Council Regulation (EU) No 44/2012 of 17 January 2012 fixing for 2012 the fishing opportunities available in EU waters and, to EU vessels, in certain non-EU waters for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks which are subject to international negotiations or agreements

TITLE I

SCOPE AND DEFINITIONS

Article 1

Subject matter

The fishing opportunities referred to in paragraph 1 shall include:

(a) catch limits for the year 2012;

(b) fishing effort limits for the period from 1 February 2012 to 31 January 2013;

(c) fishing opportunities for the period from 1 December 2011 to 30 November 2012 for certain stocks in the CCAMLR Convention Area; and

(d) fishing opportunities for the periods set out in Article 27 for certain stocks in the IATTC Convention Area.

Article 2

Scope

This Regulation shall apply to:

(a) EU vessels; and

(b) third-country vessels in EU waters.

Article 3

Definitions

For the purpose of this Regulation the following definitions shall apply:

(a) ‘EU vessel’ means a fishing vessel flying the flag of a Member State and registered in the Union;

(b) ‘third-country vessel’ means a fishing vessel flying the flag of, and registered in, a third country;

(c) ‘EU waters’ means waters under the sovereignty or jurisdiction of the Member States with the exception of waters adjacent to the overseas countries and territories listed in Annex II to the Treaty;

(d) ‘total allowable catch’ (TAC) means the quantity that can be taken and landed from each fish stock each year;

(e) ‘quota’ means a proportion of the TAC allocated to the Union, a Member State or a third country;

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

(g) ‘mesh size’ means the mesh size of fishing nets as determined in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 517/2008 (¹⁴).

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 the geographical areas specified in Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 218/2009 (¹⁵);

(b) ‘Skagerrak’ means the geographical 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 geographical 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) CECAF (Committee for Eastern Central Atlantic Fisheries) zones are the geographical areas specified in Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 216/2009 (¹⁶);

(e) NAFO (Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation) zones are the geographical areas specified in Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 217/2009 (¹⁷);

(f) ‘SEAFO (South East Atlantic Fisheries Organisation) Convention Area’ is the geographical area defined in the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Fishery Resources in the South-East Atlantic Ocean (¹⁸);

(g) ‘ICCAT (International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas) Convention Area’ is the geographical area defined in the International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (¹⁹);

(h) ‘CCAMLR (Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources) Convention Area’ is the geographical area defined in point (a) of Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 601/2004 (²⁰);

(i) ‘IATTC (Inter American Tropical Tuna Commission) Convention Area’ is the geographical area 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 (²¹);

(j) ‘IOTC (Indian Ocean Tuna Commission) Convention Area’ is the geographical area defined in the Agreement for the establishment of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (²²);

(k) ‘SPRFMO (South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation) Convention Area’ is the high seas geographical area south of 10° N, north of the CCAMLR Convention Area, east of the SIOFA Convention Area as defined in the Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement (²³), and west of the areas of fisheries jurisdictions of South American States;

(l) ‘the WCPFC (Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission) Convention Area’ is the geographical area defined in the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (²⁴);

(m) ‘high seas of the Bering Sea’ is the geographical 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

TACs and allocations

In the light of scientific information collected during the first half of 2012, TACs set out in Annex I for the following stocks may be revised by the Commission by means of implementing acts adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 38(2):

(a) the stock of sandeel and associated by-catches in EU waters of ICES divisions IIa and IIIa and ICES subarea IV in accordance with Annex IIB to this Regulation;

(b) the stock of Norway pout and associated by-catches in ICES subarea IIIa and EU waters of ICES division IIa and ICES subarea IV; and

(c) the stock of sprat and associated by-catches in EU waters of ICES division IIa and ICES subarea IV.

Article 6

Additional allocation for vessels participating in trials on fully documented fisheries

The additional allocation referred to in paragraph 1 may be granted only in accordance with the following conditions:

(a) the vessel makes use of close circuit television cameras (CCTV) associated to a system of sensors to record all fishing and processing activities on board the vessels;

(b) the amount of the additional allocation granted to an individual vessel that participates in trials on fully documented fisheries shall be no more than 75 % of the discards estimated for the type of vessel to which it belongs, and in any case shall not represent more than a 30 % increase of the vessel's basic allocation; and

(c) all catches of the relevant stock subject to the additional allocation by that vessel shall be counted against its total allocation.

Notwithstanding point (b), a Member State may exceptionally grant to vessel flying its flag additional allocation that corresponds to more than 75 % of the estimated discards for the type of vessel to which the vessel concerned belongs, provided that:

(i) the estimated discards for the type of vessel are less than 10 %;

(ii) it can be demonstrated that the inclusion of that type of vessel is important to evaluate the potential of the CCTV system for control purposes; and

(iii) an overall limit of 75 % of the estimated discards is not exceeded for all vessels participating in the trials.

Prior to granting the additional allocation referred to in paragraph 1, a Member State shall submit to the Commission the following information:

(a) the list of vessels flying its flag participating in trials on fully documented fisheries,

(b) the specifications of the remote electronic monitoring equipment installed on board those vessels;

(c) the capacity, type and specification of gears used by those vessels;

(d) the estimated discards for each type of vessel participating in the trials; and

(e) the amount of catches of the stock subject to the relevant TAC made in 2011 by the vessels participating in the trials.

Article 7

Flexibility in the management of certain stocks

Article 8

Conditions for landing catches and by-catches

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

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

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

Article 9

Fishing effort limits

From 1 February 2012 to 31 January 2013, the fishing effort measures laid down in Annex IIA shall apply for the management of certain cod, plaice and sole stocks in:

(a) the Skagerrak;

(b) that part of ICES division IIIa not covered by the Skagerrak and the Kattegat;

(c) ICES subarea IV;

(d) EU waters of ICES division IIa; and

(e) ICES division VIId.

Article 10

Catch and effort limits for deep-sea fisheries

Article 11

Special provisions on allocations of fishing opportunities

The allocation of fishing opportunities among Member States as set out in this Regulation 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 37 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 or pursuant to Article 10(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1006/2008;

(c) additional landings allowed under Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96;

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

(e) deductions made pursuant to Articles 37, 105, 106 and 107 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009.

Article 12

Closed fishing season

For the purposes of this Article, the Porcupine Bank shall comprise the geographical area bounded by rhumb lines sequentially joining the following positions:

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

Article 13

Prohibitions

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

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

(b) porbeagle (Lamna nasus) in all waters, except where it is provided otherwise in Annex I, Part B to Regulation (EU) No 43/2012 (²⁷);

(c) angel shark (Squatina squatina) in EU waters;

(d) common skate (Dipturus batis) in EU waters of ICES division IIa and ICES subareas III, IV, VI, VII, VIII, IX and X;

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

(f) guitarfishes (Rhinobatidae) in EU waters of ICES subareas I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X and XII; and

(g) giant manta ray (Manta birostris) in all waters.

Article 14

Data transmission

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

CHAPTER II

Fishing authorisations in third-country waters

Article 15

Fishing authorisations

CHAPTER III

Fishing opportunities in waters of regional fisheries management organisations

Section 1

ICCAT Convention Area

Article 16

Fishing, farming and fattening capacity limitations for bluefin tuna

Article 17

Additional conditions to the bluefin tuna quota allocated in Annex ID

In addition to the prohibition period provided for in Article 7(2) of Regulation (EC) No 302/2009, purse-seine fishing for bluefin tuna shall be prohibited in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean from 15 April to 15 May 2012.

Article 18

Recreational and sport fisheries

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

Article 19

Sharks

Section 2

CCAMLR Convention Area

Article 20

Prohibitions and catch limitations

Article 21

Exploratory fisheries

Article 22

Krill fishery during the 2012/2013 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 2012/2013 fishing season. If such a Member State intends to fish for krill in the CCAMLR Convention Area, it shall notify the CCAMLR Secretariat, in accordance with Article 5a of Regulation (EC) No 601/2004, and the Commission, and in any case no later than 1 June 2012:

(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 vessels other than those notified to CCAMLR Secretariat in accordance with paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this Article, if an authorised vessel is prevented from participation due to legitimate operational reasons or force majeure. In such circumstances the Member States concerned shall immediately inform the CCAMLR Secretariat and the Commission, providing:

(a) full details of the intended replacement vessel(s), 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.

Section 3

IOTC Convention Area

Article 23

Limitation of fishing capacity of vessels fishing in the IOTC Convention Area

Article 24

Sharks

Section 4

SPRFMO Convention Area

Article 25

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 gross tonnage of vessels flying their flag and fishing for pelagic stocks in 2012 to the levels of total 78 610 gross tonnage in that area in such manner that sustainable exploitation of the pelagic fishery resources in the South Pacific is ensured.

Article 26

Pelagic fisheries — TACs

Article 27

Bottom fisheries

Member States with a track record in bottom fishing effort or catch in the SPRFMO Convention Area over the period from 1 January 2002 to 31 December 2006 shall limit their effort or catch to:

(a) the average level of catches or effort parameters over that period; and

(b) only those parts of the SPRFMO Convention Area where bottom fisheries has occurred in any previous fishing season.

Section 5

IATTC Convention Area

Article 28

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) from 29 July to 28 September 2012 or from 18 November 2012 to 18 January 2013 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 2012 in the area defined by the following limits: — longitude 96° W, — longitude 110° W, — latitude 4° N, — latitude 3° S.

Paragraph 3 shall not apply in the following cases:

(a) where the fish is considered unfit for human consumption for reasons other than size; or

(b) during the final set of a trip when there may be insufficient well space remaining to accommodate all the tuna caught in that set.

When accidentally caught, the species referred to in paragraph 5 shall not be harmed. It shall be promptly released by vessel operators, who shall also:

(a) record the number of releases with indication of status (dead or alive);

(b) report the information specified in paragraph (a) to the Member State of which they are nationals. Member States shall transmit this information to the Commission by 31 January 2013.

Section 6

SEAFO Convention Area

Article 29

Prohibition of fishing for 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 30

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 that region.

Article 31

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 of 1 July 2012 and 24:00 hours of 30 September 2012. During that 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 size; or