Regulation (EU) 2019/833 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2019 laying down conservation and enforcement measures applicable in the Regulatory Area of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation, amending Regulation (EU) 2016/1627 and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 2115/2005 and (EC) No 1386/2007

CHAPTER I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1

Scope

Article 2

Subject matter

Article 3

Definitions

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

(1) ‘the Convention’ means the 1979 Convention on Cooperation in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries, as amended from time to time;

(2) ‘the Convention Area’ means the area to which the Convention applies as described in Article IV, paragraph 1 thereof. The Convention Area is divided into scientific and statistical Subareas, Divisions and Subdivisions listed in Annex I to the Convention;

(3) ‘the Regulatory Area’ means that part of the Convention Area which is beyond national jurisdiction;

(4) ‘fishery resources’ means all fish, molluscs and crustaceans within the Convention Area excluding: (a) sedentary species over which coastal States may exercise sovereign rights in accordance with Article 77 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea; and (b) in so far as they are managed under other international treaties, anadromous and catadromous stocks and highly migratory species listed in Annex I to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea;

(5) ‘fishing activities’ means harvesting or processing fishery resources, landing or transhipping of fishery resources or products derived from fishery resources, or any other activity in preparation for, in support of, or relating to the harvesting of fishery resources in the Regulatory Area, including: (a) the actual or attempted searching for or catching of fishery resources; (b) any activity that can reasonably be expected to result in locating, catching or harvesting of fishery resources for any purpose; and (c) any operation at sea in support of, or in preparation for, any activity described in this definition but not including any operations relating to emergencies involving the health and safety of the crew members or the safety of a vessel;

(6) ‘fishing vessel’ means any Union vessel equipped for, intended for or engaged in fishing activities, including fish processing, transhipment or any other activity in preparation for or related to fishing activities, including experimental or exploratory fishing activities;

(7) ‘research vessel’ means a vessel permanently used for research or a vessel normally used for fishing activities or fisheries support activity that is temporarily used for fisheries research;

(8) ‘CEM’ means conservation and enforcement measures in force as adopted by the NAFO Commission;

(9) ‘fishing opportunities’ means fishing quotas allocated to a Member State by a Union act in force for the Regulatory Area;

(10) ‘EFCA’ means the European Fisheries Control Agency as established by Regulation (EU) 2019/473 of the European Parliament and of the Council (⁴);

(11) ‘fishing day’ means any calendar day or any fraction of a calendar day in which a fishing vessel is present in any Division in the Regulatory Area;

(12) ‘port’ means, inter alia, offshore terminals and other installations for landing, transhipping, packaging, processing, refuelling or resupplying;

(13) ‘non-Contracting Party vessel’ means a vessel flying the flag of a State that is not a Contracting Party to NAFO or is not a Member State, or a vessel suspected to be without nationality;

(14) ‘transhipment’ means transfer, over the side, from one fishing vessel to another, of fishery resources or products;

(15) ‘mid-water trawl’ means trawl gear that is designed to fish for pelagic species, no portion of which is designed to be or is operated in contact with the bottom at any time. The gear shall not include discs, bobbins or rollers on its footrope or any other attachments designed to make contact with the bottom, but it may have chafing gear attached;

(16) ‘vulnerable marine ecosystems’ or ‘VMEs’ means the VMEs referred to in paragraphs 42 and 43 of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) International Guidelines for the Management of Deep-Sea Fisheries in the High Seas;

(17) ‘footprint’, otherwise known as ‘existing bottom fishing areas’, means that portion of the Regulatory Area where bottom fishing has historically occurred, and is defined by the coordinates shown in Table 4 and illustrated in Figure 2 of the CEM referred to in points 1 and 2 of the Annex to this Regulation;

(18) ‘bottom fishing activities’ means any activity where the fishing gear is in contact with or is likely to be in contact with the seafloor during the normal course of fishing operations;

(19) ‘processed fish’ means any marine organism that has been physically altered since capture, including fish that has been filleted, gutted, packaged, canned, frozen, smoked, salted, cooked, pickled, dried or prepared for market in any other manner;

(20) ‘exploratory bottom fishing activities’ means bottom fishing activities conducted outside the footprint, or within the footprint with significant changes to the conduct or in the technology used in the fishery;

(21) ‘VME indicator species’ means the species that signal the occurrence of VMEs, as specified in Part VI of Annex I.E to the CEM referred to in point 3 of the Annex to this Regulation;

(22) ‘IMO number’ means a 7-digit number, which is assigned to a vessel under the authority of the International Maritime Organisation;

(23) ‘inspector’, unless otherwise specified, means an inspector of the fishery control services of a NAFO Contracting Party assigned to the Joint Inspection and Surveillance Scheme referred to in Chapter VII;

(24) ‘IUU fishing’ means the activities described in the International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter, and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing adopted by the FAO;

(25) ‘fishing trip’ for a fishing vessel includes the time from its entry into until its departure from the Regulatory Area and continues until all catch on board from the Regulatory Area has been landed or transhipped;

(26) ‘FMC’ means a land-based fisheries monitoring centre of the flag Member State;

(27) ‘IUU vessel list’ means the list established in accordance with Articles 52 and 53 of the CEM;

(28) ‘significant adverse impacts’ means the significant adverse impacts referred to in paragraphs 17 to 20 of the FAO International Guidelines for the Management of Deep Sea Fisheries in the High Seas;

(29) ‘VME indicator element’ means the VME indicator element referred to in topographical, hydrophysical or geological features which potentially support VMEs, as specified in Part VII of Annex I.E to the CEM referred to in point 4 of the Annex to this Regulation;

(30) ‘observer’ means a person who is authorised and certified by a Member State or a Contracting Party to observe, monitor and collect information on board fishing vessels;

(31) ‘MCS website’ means the NAFO Monitoring, Control and Surveillance website that contains information relevant for at-sea and in-port inspections.

CHAPTER II

CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT MEASURES

Article 4

Research vessels

A research vessel shall not:

(a) conduct fishing activities inconsistent with its research plan; or

(b) catch Northern prawn in Division 3L in excess of the allocation of the flag Member State of the vessel;

(c) take cod from Division 3M in excess of 15 tonnes of Union catches in a calendar year. Should a research vessel’s catch exceed this amount, the excess shall be counted against the allocation to the vessel’s flag Member State. Furthermore, if the allocation to the Member State for cod from Division 3M is exhausted, that Member State shall not authorize its vessels to undertake further research activities. Any research activities underway shall be stopped by the flag Member State as soon as 15 tonnes have been caught by the Union; or

(d) take shrimp from Division 3M in excess of 10 tonnes of Union catches in a calendar year. The relevant Member State shall stop research activities on shrimp from Division 3M once 10 tonnes have been caught by the Union.

The flag Member State shall:

(a) by electronic transmission in the format prescribed in Annex II.C to the CEM referred to in point 5 of the Annex to this Regulation, and prior to the commencement of the research, notify the Commission of all research vessels entitled to fly its flag that are authorised by it to conduct research activities in the Regulatory Area;

(b) provide the Commission with a research plan for all vessels entitled to fly its flag that are authorised by it to conduct research activities in the Regulatory Area, no later than 40 days prior to the opening of the June meeting of the NAFO Scientific Council, in the cases of non-recurrent new surveys and research activities and where catches retained on board during research activities are intended for marketing and, in other cases, no later than 10 days prior to the commencement of the research;

(c) ensure that a research plan of surveys conducted in the Regulatory Area targeting stocks subject to fishing opportunities contains as a minimum the following information: (i) vessel identification; (ii) purpose; (iii) summary of scientific methods or procedures; (iv) location and dates of the research activity; (v) the name of the principal investigator; (vi) whether any catches retained on board will be marketed; (vii) total estimated research catch of the survey target species and whether an observer with sufficient scientific expertise will be on board; (viii) information on when the research results will be presented to the NAFO Scientific Council; (ix) where relevant, any requests to derogate from this point; and (x) where relevant, an indication that the activity constitutes a non-recurrent new survey or research; and

(d) notify the Commission immediately of the commencement and termination of research activities by vessels temporarily engaged in research, including during fishing trips in which both commercial and research activities take place.

Vessels engaged in research shall:

(a) keep on board a copy of the research plan and any changes thereto, in the English language, at all times; and

(b) for surveys conducted in the Regulatory Area targeting stocks subject to fishing opportunities, stow catches taken in research activities separately with netting, plywood, boxes or other means from all other catches taken in fishing trips in which both commercial and research activities are carried out; the location of the catches taken in research activities shall be indicated in the stowage plan.

Unless otherwise supported by an opinion of the NAFO Scientific Council, research vessels conducting surveys in the Regulatory Area targeting stocks subject to fishing opportunities and retaining on board catches obtained during such research activities with the purpose of marketing those catches shall:

(a) comply with the recording and reporting requirements laid down in Chapter V;

(b) have an observer with sufficient expertise on board; and

(c) count those catches against the Member State’s relevant quota and fishing effort limitations set out in fishing opportunities.

Article 5

Catch and effort limitations

For stocks identified in the fishing opportunities in force caught within the Regulatory Area by vessels flying its flag, each flag Member State shall:

(a) ensure that all species from stocks listed in fishing opportunities in force caught by vessels flying its flag are counted against the quota allocated to that Member State, including the by-catch of redfish in Division 3M taken between the date when it is estimated that 50 % of the total allowable catch (TAC) of redfish in Division 3M is taken and 1 July;

(b) ensure that no more redfish caught in Division 3M is retained on board vessels flying its flag after the date when it is estimated that 100 % of the TAC of redfish in Division 3M is taken, with the exception of redfish caught in Division 3M before the closure;

(c) notify the Commission and EFCA of the names of Union vessels that intend to fish the ‘Others’ quota at least 48 hours in advance of each entry, and after a minimum of 48 hours of absence from the Regulatory Area. That notification shall, if possible, be accompanied by an estimate of the projected catch. Where the Commission considers that the relevant conditions established in the CEM are met, it shall notify the NAFO Executive Secretary.

Article 6

Closures of fisheries

Each Member State shall:

(a) close its fishery for stocks listed in the fishing opportunities in force in the Regulatory Area on the date on which the available data indicate that the total quota allocated to that Member State for the stocks concerned will be taken, including the estimated quantity to be taken prior to the closure of the fishery, discards, and estimated unreported catch by all vessels flying the flag of that Member State;

(b) ensure that vessels flying its flag immediately cease fishing activities that may result in catch when notified by the Commission in accordance with paragraph 3 that the quota allocated to that Member State has been fully taken. If the Member State can demonstrate that it still has quota available for that stock in accordance with paragraph 2, the vessels of that Member State may resume fishing on that stock;

(c) close its fishery for Northern prawn in Division 3M when the number of fishing days allocated to that Member State is reached. The number of fishing days in respect of each vessel shall be determined using VMS positional data within Division 3M, with any part of a day being considered a full day;

(d) close its directed fishery for redfish in Division 3M between 24:00 UTC of the day the accumulated reported catch is estimated to reach 50 % of the TAC of redfish in Division 3M, as notified in accordance with paragraph 3, and 1 July;

(e) close its redfish fishery in Division 3M at 24:00 UTC of the day the accumulated reported catch is estimated to reach 100 % of the TAC of redfish in Division 3M, as notified in accordance with paragraph 3;

(f) promptly notify the Commission of the date of closure provided for in points (a) to (e);

(g) prohibit vessels flying its flag from continuing a directed fishery in the Regulatory Area for a particular stock under an ‘Others’ quota beyond 5 days of notification by the NAFO Executive Secretary, as transmitted by the Commission, that it is estimated that that particular ‘Others’ quota has been taken, in accordance with paragraph 3;

(h) ensure that no vessel flying its flag commences a directed fishery in the Regulatory Area for a particular stock under the ‘Others’ quota following notification by the NAFO Executive Secretary that it is estimated that that particular quota has been taken, in accordance with paragraph 3;

(i) after a closure of its fishery in accordance with this paragraph, ensure that no more fish of the stock concerned is retained on board the vessels flying its flag unless otherwise authorised by this Regulation.

A fishery that has been closed in accordance with paragraph 1 may be re-opened within 15 days of notification by the Commission following communication with the NAFO Executive Secretary:

(a) if the NAFO Executive Secretary confirms that the Commission has demonstrated that there is remaining quota available from its original allocation; or

(b) if a quota transfer from another NAFO Contracting Party, in accordance with fishing opportunities, results in additional quota for the particular stock subject to closure.

Article 7

By-catch retained on board

A species listed in the fishing opportunities in force shall be classified as by-catch when it is taken in a Division where any of the following situations exist:

(a) no quota has been allocated to the Union for that stock in that Division, in accordance with the fishing opportunities in force;

(b) a ban on fishing for that particular stock is in force (moratorium); or

(c) the ‘Others’ quota for a particular stock has been fully taken, following notification by the Commission in accordance with Article 6.

The master of the vessel, including of a vessel chartered in accordance with Article 23, shall ensure that the vessel limits the retention on board of species classified as by-catch to the maxima specified below:

(a) for cod in Division 3M, redfish in Divisions 3LN and witch flounder in Divisions 3NO: 1 250 kg or 5 %, whichever is the greater;

(b) for cod in Divisions 3NO: 1 000 kg or 4 %, whichever is the greater;

(c) for all other stocks listed in fishing opportunities where no specific quota has been allocated to the Member State: 2 500 kg or 10 %, whichever is the greater;

(d) where a ban on fishing applies (moratoria) or when the ‘Others’ quota opened for that stock has been fully taken: 1 250 kg or 5 %, whichever is the greater, in regard to those Contracting Parties following their notification of the use of the ‘Others’ quota in accordance with Article 6;

(e) once the directed fishery for redfish in Division 3M is closed in accordance with point (d) of Article 6(1): 1 250 kg or 5 %, whichever is the greater;

(f) while conducting a directed fishery for yellowtail in Divisions 3LNO: 15 % of American plaice; otherwise the by-catch provisions set out in point (d) shall apply.

Article 8

Exceeding by-catch limits in any one haul

The master of the vessel shall ensure that the vessel:

(a) does not conduct directed fisheries for species referred to in Article 7(2);

(b) complies with the following requirements, where, with the exception of directed fishery for Northern prawn, the weight of any species subject to the by-catch limits exceeds the greater of the limits specified in Article 7(3) in any one haul: (i) immediately move a minimum of 10 nautical miles from any position of the previous tow/set throughout the subsequent tow/set; (ii) leave the Division and not return for at least 60 hours if the by-catch limits specified in Article 7(3) are again exceeded following the first tow/set after moving in accordance with point (i); (iii) undertake a trial tow for a maximum duration of 3 hours before starting a new fishery following an absence of at least 60 hours. If the stocks subjected to by-catch limits form the largest percentage, by weight, of the total resulting catch in the haul, this shall not considered as a directed fishery for those stocks, and the vessel shall immediately change position in accordance with points (i) and (ii); and (iv) identify any trial tow conducted in accordance with point (b) and record in the fishing logbook the coordinates pertaining to the start and end locations of any trial tow conducted.

Article 9

Northern prawn

Article 9a

Cod in Division 3M

The following control measures shall apply to vessels with more than 1 250 kg of cod catches from Division 3M on board:

(a) vessels shall land or tranship their cod catches from Division 3M only in ports designated in accordance with Article 39;

(b) at least 48 hours before its estimated time of arrival in port, a vessel or its representative on its behalf shall advise the competent port authority of its estimated time of arrival, the estimated quantity of cod catches from Division 3M retained on board, and information on the Division or Divisions where any other cod catches retained on board were taken;