Council Regulation (EU) 2024/257 of 10 January 2024 fixing for 2024, 2025 and 2026 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks, applicable in Union waters and, for Union fishing vessels, in certain non-Union waters, and amending Regulation (EU) 2023/194

TITLE I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1

Subject matter

The fishing opportunities referred to in paragraph 1 include:

(a) catch limits for the year 2024 and, where specified in this Regulation, also for the years 2025 and 2026;

(b) fishing effort limits for the year 2024, except the fishing effort limits set out in Annex II, which are to apply from 1 February 2024 to 31 January 2025;

(c) fishing opportunities for the period from 1 December 2023 to 30 November 2024 for certain stocks in the CCAMLR Convention area and for certain stocks in the SIOFA Agreement Area;

(d) fishing opportunities for the period from 1 June 2024 to 31 May 2025 in the North Pacific Fisheries Commission (NPFC) Convention area.

Article 2

Scope

This Regulation applies to the following fishing vessels:

(a) Union fishing vessels; and

(b) third country fishing vessels in Union waters.

This Regulation also applies to:

(a) certain recreational fisheries expressly referred to in the relevant provisions of this Regulation; and

(b) commercial fisheries from shore.

Article 3

Definitions

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

(a) ‘third country fishing 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 biological resources in the context of recreation, tourism or sport;

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

(d) ‘total allowable catch’ (TAC) means: (i) in fisheries subject to the exemption from the landing obligation referred to in Article 15(4) to (7) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013, the quantity of fish that may be landed from each stock each year; (ii) in all other fisheries, the quantity of fish that may be caught from each stock each year;

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

(f) ‘analytical assessment’ means a quantitative evaluation of trends in a given stock, based on data about the stock’s biology and exploitation, including based on proxies, which scientific review has indicated to be of sufficient quality to provide scientific advice;

(g) ‘analytical TAC’ means a TAC for which an analytical assessment is available;

(h) ‘precautionary TAC’ means a TAC for which an analytical assessment is not available but rather an assessment based on the precautionary approach is available or no assessment is available;

(i) ‘mesh size’ means the mesh size of fishing nets as defined in Article 6, point (34), of Regulation (EU) 2019/1241;

(j) ‘Union fishing fleet register’ means the register set up by the Commission pursuant to Article 24(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013;

(k) ‘fishing logbook’ means the logbook referred to in Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009;

(l) ‘instrumented buoy’ means a buoy clearly marked with a unique reference number allowing identification of its owner and equipped with a satellite tracking system to monitor its position;

(m) ‘operational buoy’ means any instrumented buoy, previously activated, switched on and deployed at sea on a drifting fish aggregating device (FAD) or log, which transmits positions and other available information such as echo-sounder estimates.

Article 4

Fishing zones

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following fishing zone definitions apply:

(a) ‘ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea) zones’ means the geographical areas specified in Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 218/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council (¹);

(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 that 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 that 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 7’ 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;

(e) ‘functional unit 25 of ICES division 8c’ means the geographical sea area bounded by rhumb lines sequentially joining the following positions: 43°00'N 9°00'W, 43°00'N 10°00'W, 43°30'N 10°00'W, 43°30'N 9°00'W, 44°00'N 9°00'W, 44°00'N 8°00'W, 43°30'N 8°00'W;

(f) ‘functional unit 26 of ICES division 9a’ 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;

(g) ‘functional unit 27 of ICES division 9a’ 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;

(h) ‘functional unit 30 of ICES division 9a’ means the geographical area under the jurisdiction of Spain in the Gulf of Cádiz and in the adjacent waters of ICES division 9a;

(i) ‘functional unit 31 of ICES division 8c’ means the geographical sea area bounded by rhumb lines sequentially joining the following positions: 43°30'N 6°00'W, 44°00'N 6°00'W, 44°00'N 2°00'W, 43°30'N 2°00'W;

(j) ‘Gulf of Cádiz’ means the geographical area of ICES division 9a east of longitude 7° 23' 48″ W;

(k) ‘CCAMLR (Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources) Convention area’ means the geographical area defined in the Convention on the conservation of Antarctic marine living resources (²);

(l) ‘CECAF (Committee for Eastern Central Atlantic Fisheries) areas’ means the geographical areas specified in Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 216/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council (³);

(m) ‘IATTC (Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission) Convention area’ means 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 (Antigua Convention) (⁴);

(n) ‘ICCAT (International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas) Convention area’ means the geographical area defined in the International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (⁵);

(o) ‘IOTC (Indian Ocean Tuna Commission) Area of Competence’ means the geographical area defined in the Agreement for the establishment of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (⁶);

(p) ‘NAFO (Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation) areas’ means the geographical areas specified in Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 217/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council (⁷);

(q) ‘the NAFO Convention Area’ means the geographical areas defined in the Convention on Cooperation in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries (⁸);

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

(ra) ‘NPFC Convention area’ means the geographical area defined in the Convention on the Conservation and Management of High Seas Fisheries Resources in the North Pacific Ocean (⁹);

(s) ‘SEAFO (South East Atlantic Fisheries Organisation) Convention area’ means the geographical area defined in the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Fishery Resources in the South-East Atlantic Ocean (¹⁰);

(t) ‘SIOFA (Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement) Agreement Area’ means the geographical area defined in the Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement (¹¹);

(u) ‘SPRFMO (South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation) Convention area’ means the geographical area defined in the Convention on the Conservation and Management of High Seas Fishery Resources in the South Pacific Ocean (¹²);

(v) ‘WCPFC (Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission) Convention area’ means the geographical area defined in the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (¹³);

(w) ‘high seas of the Bering Sea’ means 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 seas of the coastal States of the Bering Sea is measured;

(x) ‘overlap area between IATTC and WCPFC Convention areas’ means the geographical area defined by the following limits: longitude 150° W, longitude 130° W, latitude 4° S, latitude 50° S;

(y) ‘GFCM geographical subareas’ means the areas defined in Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 1343/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council (¹⁴).

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 referred to in paragraph 1 shall:

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

(b) result in an exploitation of the stock that is: (i) if an analytical assessment is available, in line with MSY, with as high a probability as possible; or (ii) if an analytical assessment is unavailable or incomplete, consistent with the precautionary approach to fisheries management.

By 15 March 2024, each Member State concerned shall submit the following information to the Commission:

(a) the TACs that it has determined;

(b) the data that it has collected, assessed and used as a basis for the determination of the TACs;

(c) details as to how the determined TACs comply with paragraph 2.

Article 7

Conditions for landing catches and by-catches

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

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

(b) make up a share of a Union quota that has not been allocated among Member States and that has not been exhausted.

Article 8

Quota exchange mechanism for TACs for unavoidable by-catches

Article 9

Fishing effort limits in ICES division 7e

Article 10

Measures on European seabass fisheries in ICES divisions 4b, 4c and 6a and ICES subarea 7

By way of derogation from paragraph 1, in January 2024 and from 1 April to 31 December 2024, Union fishing vessels in ICES divisions 4b, 4c, 7d, 7e, 7f and 7h may fish for, retain on board, tranship, relocate or land European seabass caught in that area with the following gear and within the following limits:

(a) using demersal trawls (¹⁶), for unavoidable by-catches not exceeding 3,8 tonnes per fishing vessel and per year and 5 % of the weight of the total catches of marine organisms on board caught by the fishing vessel concerned per fishing trip;

(b) using seines (¹⁷), for unavoidable by-catches not exceeding 3,8 tonnes per fishing vessel and per year and 5 % of the weight of the total catches of marine organisms on board caught by the fishing vessel concerned per fishing trip;

(c) using hooks and lines (¹⁸), not exceeding 6,2 tonnes per fishing vessel;

(d) using fixed gillnets (¹⁹), for unavoidable by-catches not exceeding 1,6 tonnes per fishing vessel.

The derogations set out in the first subparagraph, point (c), shall apply to Union fishing vessels that have recorded catches of European seabass using hooks and lines over the period from 1 July 2015 to 30 September 2016.

The derogations set out in the first subparagraph, point (d), shall apply to Union fishing vessels that have recorded catches of European seabass using fixed gillnets over the period from 1 July 2015 to 30 September 2016.

In the case of a replacement of a Union fishing vessel, Member States may allow the derogations to apply to another Union fishing vessel provided that the number of Union fishing vessels subject to each of the derogations and their overall fishing capacity do not increase.

In recreational fisheries, including from shore in ICES divisions 4b, 4c, 6a and 7a to 7k:

(a) from 1 February to 31 March 2024: (i) only catch-and-release fishing with a rod or a handline for European seabass shall be allowed; (ii) it shall be prohibited to retain, relocate, tranship or land European seabass caught in that area;

(b) in January and from 1 April to 31 December 2024: (i) not more than two specimens of European seabass may be caught and retained per fisher per day; (ii) the minimum size of European seabass retained shall be 42 cm; (iii) fixed nets shall not be used to catch or retain European seabass.

Article 11

Measures on European seabass fisheries in ICES divisions 8a and 8b

In recreational fisheries, including from shore, in ICES divisions 8a and 8b:

(a) a maximum of one specimen of European seabass may be caught and retained per fisher per day;

(b) fixed nets shall not be used to catch or retain European seabass.

Article 12

Measures on recreational fisheries for pollack in ICES subareas 8, 9, 10 and Union waters of CECAF 34.1.1

In recreational fisheries, including from shores in ICES subareas 8, 9, 10 and Union waters of CECAF 34.1.1:

(a) a maximum of two specimens of pollack (Pollachius pollachius) may be caught and retained per fisher per day. Once that ceiling has been reached, ‘catch and release’ fishing may be carried out;

(b) no specimens of pollack are permitted to be caught and retained from 1 January to 30 April. ‘Catch and release’ fishing may nevertheless be carried out during that period.

Article 12a

Measures on pollack in ICES divisions 8a to 8e, subareas 9 and 10 and Union waters of CECAF division 34.1.1

A minimum conservation reference size of 42 cm shall apply for:

(a) catches of pollack in ICES divisions 8a, 8b, 8d and 8e; and

(b) catches of pollack in ICES division 8c, subareas 9 and 10 and Union waters of CECAF division 34.1.1.

Article 13

Measures on European eel fisheries in Union waters of ICES subareas 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 9

It shall be prohibited to engage in commercial fishing activities for European eel (Anguilla anguilla) at all life stages for a period of at least six months between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025. In addition, Members States and fishers shall undertake all reasonable efforts to minimise and where possible eliminate incidental by-catch of European eel. When accidentally caught, specimens of eel shall not be harmed and shall be promptly released. To that effect, the Member State concerned, either individually or jointly, shall determine one or more closure periods subject to the following:

(a) where appropriate, the closure period or periods may differ between Member States or within one Member State from one fishing area to another in order to take account of the geographical and temporal migration pattern of eel at its different life stages;

(b) the closure period or periods shall last for a consecutive or non-consecutive time span of at least six months, which shall apply to all fishers concerned in the relevant fishing area;

(c) the closure period or periods shall be consistent with the conservation objectives set out in Regulation (EC) No 1100/2007, and with national management plans established pursuant to Article 2 of that Regulation; and

(d) the closure period or periods shall cover the main migration period or periods, including the respective peak, of European eel at the respective life stage in the Member State concerned.

The Member State concerned, either individually or jointly, shall inform the Commission:

(a) by 1 March 2024, about the closure period or periods that it has determined in accordance with paragraphs 3 to 6 together with the supporting information justifying the chosen period or periods;

(b) within 2 weeks after their adoption, of national measures relating to the closure period or periods that it has determined in accordance with paragraph 3 to 6.

Article 14

Special provisions on allocations of fishing opportunities

The allocation of fishing opportunities among Member States set out in this Regulation shall be without prejudice to:

(a) exchanges pursuant to Article 16(8) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013;

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

(c) reallocations pursuant to Articles 12 and 47 of Regulation (EU) 2017/2403;

(d) additional landings allowed under Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 and Article 15(9) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013;

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

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

(g) quota transfers and exchanges pursuant to Articles 23 and 51 of this Regulation.

Article 15

Closed fishing seasons for sandeels

Commercial fishing for sandeels (Ammodytes spp.) with demersal trawl, seine or similar towed gears with a mesh size of less than 16 mm shall be prohibited in ICES divisions 2a and 3a and in ICES subarea 4 from 1 January to 31 March 2024 and from 1 August to 31 December 2024.

Article 16

Remedial measures for cod in the North Sea

By way of derogation from paragraph 2, fishing vessels referred to in that paragraph may fish in the areas referred to in that paragraph provided that they fulfil at least one of the following criteria: