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Council Regulation (EU) No 23/2010 of 14 January 2010 fixing for 2010 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks, applicable in EU waters and, for EU vessels, in waters where catch limitations are required and amending Regulations (EC) No 1359/2008, (EC) No 754/2009, (EC) No 1226/2009 and (EC) No 1287/2009

Type Regulation

Publication 2010-01-14

State In force

Department Council of the European Union

Source EUR-Lex

articles 2

Reform history JSON API

TITLE I

SCOPE AND DEFINITIONS

Article 1

Subject matter

This Regulation fixes the following fishing opportunities and the conditions functionally linked to the use of those fishing opportunities:

— for the year 2010, fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks, and

— for the year 2011, certain effort limitations, and, for the periods set out in Section 2 of Chapter III of Title II and in Annexes IE and V, fishing opportunities for certain Antarctic stocks.

Article 2

Scope

If not otherwise provided for, this Regulation shall apply to:

(a) EU vessels; and

(b) fishing vessels flying the flag of, and registered in, third countries (‘third-country vessels’) in EU waters.

Article 3

Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, in addition to the definitions laid down in Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002, the following definitions shall apply:

(a) ‘EU vessels’ means fishing vessels defined in Article 3(d) of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002;

(b) ‘EU waters’ means waters defined in Article 3(a) of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002;

(d) ‘quota’ means a proportion of the TAC allocated to the Union, Member States or third countries;

(e) ‘international waters’ means waters falling outside the sovereignty or jurisdiction of any State;

(f) ‘mesh size’ means the mesh size as determined in accordance with Commission Regulation (EC) No 517/2008 of 10 June 2008 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 850/98 as regards the determination of the mesh size and assessing the thickness of twine of fishing nets (³⁷).;

(g) ‘EU fishing fleet register’ means the register set up by the Commission in accordance with Article 15(3) of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002;

(h) ‘fishing logbook’ means the logbook referred to in Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009.

Article 4

Fishing zones

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following zone definitions shall apply:

(a) ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea) zones are as defined in Regulation (EC) No 218/2009;

(b) ‘Skagerrak’ means the area bounded on the west by a line drawn from the Hanstholm lighthouse to the Lindesnes lighthouse and on the south by a line drawn from the Skagen lighthouse to the Tistlarna lighthouse and from this point to the nearest point on the Swedish coast;

(c) ‘Kattegat’ means the area bounded on the north by a line drawn from the Skagen lighthouse to the Tistlarna lighthouse and from this point to the nearest point on the Swedish coast and on the south by a line drawn from Hasenøre to Gnibens Spids, from Korshage to Spodsbjerg and from Gilbjerg Hoved to Kullen;

(d) ‘Gulf of Cádiz’ means the area of ICES zone IXa east of longitude 7^o 23' 48″ W;

(e) CECAF (Eastern Central Atlantic or FAO major fishing zone 34) zones are as defined in Regulation (EC) No 216/2009;

(f) NAFO (Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation) zones are as defined in Regulation (EC) No 217/2009;

(g) SEAFO (South East Atlantic Fisheries Organisation) Convention Area is as defined in the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Fishery Resources in the South-East Atlantic Ocean (³⁸);

(h) the ICCAT (International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas) Convention Area is as defined in the International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (³⁹);

(i) CCAMLR (Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources) Convention Area is as defined in Regulation (EC) No 601/2004;

(j) the IATTC (Inter American Tropical Tuna Convention) Convention Area is as defined in the Convention for the Strengthening of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission established by the 1949 Convention between the United States of America and the Republic of Costa Rica (⁴⁰);

(k) the IOTC (Indian Ocean Tuna Commission) Area is as defined in the Agreement for the establishment of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (⁴¹);

(l) ‘SPRFMO (South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation) Convention Area’ means the high seas area south of 10^o N, north of the CCAMLR Convention Area, east of the SIOFA Convention Area as defined in the Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement (⁴²), and west of the areas of fisheries jurisdictions of South American States;

(m) the WCPFC (Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Convention) Convention Area is as defined in the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (⁴³).

(n) ‘high seas of the Bering Sea’ means the area of the high seas of the Bering Sea beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea of the coastal States of the Bering Sea is measured.

TITLE II

FISHING OPPORTUNITIES FOR EU VESSELS

CHAPTER I

General provisions

Article 5

Catch limits and allocations

Article 6

Prohibited species

It shall be prohibited for EU vessels to fish for, to retain on board, to tranship and to land the following species:

(a) basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) and white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) in all EU and non-EU waters;

(b) angel shark (Squatina squatina) in all EU waters;

(d) undulate ray (Raja undulata) and white skate (Rostroraja alba) in EU waters of ICES zones VI, VII, VIII, IX and X, and

(e) porbeagle (Lamna nasus) in international waters.

Article 7

Special provisions on allocations

The allocation of fishing opportunities among Member States as set out in Annex I shall be without prejudice to:

(a) exchanges made pursuant to Article 20(5) of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002;

(b) reallocations made pursuant to Article 21(3) of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 or pursuant to Article 10(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1006/2008;

(d) quantities withheld in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96;

(e) deductions made pursuant to Articles 105, 106 and 107 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009.

Article 8

Fishing effort limits

From 1 February 2010 to 31 January 2011, the fishing effort measures laid down in:

(a) Annex IIA shall apply for the management of certain stocks in the Kattegat, the Skagerrak, that part of ICES zone IIIa not covered by the Skagerrak and the Kattegat, ICES zones IV, VIa, VIIa, VIId and EU waters of ICES zones IIa and Vb;

(b) Annex IIB shall apply for the recovery of hake and Norway lobster in ICES zones VIIIc and IXa with the exception of the Gulf of Cádiz;

(d) Annex IID shall apply for the management of sandeel stocks in EU waters of ICES zones IIa, IIIa and IV.

Article 9

Catch and effort limits deep-sea fisheries

Article 10

Conditions for landing catches and by-catches

Fish from stocks for which catch limits are established shall be retained on board or landed only if:

(a) the catches have been taken by vessels of a Member State having a quota and that quota is not exhausted; or

(b) the catches consist of a share in a Union quota which has not been allocated by quota among Member States, and that Union quota has not been exhausted.

By way of derogation from paragraph 1, the following fish may be retained on board and landed even if a Member State has no quotas or the quotas or shares are exhausted:

(a) species, other than herring and mackerel, where (i) they are caught mixed with other species with nets whose mesh size is less than 32 mm in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 850/98; and (ii) the catches are not sorted either on board or on landing; or

(b) mackerel, where (i) they are caught mixed with horse mackerel or pilchard; (ii) they do not exceed 10 % of the total weight of mackerel, horse mackerel and pilchard on board; and (iii) the catches are not sorted either on board or on landing.

Article 11

Restrictions on the use of certain fishing opportunities

During the period from 1 May to 31 July 2010 it shall be prohibited to fish for or retain on board any marine organisms other than herring, mackerel, pilchard/sardines, horse mackerel, sprat, blue whiting and argentines within the area bounded by rhumb lines sequentially joining the following positions:

Point	Latitude	Longitude
1	52^o 27' N	12^o 19' W
2	52^o 40' N	12^o 30' W
3	52^o 47' N	12^o 39,600' W
4	52^o 47' N	12^o 56' W
5	52^o 13,5' N	13^o 53,830' W
6	51^o 22' N	14^o 24' W
7	51^o 22' N	14^o 03' W
8	52^o 10' N	13^o 25' W
9	52^o 32' N	13^o 07,500' W
10	52^o 43' N	12^o 55' W
11	52^o 43' N	12^o 43' W
12	52^o 38,800' N	12^o 37' W
13	52^o 27' N	12^o 23' W
14	52^o 27' N	12^o 19' W

Article 12

Unsorted landings in ICES zones IIIa, IV and VIId and EU waters of ICES zone IIa

Article 13

Data transmission

When, pursuant to Articles 33 and 34 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009, Member States send the Commission data relating to landings of quantities of stocks caught, they shall use the stock codes set out in Annex I to this Regulation.

CHAPTER II

Fishing authorisation in third-country waters

Article 14

Fishing authorisations

CHAPTER III

Fishing opportunities in waters of regional fisheries management organisations

Section 1 ICCAT convention Area

Article 15

Fishing and farming and fattening capacity limitations for bluefin tuna

Article 16

Additional conditions to the bluefin tuna quota allocated in Annex ID

In addition to Article 7(2) of Regulation (EC) No 302/2009, purse-seine fishing for bluefin tuna shall be prohibited in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean during the period from 15 April to 15 May 2010.

Article 17

Recreational and sport fisheries

Member States shall allocate a specific quota of bluefin tuna for recreational and sport fisheries from their quotas allocated set out in Annex ID.

Article 18

Sharks

Section 2 CCAMLR convention Area

Article 19

Prohibitions and catch limitations

Article 20

Exploratory fisheries

Article 21

Krill fishery during the 2010/2011 fishing season

Only those Member States which are Members of the CCAMLR Commission may fish for krill (Euphausia superba) in the CCAMLR Convention Area during the 2010/2011 fishing season. If such a Member State intends to fish for krill in the CCAMLR Convention Area, it shall notify the CCAMLR Secretariat and the Commission in accordance with Article 5a of Regulation (EC) No 601/2004 and in any case no later than 1 June 2010:

(a) of its intention to fish for krill, using the format laid down in Annex V, Part C;

(b) of the net configuration form, using the format laid down in Annex V, Part D.

Member States shall be entitled to authorise participation in a krill fishery by a vessel other than those notified to CCAMLR in accordance with paragraphs 1, 2 and 3, if an authorised vessel is prevented from participation due to legitimate operational reasons or force majeure. In such circumstances the Member State concerned shall immediately inform the CCAMLR Secretariat and the Commission, providing:

(a) full details of the intended replacement vessel(s) referred to in paragraph 2, including information provided for in Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 601/2004;

(b) a comprehensive account of the reasons justifying the replacement and any relevant supporting evidence or references.

Article 22

Closure of all fisheries

Where a vessel is unable to remove all its fishing gear from the water by the notified closure date and time for reasons relating to:

(a) the safety of the vessel and crew;

(b) the limitations which may arise from adverse weather conditions;

(d) the need to protect the Antarctic marine environment,

the vessel shall notify its flag Member State of the situation. The Member States shall promptly notify the CCAMLR Secretariat and the Commission. The vessel shall nonetheless make all reasonable efforts to remove all its fishing gear from the water as soon as possible.

If paragraph 4 applies, Member States shall carry out an investigation of the vessel’s actions and, according to its domestic procedures, report the CCAMLR Secretariat and the Commission of its findings no later than before the next CCAMLR meeting. The final report shall assess whether the vessel made all reasonable efforts to remove all its fishing gear from the water:

(a) by the notified closure date and time; and

(b) as soon as possible after the notification referred to in paragraph 4.

Section 3 IOTC Area

Article 23

Limitation of fishing capacity of vessels fishing in the IOTC Area

Section 4 SPRFMO convention Area

Article 24

Pelagic fisheries – capacity limitation

Member States having actively exercised pelagic fisheries activities in the SPRFMO Convention Area in 2007, 2008 or 2009 shall limit the total level of GT of vessels flying their flag and fishing for pelagic stocks in 2010 to the levels of total 78 610 GT in the SPRFMO Convention Area in such manner that sustainable exploitation of the pelagic fishery resources in South Pacific is ensured.

Article 25

Pelagic fisheries - catch limits

Article 26

Bottom fisheries

Member States shall limit bottom fishing effort or catch in the SPRFMO Convention Area to the average annual levels over the period from 1 January 2002 to 31 December 2006 in terms of the number of fishing vessels and other parameters that reflect the level of catch, fishing effort and fishing capacity and to only those parts of the SPRFMO Convention Area where bottom fisheries has occurred during the previous fishing season.

Section 5 IATTC convention Area

Article 27

Purse-seine fisheries

The fishing by purse-seine vessels for yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares), bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) and skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) shall be prohibited:

(a) either from 29 July to 28 September 2010 or from 10 November 2010 to 18 January 2011 in the area defined by the following limits: — the Pacific coastlines of the Americas, — longitude 150° W, — latitude 40° N, — latitude 40° S;

(b) from 29 September to 29 October 2010 in the area defined by the following limits: — longitude 94° W, — longitude 110° W, — latitude 3° N, — latitude 5° S.

Section 6 SEAFO convention Area

Article 28

Measures for the protection of deep water sharks

Directed fishing for the following deep water sharks in the SEAFO Convention Area shall be prohibited: skates (Rajidae), spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias), blurred smooth lanternshark (Etmopterus bigelowi), shorttail lanternshark (Etmopterus brachyurus), great lanternshark (Etmopterus princeps), smooth lanternshark (Etmopterus pusillus), ghost catshark (Apristurus manis), velvet dogfish (Scymnodon squamulosus) and deep-sea sharks of super-order Selachimorpha.

Section 7 WCPFC convention Area

Article 29

Fishing effort limitations for bigeye tuna, yellowfin tuna, skipjack tuna and south Pacific albacore

Member States shall ensure that the total fishing effort for bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus), yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares), skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) and south Pacific albacore (Thunnus alalunga) in the WCPFC Convention Area is limited to the fishing effort provided for in fisheries partnership agreements between the Union and coastal States in the region.

Article 30

Closed area for FAD fishing

In the part of the WCPFC Convention Area located between 20° N and 20° S, fishing activities of purse-seine vessels making use of fish aggregating devices (FADs) shall be prohibited between 00:00 hours on 1 July 2010 and 24:00 hours on 30 September 2010. During this period, a purse-seine vessel may only engage in fishing operations within that part of the WCPFC Convention Area if it carries onboard an observer to monitor that at no time does the vessel:

(a) deploy or service a FAD or associated electronic device;

(b) fish on schools in association with FADs.

Paragraph 2 shall not apply in the following cases:

(a) in the final set of a trip, if the vessel has insufficient well space left to accommodate all fish;

(b) where the fish is unfit for human consumption for reasons other than those connected with size; or

Article 30a

Closed areas for purse-seine fisheries

The fishing by purse-seine vessels for bigeye tuna and yellowfin tuna shall be prohibited in the following high seas areas:

(a) the international waters enclosed by the boundaries of the exclusive economic zones of Indonesia, Palau, Micronesia and Papua New Guinea;

(b) the international waters enclosed by the boundaries of the exclusive economic zones of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Fiji, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea.

Article 31

Limitations to the number of vessels authorised to fish swordfish

The maximum number of EU vessels authorised to fish for swordfish (Xiphias gladius) in areas south of 20° S of the WCPFC Convention Area shall be as indicated in Annex VII.

Section 8 Bering Sea

Article 32

Prohibition to fish in the high seas of the Bering Sea

Fishing for pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) in the high seas of the Bering Sea shall be prohibited.

TITLE III

FISHING OPPORTUNITIES FOR THIRD-COUNTRY VESSELS IN EU WATERS

Article 33

Catch limits

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