Regulation (EU) 2017/2403 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2017 on the sustainable management of external fishing fleets, and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1006/2008

TITLE I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1

Subject matter

This Regulation sets out rules for issuing and managing fishing authorisations for:

(a) Union fishing vessels conducting fishing operations in waters under the sovereignty or jurisdiction of a third country, under the auspices of an RFMO to which the Union is a contracting party, in or outside Union waters, or on the high seas; and

(b) third-country fishing vessels conducting fishing operations in Union waters.

Article 2

Relationship to international and Union law

This Regulation shall apply without prejudice to the provisions:

(a) in SFPAs and other fisheries agreements concluded between the Union and third countries;

(b) adopted by RFMOs to which the Union is a contracting party;

(c) in Union law implementing or transposing provisions referred to in points (a) and (b).

Article 3

Definitions

For the purpose of this Regulation, the following definitions also apply:

(a) ‘support vessel’ means a vessel other than a craft carried on board that is not equipped with operational fishing gear designed to catch or attract fish and that facilitates, assists or prepares fishing operations;

(b) ‘fishing authorisation’ means, in respect of a Union fishing vessel, an authorisation: — within the meaning of point 10 of Article 4 of the Control Regulation, — issued by a third country entitling a Union fishing vessel to carry out specific fishing operations in the waters under the sovereignty or jurisdiction of that third country, during a specified period, in a given area or for a given fishery under specific conditions, and, in respect of a third-country fishing vessel, an authorisation entitling it to carry out in Union waters specific fishing operations during a specified period, in a given area or for a given fishery under specific conditions;

(c) ‘direct authorisation’ means a fishing authorisation issued by a third-country competent authority to a Union fishing vessel outside the framework of an SFPA or of an agreement on exchange of fishing opportunities and joint management of species of common interest;

(d) ‘third-country waters’ means waters under the sovereignty or jurisdiction of a third country. The waters of a Member State that are not Union waters are considered as third-country waters for the purpose of this Regulation;

(e) ‘observer programme’ means a scheme under the auspices of an RFMO, an SFPA, a third country or a Member State that provides observers on board fishing vessels including, where specifically provided for in the applicable observer scheme, to verify the vessel’s compliance with the rules adopted by that RFMO or that third country, or under that SFPA;

(f) ‘chartering’ means an arrangement by which a fishing vessel flying the flag of a Member State is contracted for a defined period by an operator in either another Member State or a third country without a change of flag;

(g) ‘fishing operation’ means all activities in connection with searching for fish, the shooting, towing and hauling of active gears, setting, soaking, removing or resetting of passive gears and the removal of any catch from the gear, keep nets, or from a transport cage to fattening and farming cages.

TITLE II

FISHING OPERATIONS BY UNION FISHING VESSELS OUTSIDE UNION WATERS

CHAPTER I

Common provisions

Article 4

General principle

Without prejudice to the requirement to obtain an authorisation from the competent organisation or third country, a Union fishing vessel shall not carry out fishing operations outside Union waters unless it has been authorised by its flag Member State, and the fishing operations are indicated in a valid fishing authorisation issued in accordance with Chapters II to V, as appropriate.

Article 5

Eligibility criteria

A flag Member State may only issue a fishing authorisation for fishing operations outside Union waters if:

(a) it has received complete and accurate information, in accordance with the requirements of the Annex or the SFPA concerned or RFMO concerned, about the fishing vessel and the associated support vessel(s), including non-Union support vessels;

(b) the fishing vessel has a valid fishing licence under Article 6 of the Control Regulation;

(c) the fishing vessel and any associated support vessel apply the relevant IMO ship identification number scheme insofar as is required under Union law;

(d) the fishing vessel is not included in an IUU vessel list adopted by an RFMO and/or by the Union pursuant to the IUU Regulation;

(e) where applicable, fishing opportunities are available to the flag Member State under the fisheries agreement concerned or the relevant provisions of the RFMO; and

(f) where applicable, the fishing vessel complies with the requirements set out in Article 6.

Article 6

Reflagging operations

This Article applies to vessels that, during the 5 years preceding the application for a fishing authorisation, have:

(a) left the Union fishing fleet register and been reflagged in a third country; and

(b) subsequently returned to the Union fishing fleet register.

A flag Member State may only issue a fishing authorisation if it has verified that, during the period that the vessel referred to in paragraph 1 operated under a third-country flag, it did not:

(a) engage in IUU fishing;

(b) operate in waters of a third country identified as a country allowing non-sustainable fishing pursuant to point (a) of Article 4(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1026/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council (¹);

(c) operate in waters of a third country listed as non-cooperating pursuant to Article 33 of the IUU Regulation; and

(d) operate in waters of a third country identified as non-cooperating in fighting IUU fishing pursuant to Article 31 of the IUU Regulation after a period of 6 weeks following the adoption of the decision of the Commission identifying that third country as such, except for any operations carried out in the event that the Council has rejected a proposal to designate that third country as non-cooperating pursuant to Article 33 of that Regulation.

To that end, an operator shall provide the following information related to the period during which the vessel operated under a third-country flag required by a flag Member State:

(a) a declaration of catches and fishing effort during the relevant period as required by the third-country flag state;

(b) a copy of any fishing authorisations permitting fishing operations during the relevant period;

(c) an official statement by the third country where the vessel was reflagged listing the sanctions the vessel or the operator had been subject to during the relevant period;

(d) complete flag history during the period when the vessel had left the Union fleet register.

A flag Member State shall not issue a fishing authorisation to a vessel that has been reflagged in a third country:

(a) listed as non-cooperating in fighting IUU fishing pursuant to Article 33 of the IUU Regulation;

(b) identified as non-cooperating in fighting IUU fishing pursuant to Article 31 of the IUU Regulation after a period of 6 weeks following the adoption of the decision of the Commission identifying that third country as such, except for any operations carried out in the event that the Council has rejected a proposal to designate that third country as non-cooperating pursuant to Article 33 of that Regulation; or

(c) identified as allowing non-sustainable fishing pursuant to point (a) of Article 4(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1026/2012.

Paragraph 4 shall not apply if the flag Member State is satisfied that, as soon as the circumstances described in points (b) to (d) of paragraph 2 or points (a) to (c) of paragraph 4 became applicable, the operator:

(a) ceased fishing operations; and

(b) immediately started the relevant administrative procedures to remove the vessel from the fishing fleet register of the third country.

Article 7

Management of fishing authorisations

Where the flag Member State concerned has not taken appropriate action to comply with the Commission decision referred to in the first subparagraph within a period of 15 days, the Commission shall send the updated details of the fishing vessels referred to in Article 22 to the Secretariat of the RFMO to address the vessel concerned. The Commission shall inform the flag Member State of its action. The flag Member State shall notify the operator of the action of the Commission.

Where the flag Member State concerned has not taken appropriate action to comply with the Commission decision referred to in the first subparagraph within a period of 15 days, the Commission shall send the updated details of the fishing vessels to the third country to address the Union fishing vessel concerned. The Commission shall inform the flag Member State of its action. The flag Member State shall notify the operator of the action of the Commission.

CHAPTER II

Fishing operations by Union fishing vessels in third-country waters

Section 1

Fishing operations under sfpas

Article 8

Scope

This Section shall apply to fishing operations carried out by Union fishing vessels in third-country waters under an SFPA.

Article 9

RFMO membership

A Union fishing vessel may only carry out fishing operations in waters of a third country on stocks managed by an RFMO if that third country is a contracting party to that RFMO.

Article 10

Conditions for fishing authorisations by the flag Member State

A flag Member State may only issue a fishing authorisation for fishing operations carried out in third-country waters under an SFPA if:

(a) the eligibility criteria set out in Article 5 are fulfilled;

(b) the conditions set out in the relevant SFPA are complied with;

(c) the operator has paid all fees due under the relevant agreements, and where applicable, related financial sanctions established by a judicial or administrative decision having final and binding effect; and

(d) the fishing vessel has a valid fishing authorisation issued by the third country with sovereignty or jurisdiction over the waters where the fishing operations take place.

Article 11

Procedure for obtaining fishing authorisations of the third country

Upon receipt of the application or any additional information requested pursuant to paragraph 3 of this Article, the Commission shall conduct a preliminary examination to determine whether the conditions set out in points (a) to (c) of Article 10 are met. The Commission shall then:

(a) send the application to the third country without delay and, in any event, before the expiry of the deadline for the transmission of applications laid down in the SFPA, provided that the deadline set out in paragraph 3 of this Article has been met; or

(b) notify the Member State that the application is refused.

Article 12

Temporary reallocation of unused fishing opportunities in the framework of SFPAs

Within 10 calendar days of receipt of this information from the Commission, the Member States referred to in paragraph 1 may:

(a) inform the Commission that they will use their fishing opportunities later in the relevant period of implementation by providing a fishing plan with detailed information on the number of fishing authorisations requested, the estimated catches, area and period of fishing; or

(b) notify the Commission of the use of their fishing opportunities through exchanges of fishing opportunities, pursuant to Article 16(8) of the Basic Regulation.

The Commission shall inform the Member States of the Member States to which the reallocation has been made and the quantities reallocated.

The temporary reallocation of fishing opportunities shall be based on transparent and objective criteria including, where applicable, those of an environmental, social and economic nature. Those criteria may include:

(a) the fishing opportunities available for reallocation;

(b) the number of requesting Member States;

(c) the share assigned to each requesting Member State in the initial allocation of fishing opportunities;

(d) the historic catch and effort levels of each requesting Member State, where applicable;

(e) the viability of the fishing plans provided by the requesting Member States, in light of the number, type and characteristics of vessels and gear used.

Article 13

Sub-allocation of a yearly quota broken down into several successive catch limits

Section 2

Fishing operations under agreements on exchange or joint management

Article 14

Applicable provisions

Article 15

Consultations with third countries in respect of Union fishing vessels

The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts, in accordance with Article 44, in order to supplement Article 10 by implementing in Union law the outcome of the consultations between the Union and third countries with which the Union has concluded an agreement, or of arrangements with coastal states with which fish stocks are shared, as regards the conditions for fishing authorisations.

Section 3

Fishing operations under direct authorisations

Article 16

Scope

This Section shall apply to fishing operations carried out by Union fishing vessels in waters of a third country outside the framework of an agreement referred to in Section 1 or 2.

Article 17

Conditions for fishing authorisations by the flag Member States

A flag Member State may only issue a fishing authorisation for fishing operations carried out in third-country waters outside the framework of an agreement referred to in Section 1 or 2 if:

(a) the eligibility criteria set out in Article 5 are fulfilled;

(b) no SFPA or agreement on exchange of fishing opportunities or joint management with the third country concerned is in force or provisionally applied;

(c) the operator has provided each of the following: — a copy of or an exact reference to the applicable fisheries legislation as provided to the operator by the third country with sovereignty or jurisdiction over the waters where the activities take place, — a scientific evaluation demonstrating the sustainability of the planned fishing operations, including consistency with the provisions of Article 62 of UNCLOS, as applicable, — a designated official, public bank account number for the payment of all the fees;

(d) in the event that the fishing operations are to be carried out on species managed by an RFMO, the third country is a contracting party to that organisation; and

(e) the operator has provided either: — a valid fishing authorisation for the fishing vessel concerned, issued by the third country with sovereignty or jurisdiction over the waters where the fishing operations take place; or — a written confirmation issued by the third country with sovereignty or jurisdiction over the waters where the fishing operations take place, following the discussions between the operator and that third country, of the terms of the intended direct authorisation to give the operator access to its fishing resources, including the duration, conditions, and fishing opportunities expressed as effort or catch limits.

Article 18

Procedure for obtaining fishing authorisations of the third country

Section 4

Fishing operations by Union fishing vessels in United Kingdom waters

Article 18a

Scope

This Section shall apply until 31 December 2019, by way of derogation from Section 3, to fishing operations carried out by Union fishing vessels in United Kingdom waters.

Article 18b

Definition

For the purposes of this Section, ‘United Kingdom waters’ means the waters under the sovereignty or jurisdiction of the United Kingdom established in accordance with international law.

Article 18c

Procedure for obtaining fishing authorisations from the United Kingdom

Article 18d

Monitoring

The Commission shall monitor the issuing of fishing authorisations by the United Kingdom for fishing operations carried out by Union fishing vessels in United Kingdom waters.

CHAPTER III

Fishing operations by Union fishing vessels under the auspices of RFMOs

Article 19

Scope

This Chapter shall apply to fishing operations carried out by Union fishing vessels fishing for stocks under the auspices of an RFMO, in or outside Union waters, insofar as their operations are subject to an authorisation regime put in place by the RFMO.

Article 20

Fishing authorisations

A Union fishing vessel the fishing operations of which are subject to an authorisation regime adopted by the RFMO shall not carry out fishing operations under the auspices of the RFMO unless:

(a) the Union is a contracting party to the RFMO;

(b) it has been issued with a fishing authorisation by its flag Member State;

(c) it has been included in the relevant register or list of authorised vessels of the RFMO; and

(d) where the fishing operations are carried out in third-country waters, it has been issued with a fishing authorisation by the relevant third country in accordance with Chapter II.

Article 21

Conditions for fishing authorisations by the flag Member States

A flag Member State may issue a fishing authorisation only if:

(a) the eligibility criteria set out in Article 5 are fulfilled;

(b) the rules laid down by the RFMO or the transposing Union law are complied with; and

(c) where the fishing operations are carried out in third-country waters, the criteria set out in Article 10 or 17 are complied with.

Article 22

Registration by RFMOs

CHAPTER IV

Fishing operations by Union fishing vessels on the high seas

Article 23

Scope

This Chapter shall apply to fishing operations carried out on the high seas falling outside the scope of Chapter III by Union fishing vessels exceeding 24 metres in overall length.

Article 24

Conditions for fishing authorisations by the flag Member States

A flag Member State may issue a fishing authorisation for fishing operations on the high seas only if:

(a) the eligibility criteria set out in Article 5 are fulfilled;

(b) the planned fishing operations are: — in accordance with a scientific evaluation, demonstrating the sustainability of the planned fishing operations, provided or validated by a scientific institute in the flag Member State, or — part of a research programme, including a scheme for data collection, organised by a scientific body. The scientific protocol of the research, which will be required in any event, shall be validated by a scientific institute in the flag Member State.

Article 25

Procedure for obtaining fishing authorisations

CHAPTER V

Chartering of Union fishing vessels

Article 26

Principles

Article 27

Management of fishing authorisations under a chartering arrangement