ...... ...... .......

Fax number of vessel : ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ......

Length of vessel : ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ............

Width of vessel : ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... .......

Engine type and power : ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ..........

Gross registered tonnage of vessel : ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... .........

Net registered tonnage of vessel : ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ............. ...........

Minimum crew complement : ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...

Type of fishing practised : ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ........

Proposed species of fish : ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... .........

...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... .............. ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... .........

Period of validity requested : ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...........

I certify that the above particulars are correct.

Date : ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ....... Signature : ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... .........

>TABLE POSITION>

APPENDIX 3: STATEMENT OF CATCH FOR SURFACE LONGLINERS

Name of vessel: _______________ Skipper's name: ___________________

Date of setting: ____/____/____ Start of trip: _____/_____/_____/ at: _____

Trip number: ________ Setting number: _____________

>TABLE POSITION>

* VDK

** with head, gilled

State the type of weight used (VAT, VDK, WHOLE) if different from that specified.

>TABLE POSITION>

Appendix 4 Fishery by line

Month //

Year //

Name of vessel : ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... Engine Power :... ...... ...... ...... ....... Fishing Method :... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...

Nationality (flag) :... ...... ...... ...... ....... Gross tonnage :... ...... ...... ...... ...... Port of landing :... ...... ...... ...... ...........

>TABLE POSITION>

FINANCIAL STATEMENT

1. Title of operation: New protocol setting out the fishing opportunities and financial compensation under the ec/mauritius fisheries agreement

2. Budget heading(s) involved: B7-8000

3. Legal basis: Article 37 of the Treaty, in conjunction with art.300(2) and the first subparagraph of Article 300(3) thereof

EC/Mauritius Agreement (OJ No L 159, 10.6.89)

4. Description of operation

4.1 General objective: Protocol and Annex for a 3-year period

4.2 Period covered and arrangements for renewal

Period: 3 December 1999 to 2 December 2002 Arrangements for renewal by negotiations before the Protocol expires

5. Classification of expenditure or revenue

5.1 CE

5.2 DA

5.3 Type of revenue

6. Type of expenditure or revenue

-Other: Financial compensation to a non-member country in exchange for fishing opportunities granted by it and laid down in the Protocol

7. Financial impact

7.1 Method of calculating total cost of operation (relation between individual and total costs)

See Annex to the Protocol

7.2 Itemised breakdown of cost

current Euros

>TABLE POSITION>

7.3 Schedule of commitment and payment appropriations

EUR million

>TABLE POSITION>

8. Fraud prevention measures

Since the financial contributions are made by the Community in direct exchange for the fishing possibilities offered, the non-member country uses them for whatever end it chooses.

The exception to this rule is the case of programmes, such as the scientific programmes, where, under the dispositions of the new Protocol, Mauritius will furnish yearly reports to the Community on the implementation of such programmes and the results achieved. Furthermore, in respect of such programmes, the Commission reserves the right to request additional information on the results achieved and to review the payments in light of the actual implementation of the measures.

In addition, the Member States whose vessels operate under this Agreement must certify to the Commission the exactitude of the data indicated in the tonnage certificates of the vessels so that the licence fees may be calculated on a guaranteed basis. To that end, the Agreement includes catch declarations for Community vessels.

9. Elements of cost-effectiveness analysis

The unit cost of each ton of tuna caught is EUR 75 payable by the Community and EUR 25 payable by the ship-owners (in the previous Protocol the unit cost was EUR 80 for the Community and EUR 20 for the ship-owners). The average commercial value of tuna is more than EUR 1000 per ton.

Since tuna is a highly migratory species, actual catches taken in a given zone can fluctuate greatly from one fishing year to another.

The catches taken by the Community fleet in the waters of non-member country cannot be known in advance. Therefore, as in all other tuna agreements, the Community pays a fixed amount which is directly proportionate to an expected catch weight ("reference weight") calculated on the basis of the average catches recorded during previous years, adjusted where necessary according to the number of vessels authorised to fish. If the expected catch weight is exceeded, an additional amount is paid. If the expected catch is not achieved, the non-member country keeps the amount initially paid.

The guidelines laid down by the Council for negotiating fisheries agreements with ACP States specify that account must be taken of the Community's interest in maintaining or establishing fisheries relations with the countries concerned.

In the case of Mauritius, during the period of validity of the 1996/99 Protocol, EC ship-owners obtained licences for tuna fisheries according to the rates shown in the table below. In addition, average annual catches recorded during this Protocol remained substantially lower than the reference weight of 7500 tons thus justifying the reduction of the reference weight to 5500 per year.

>TABLE POSITION>

(*) grt: gross registered tons

The Community made the renewal of the protocol subject to the provision that Mauritius allocate a substantial part of the financial contribution to the realisation targeted actions aimed at the development of the local fisheries sector. 50% of the total financial compensation of EUR 1,237,500 is earmarked explicitly for specific measures to develop fisheries (scientific research, marine surveillance, and training), as compared with 30% under the previous Protocol.

The advance fees paid by the ship-owners to obtain their licences have been increased for all categories of vessels: for each tuna seiner the advance fee passed from EUR 1000 to EUR 1750; for surface long-liners the fee passed from EUR 500 to EUR 1000 for vessels of less than 150 gross registered tons (grt) and to EUR 1375 for vessels of more than 150 grt; for fisheries by line, the fee increased from EUR 60/grt to EUR 80/grt per year, pro rata temporis. The purpose of this increase is to increase the responsibility of ship-owners by making them bear a larger share of the overall costs of the agreement.

Whereas the annual cost of the Agreement to the EC budget is set to decrease by 29% with respect to the earlier Protocol, the contributions to be paid by the ship-owners are to increase on average by approximately 100%.

The Agreement is clearly profitable in that the value of catches far exceeds the cost of the Protocol.

In addition to the direct commercial value of the catches of the vessels concerned, there are the following evident benefits from this Agreement:

- guaranteed employment aboard the fishing vessels;

- multiplier employment effect in the ports, auctions rooms, processing factories, shipyards, service industries, etc.;

- these employment opportunities are in regions where no other opportunities are available;

- contribution to the supply of fish to the Community.

Obviously, in addition to those benefits, one must take account of the importance of our relations with Mauritius in the fisheries field and our overall political relations.

10. Administrative expenditure (Part A of the budget)

No incidence on administrative expenditure.