Council Regulation (EU) 2016/72 of 22 January 2016 fixing for 2016 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks, applicable in Union waters and, for Union fishing vessels, in certain non-Union waters, and amending Regulation (EU) 2015/104

TITLE I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1

Subject matter

The fishing opportunities referred to in paragraph 1 include:

(a) catch limits for the year 2016 and, where specified in this Regulation, for the year 2017;

(b) fishing effort limits for the period from 1 February 2016 to 31 January 2017, except where other periods are established for effort limits in Articles 9, 31 and 32 and Annex IIE;

(c) fishing opportunities for the period from 1 December 2015 to 30 November 2016 for certain stocks in the CCAMLR Convention Area;

(d) fishing opportunities for certain stocks in the IATTC Convention Area set out in Article 28 for the periods in 2016 and 2017 specified in that provision.

Article 2

Scope

This Regulation shall apply to the following vessels:

(a) Union fishing vessels;

(b) third-country vessels in Union waters.

This Regulation shall also apply to recreational fisheries where they are expressly referred to in the relevant provisions.

Article 3

Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, the definitions referred to in Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 apply. In addition, the following definitions shall apply:

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

(b) ‘recreational fisheries’ means non-commercial fishing activities exploiting marine living aquatic resources such as for recreation, tourism or sport.

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

(d) ‘total allowable catch’ (TAC) means: (i) in fisheries subject to the landing obligation referred to in Article 15 of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013, the quantity of fish that can be caught from each stock each year; (ii) in all other fisheries, the quantity of fish that can be landed from each stock each year;

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

(f) ‘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;

(g) ‘mesh size’ means the mesh size of fishing nets as determined in accordance with Commission Regulation (EC) No 517/2008 (¹);

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

(i) ‘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 (²);

(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) ‘Functional Unit 26 of ICES division IXa’ means the geographical area bounded by rhumb lines sequentially joining the following positions: — 43° 00′ N 8° 00′ W, — 43° 00′ N 10° 00′ W, — 42° 00′ N 10° 00′ W, — 42° 00′ N 8° 00′ W;

(f) ‘Functional Unit 27 of ICES division IXa’ means the geographical area bounded by rhumb lines sequentially joining the following positions: — 42° 00′ N 8° 00′ W, — 42° 00′ N 10° 00′ W, — 38° 30′ N 10° 00′ W, — 38° 30′ N 9° 00′ W, — 40° 00′ N 9° 00′ W, — 40° 00′ N 8° 00′ W;

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

(h) 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 (³);

(i) 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 (⁴);

(j) ‘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 (⁵);

(k) ‘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 (⁶);

(l) ‘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 (⁷);

(m) ‘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’) (⁸);

(n) ‘IOTC (Indian Ocean Tuna Commission) Convention Area’ is the geographical area defined in the Agreement for the establishment of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (⁹);

(o) ‘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 (¹⁰), and west of the areas of fisheries jurisdictions of South American States;

(p) ‘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 (¹¹);

(q) ‘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;

(r) ‘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 FISHING 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 2016 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 2016, each Member State concerned shall submit the following information to the Commission:

(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

Catches that are not subject to the landing obligation established in Article 15 of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 shall be retained on board or landed only if they:

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

(b) 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

For the periods referred to in Article 1(2)(b), 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

Member States shall ensure that for 2016 the fishing effort levels, measured in kilowatt days absent from port, by vessels holding deep-sea fishing permits referred to in Article 3(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2347/2002, do not exceed 65 % of the average annual fishing effort deployed by the vessels of the Member State concerned in 2003 on trips when deep-sea fishing permits were held or deep-sea species, as listed in Annexes I and II to that Regulation, were caught.

Article 10

Measures on Sea bass fisheries

From 1 January to 30 June 2016, it shall be prohibited for Union fishing vessels to fish for sea bass and to retain on board, relocate, tranship or land sea bass caught in the following areas:

(a) ICES divisions IVb, IVc, VIId, VIIe, VIIf and VIIh;

(b) waters within 12 nautical miles from baseline under the sovereignty of the United Kingdom in ICES divisions VIIa and VIIg.

By derogation from the first subparagraph, the following measures shall apply in the areas referred to in that subparagraph:

(a) a Union fishing vessel deploying demersal trawls and seines (¹⁴) may retain on board catches of sea bass that do not exceed 1 % of the weight of the total catches of marine organisms on board;

(b) in January 2016 and from 1 April to 30 June 2016, Union fishing vessels using hooks and lines, and fixed gillnets (¹⁵) may fish for sea bass and retain on board, relocate, tranship or land sea bass caught in that area not exceeding 1 300 kilograms per any vessel per month.

From 1 July to 31 December 2016 it shall be prohibited for Union fishing vessels using hooks, lines and fixed gillnets to fish for sea bass in quantities exceeding 1 300 kilograms per any vessel per month and for Union fishing vessels using other gears to fish for sea bass in quantities exceeding 1 000 kilograms per any vessel per month in the following areas:

(a) ICES divisions IVb, IVc, VIId, VIIe, VIIf and VIIh;

(b) waters within 12 nautical miles from baseline under the sovereignty of the United Kingdom in ICES divisions VIIa and VIIg.

During that period, it shall also be prohibited for Union fishing vessels to retain on board, relocate, tranship or land quantities of sea bass exceeding the quantities set in the first subparagraph caught in those areas.

For Union fishing vessels using more than one gear in a single calendar month, the lowest catch limit set in paragraph 3 for either gear shall apply.

In recreational fisheries, including from shore, not more than one specimen of sea bass may be retained per fisherman per day during the following periods and in the following areas:

(a) from 1 July to 31 December 2016 in ICES divisions IVb, IVc, VIIa and from VIId to VIIh;

(b) from 1 January to 31 December 2016 in ICES divisions VIIj and VIIk.

Article 11

Special provisions on allocations of fishing opportunities

The allocation of fishing opportunities among Member States as set out in this Regulation is 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 and Article 15(9) of Regulation 1380/2013;

(e) quantities withheld in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 and Article 15(9) of Regulation 1380/2013;

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

(g) quota transfers and exchanges pursuant to Article 21 of this Regulation

(h) additional allocations pursuant to Article 15 of this Regulation.

Article 12

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.

Article 13

Prohibitions

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

(a) starry ray (Amblyraja radiata) in Union waters of ICES divisions IIa, IIIa and VIId and ICES subarea IV;

(b) white shark (Carcharodon carcharías) in all waters;

(c) leafscale gulper shark (Centrophorus squamosus) in Union waters of ICES division IIa and subarea IV and in Union and international waters of ICES subareas I and XIV;

(d) Portuguese dogfish (Centroscymnus coelolepis) in Union waters of ICES division IIa and subarea IV and in Union and international waters of ICES subareas I and XIV;

(e) basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) in all waters;

(f) kitefin shark (Dalatias licha) in Union waters of ICES division IIa and subarea IV and in Union and international waters of ICES subareas I and XIV;

(g) birdbeak dogfish (Deania calcea) in Union waters of ICES division IIa and subarea IV and in Union and international waters of ICES subareas I and XIV;

(h) 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;

(i) great lanternshark (Etmopterus princeps) in Union waters of ICES division IIa and subarea IV and in Union and international waters of ICES subareas I and XIV;

(j) smooth lanternshark (Etmopterus pusillus) in Union waters of ICES division IIa and subarea IV and in Union and international waters of ICES subareas I, V, VI, VII, VIII, XII and XIV;

(k) tope shark (Galeorhinus galeus) when taken with longlines in Union waters of ICES division IIa and subarea IV and in Union and international waters of ICES subareas I, V, VI, VII, VIII, XII and XIV;

(l) porbeagle (Lamna nasus) in all waters;

(m) reef manta ray (Manta alfredi) in all waters;

(n) giant manta ray (Manta birostris) in all waters;

(o) the following species of Mobula rays in all waters: (i) devil fish (Mobula mobular); (ii) lesser Guinean devil ray (Mobula rochebrunei); (iii) spinetail mobula (Mobula japanica); (iv) smoothtail mobula (Mobula thurstoni); (v) longhorned mobula (Mobula eregoodootenkee); (vi) Munk's devil ray (Mobula munkiana); (vii) Chilean devil ray (Mobula tarapacana); (viii) shortfin devil ray (Mobula kuhlii); (ix) lesser devil ray (Mobula hypostoma);

(p) the following species of sawfish (Pristidae) in all waters: (i) narrow sawfish (Anoxypristis cuspidate); (ii) dwarf sawfish (Pristis clavata); (iii) smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata); (iv) largetooth sawfish (Pristis pristis); (v) green sawfish (Pristis zijsron);

(q) thornback ray (Raja clavata) in Union waters of ICES division IIIa;

(r) Norwegian skate (Raja (Dipturus) nidarosiensis) in Union waters of ICES divisions VIa, VIb, VIIa, VIIb, VIIc, VIIe, VIIf, VIIg, VIIh and VIIk;

(s) undulate ray (Raja undulata) in Union waters of ICES subareas VI and X;

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

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

(v) angel shark (Squatina squatina) in Union waters.

Article 14

Data transmission