Council Regulation (EU) No 43/2014 of 20 January 2014 fixing for 2014 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks, applicable in Union waters and, to Union vessels, in certain non-Union waters

TITLE I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1

Subject matter

The fishing opportunities referred to in paragraph 1 include:

(a) catch limits for the year 2014 and, where specified in this Regulation, for the year 2015;

(b) fishing effort limits for the period from 1 February 2014 to 31 January 2015;

(c) fishing opportunities for the period from 1 December 2013 to 30 November 2014 for certain stocks in the CCAMLR Convention Area;

(d) fishing opportunities for the periods set out in Article 32 for certain stocks in the IATTC Convention Area for the year 2014 and, where specified in this Regulation, for the year 2015.

Article 2

Scope

This Regulation shall apply to the following vessels:

(a) Union vessels;

(b) third-country vessels in Union waters.

Article 3

Definitions

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

(a) 'Union 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) 'Union 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) 'international waters' means waters falling outside the sovereignty or jurisdiction of any State;

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

(f) 'quota' means a proportion of the TAC allocated to the Union or a Member State;

(g) 'analytical assessments' means a quantitative evaluation of trends in a given stock, based on data about the stock's biology and exploitation, which scientific review has indicated to be of sufficient quality to provide scientific advice on options for future catches.

(h) 'mesh size' means the mesh size of fishing nets as determined in accordance with Commission Regulation (EC) No 517/2008 (²⁰);

(i) 'Union fishing fleet register' means the register set up by the Commission in accordance with Article 24(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013;

(j) '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 the geographical areas specified in Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 218/2009 (²¹);

(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) 'Functional Unit 16 of ICES subarea VII' means the geographical area bounded by rhumb lines sequentially joining the following positions: — 53° 30′ N 15° 00′ W, — 53° 30′ N 11° 00′ W, — 51° 30′ N 11° 00′ W, — 51° 30′ N 13° 00′ W, — 51° 00′ N 13° 00′ W, — 51° 00′ N 15° 00′ W, — 53° 30′ N 15° 00′ W;

(e) 'Gulf of Cádiz' means the geographical area of ICES division IXa east of longitude 7° 23′ 48″ W;

(f) CECAF (Committee for Eastern Central Atlantic Fisheries) areas are the geographical areas specified in Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 216/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council (²²);

(g) NAFO (Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation) areas are the geographical areas specified in Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 217/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council (²³);

(h) '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 (²⁴);

(i) '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 (²⁵);

(j) '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 (²⁶);

(k) '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 ("the Antigua Convention") (²⁷);

(l) 'IOTC (Indian Ocean Tuna Commission) Convention Area' is the geographical area defined in the Agreement for the establishment of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (²⁸);

(m) '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 (²⁹), and west of the areas of fisheries jurisdictions of South American States;

(n) '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 (³⁰);

(o) '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.

(p) 'overlap area between IATTC and WCPFC' is the geographical area defined by the following limits: — longitude 150° W, — longitude 130° W, — latitude 4° S, — latitude 50° S.

TITLE II

FISHING OPPORTUNITIES FOR UNION VESSELS

CHAPTER I

General provisions

Article 5

TACs and allocations

Article 6

TACs to be determined by Member States

The TACs to be determined by a Member State shall:

(a) be consistent with the principles and rules of the Common Fisheries Policy, in particular the principle of sustainable exploitation of the stock; and

(b) result: (i) if analytical assessments are available, in the exploitation of the stock consistent with maximum sustainable yield from 2015 onwards, with as high a probability as possible; (ii) if analytical assessments are unavailable or incomplete, in the exploitation of the stock consistent with the precautionary approach to fisheries management.

By 15 March 2014, each Member State concerned shall submit to the Commission the following information:

(a) the TACs adopted;

(b) the data collected and assessed by the Member State concerned on which the TACs adopted are based;

(c) details on how the TACs adopted comply with paragraph 2.

Article 7

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 Union quota which has not been allocated by quota among Member States, and that Union quota has not been exhausted.

Article 8

Fishing effort limits

From 1 February 2014 to 31 January 2015, the following fishing effort measures shall apply:

(a) Annex IIA for the management of certain cod, sole, and plaice stocks in the Kattegat, the Skagerrak, that part of ICES division IIIa not covered by the Skagerrak and the Kattegat, ICES subarea IV and ICES divisions VIa, VIIa and VIId and Union waters of ICES divisions IIa and Vb;

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

(c) Annex IIC for the management of the sole stock in ICES division VIIe.

Article 9

Catch and effort limits for deep-sea fisheries

Article 10

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 16(8) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013;

(b) deductions and reallocations made pursuant to Article 37 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009;

(c) reallocations made pursuant to Article 10(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1006/2008;

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

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

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

(g) quota transfers and exchanges pursuant to Article 20 of this Regulation.

Article 11

Closed fishing seasons

For the purposes of this paragraph, 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

By way of derogation from the first subparagraph, transit through the Porcupine Bank while carrying on board the species referred to in that paragraph, shall be permitted in accordance with Article 50(3), (4) and (5) of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009.

The prohibition set out in the first subparagraph shall also apply to third-country vessels authorised to fish for sandeel in Union waters of ICES subarea IV unless otherwise specified.

Article 12

Prohibitions

It shall be prohibited for Union 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 all waters;

(b) porbeagle (Lamna nasus) in all waters, except where it is otherwise provided in Annex IA;

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

(d) common skate (Dipturus batis) complex (Dipturus cf. flossada and Dipturus cf. intermedia) in Union waters of ICES division IIa and ICES subareas III, IV, VI, VII, VIII, IX and X;

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

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

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

Article 13

Data transmission

When, pursuant to Articles 33 and 34 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009, Member States submit to 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

Additional allocations for vessels participating in trials on fully documented fisheries

Article 14

Additional allocations

Article 15

Conditions for additional allocations

The additional allocation referred to in Article 14 shall comply with the following conditions:

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

(b) the additional allocation granted to an individual vessel that participates in trials on fully documented fisheries shall not exceed any of the following limits: (i) 75 % of the discards of the stock, as estimated by the relevant Member State, produced by the type of vessel to which the individual vessel that has been granted the additional allocation belongs. (ii) 30 % of the vessel's individual allocation prior to participating in the trials.

(c) all catches by the vessel from the stock subject to the additional allocation, including fish that are under minimum landing size as defined in Annex XII of Council Regulation (EC) No 850/98 (³³), shall be counted against the individual allocation of the vessel, as resulting from any additional allocation granted under Article 14.

(d) once the individual allocation for any stock subject to the additional allocation has been fully utilised by a vessel, the vessel in question must cease all fishing activity in the relevant TAC area.

(e) in respect of the stocks for which this Article may be used, the Member States may allow transfers of the individual allocation or any part thereof from vessels not participating in trials on fully documented fisheries to vessels participating in those trials provided that it can be demonstrated that discards by the non-participating vessels do not increase.

Notwithstanding paragraph 1(b)(i), a Member State may exceptionally grant to a vessel flying its flag an additional allocation exceeding 75 % of the estimated discards of the stock produced by the type of vessel to which the individual vessel that has been granted the additional allocation belongs, provided that:

(a) the rate of stock discards, as estimated for the relevant type of vessel, is less than 10 %;

(b) the inclusion of that type of vessel is important to evaluate the potential of the CCTV system for control purposes;

(c) an overall limit of 75 % of the estimated stock discards produced by all vessels participating in the trials is not exceeded.

Prior to granting the additional allocation referred to in Article 14, a Member State shall submit the following information to the Commission:

(a) the list of vessels flying its flag and 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;

(e) the amount of catches of the stock subject to the relevant TAC made in 2013 by the vessels participating in the trials.

Article 16

Processing of personal data

To the extent that the recordings obtained in accordance with Article 15(1)(a) involve the processing of personal data within the meaning of Directive 95/46/EC, that Directive shall apply to the processing of such data.

Article 17

Withdrawal of additional allocations

Where a Member State detects that a vessel participating in trials on fully documented fisheries fails to comply with the conditions set out in Article 15, it shall immediately withdraw the additional allocation granted to that vessel and exclude it from participation in those trials for the remainder of the year 2014.

Article 18

Scientific review of discard assessments

The Commission may request any Member State that avails itself of this Chapter to submit its assessment of the discards produced per type of vessel to a scientific advisory body for review, in order to monitor the implementation of the requirement set out in Article 15(1)(b)(i). In the absence of an assessment confirming such discards, the Member State concerned shall take any appropriate measure to ensure compliance with that requirement and shall inform the Commission thereof.

Article 18a

Flexibility in the fixing of fishing opportunities of certain stocks

This Article shall apply to the following stocks:

(a) haddock in zone IV, Union waters of IIa;

(b) blue whiting in Union and international waters of I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIIIa, VIIIb, VIIId, VIIIe, XII and XIV;

(c) mackerel in zones IIIa and IV; Union waters of IIa, IIIb, IIIc and IIId;

(d) mackerel in areas VI, VII, VIIIa, VIIIb, VIIId and VIIIe; Union and international waters of Vb; international waters of IIa, XII and XIV;

(e) mackerel in zones VIIIc, IX and X; Union waters of CECAF 34.1.1;

(f) mackerel in Norwegian waters of IIa and IVa;

(g) herring in Union, Norwegian and international waters of I and II.

(h) saithe in the North Sea;

(i) plaice in the North Sea;

(j) herring in the North Sea north of 53° N;

(k) herring in areas IVc and VIId;

(l) haddock in area IIIa;

(m) herring in zones VIIa, VIIg, VIIh, VIIj and VIIk;

(n) horse mackerel in Union waters of IIa, IVa, VI, VIIa-c, VIIe-k, VIIIa, VIIIb, VIIId and VIIIe; in Union and international waters of Vb; in international waters of XII and XIV;

(o) northern prawn in area IIIa.

CHAPTER III

Fishing authorisations in third-country waters

Article 19

Fishing authorisations

CHAPTER IV

Fishing opportunities in waters of regional fisheries management organisations

Article 20

Quota transfers and exchanges

Section 1

ICCAT Convention Area

Article 21

Fishing, farming and fattening capacity limitations for bluefin tuna

Article 22

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 23

Sharks

Section 2

CCAMLR Convention Area

Article 24

Prohibitions and catch limitations

Article 25

Exploratory fisheries

Article 26

Krill fishery during the 2014/2015 fishing season

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: