Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1704 of 9 October 2019 adding to the 2019 fishing quotas certain quantities withheld in the year 2018 pursuant to Article 4(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 847/96

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 847/96 of 6 May 1996 introducing additional conditions for year-to-year management of TACs and quotas (1), and in particular Article 4(2) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Pursuant to Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 847/96, Member States may, before 31 October of the year of application of a fishing quota allocated to them, ask the Commission to withhold a maximum of 10 % of the quota and to transfer it to the following year.

(2) Council Regulations (EU) 2016/2285 (2), (EU) 2017/1970 (3), (EU) 2017/2360 (4), and (EU) 2018/120 (5) fix fishing quotas for certain stocks for 2018 and specify which stocks may be subject to the measures provided for in Regulation (EC) No 847/96.

(3) Council Regulations (EU) 2018/1628 (6), (EU) 2018/2025 (7), (EU) 2018/2058 (8), and (EU) 2019/124 (9) fix fishing quotas for certain stocks for 2019.

(4) Certain Member States have requested, before 31 October 2018, pursuant to Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 847/96, that part of their quotas for 2018 for the stocks listed in the Annex to this Regulation be withheld and transferred to the following year. Subject to the limits indicated in that Regulation, the quantities withheld should be added to the quotas for 2019.

(5) For the purposes of this flexibility exercise, the eligibility of requested stock transfers and the state of exploitation of these stocks have been verified and taken into account. Therefore these stocks can be subject to the transfer of quota withheld from 2018 to 2019 in line with Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 847/96.

(6) Whilst certain Member States had requested that part of their quotas for 2018 for the stocks of greater forkbeard be withheld and transferred to the following year, Regulation (EU) 2018/2025 does not set a total allowable catch for greater forkbeard in ICES subareas 1 to 10, 12 and 14. Consequently, the 2018 quotas withheld for the stocks of greater forkbeard are not transferable.

(7) For the stocks listed in the Annex to this Regulation, in order to avoid excessive flexibility that would undermine the principle of rational and responsible exploitation of living marine biological resources, hinder the achievement of the objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy and deteriorate the biological status of the stocks, the year-to-year flexibility provided for by Article 15(9) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (10) is excluded. Similarly, where a Member State has used the year-to-year flexibility provided for under Article 15(9) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 in respect of a particular stock, no other flexibility as regards a carry-over of unused fishing opportunities should apply to that stock, therefore excluding it from the scope of this Regulation.

(8) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee for Fisheries and Aquaculture,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

The fishing quotas fixed for 2019 in Regulations (EU) 2018/1628, (EU) 2018/2025, (EU) 2018/2058, and (EU) 2019/124 are increased as set out in the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 9 October 2019.

For the Commission The President Jean-Claude JUNCKER

(1) OJ L 115, 9.5.1996, p. 3.

(2) Council Regulation (EU) 2016/2285 of 12 December 2016 fixing for 2017 and 2018 the fishing opportunities for Union fishing vessels for certain deep-sea fish stocks and amending Council Regulation (EU) 2016/72 (OJ L 344, 17.12.2016, p. 32).

(3) Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1970 of 27 October 2017 fixing for 2018 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks applicable in the Baltic Sea and amending Regulation (EU) 2017/127 (OJ L 281, 31.10.2017, p. 1).

(4) Council Regulation (EU) 2017/2360 of 11 December 2017 fixing for 2018 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks in the Black Sea (OJ L 337, 19.12.2017, p. 1).

(5) Council Regulation (EU) 2018/120 of 23 January 2018 fixing for 2018 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) 2017/127 (OJ L 27, 31.1.2018, p. 1).

(6) Council Regulation (EU) 2018/1628 of 30 October 2018 fixing for 2019 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks applicable in the Baltic Sea and amending Regulation (EU) 2018/120 as regards certain fishing opportunities in other waters (OJ L 272, 31.10.2018, p. 1).

(7) Council Regulation (EU) 2018/2025 of 17 December 2018 fixing for 2019 and 2020 the fishing opportunities for Union fishing vessels for certain deep-sea fish stocks (OJ L 325, 20.12.2018, p. 7).

(8) Council Regulation (EU) 2018/2058 of 17 December 2018 fixing for 2019 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks in the Black Sea (OJ L 329, 27.12.2018, p. 8).

(9) Council Regulation (EU) 2019/124 of 30 January 2019 fixing for 2019 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 (OJ L 29, 31.1.2019, p. 1).

(10) Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on the Common Fisheries Policy, amending Council Regulations (EC) No 1954/2003 and (EC) No 1224/2009 and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 2371/2002 and (EC) No 639/2004 and Council Decision 2004/585/EC (OJ L 354, 28.12.2013, p. 22).