Regulation (EU) 2024/897 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 March 2024 amending Regulation (EU) 2017/2107 laying down management, conservation and control measures applicable in the Convention area of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) and Regulation (EU) 2023/2053 establishing a multiannual management plan for bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 43(2) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (1),

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure (2),

Whereas:

(1) The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) conservation and enforcement recommendations were last implemented into Union law through Regulations (EU) 2017/2107 (3), (EU) 2023/2053 (4) and (EU) 2023/2833 (5) of the European Parliament and of the Council. Since the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2017/2107, ICCAT adopted at its 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022 annual meetings a number of legally binding measures for the conservation of fishery resources under its purview. Those measures concern matters covered, inter alia, by Regulations (EU) 2017/2107 and (EU) 2023/2053.

(2) Regulation (EU) 2017/2107 should therefore be amended in order to implement into Union law ICCAT measures for tropical tunas, Mediterranean albacore, North and South Atlantic albacore, North and South Atlantic swordfish, North and South Atlantic shortfin mako sharks, blue marlin, white marlin, roundscale spearfish, and provisions related to data collection for sailfish, data collection and reporting for billfish, blue marlin, white marlin and roundscale spearfish, by-catch of turtles, the vessel monitoring system, ICCAT regional observers, responsibilities of scientific observers and illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, as well as an updated list of ICCAT species, updated safe handling and release practices for sea turtles, the introduction of minimum standards for safe handling and live release procedures for North and South Atlantic shortfin mako sharks, and guidelines for reducing the ecological impact of fish-aggregating devices (FADs).

(3) Regulation (EU) 2023/2053 should be amended in order to implement into Union law ICCAT measures for bluefin tuna management with provisions related to definitions, quota transfers, retention prohibition, recreational fisheries, vessel lists, lists of traps and farms, ICCAT record of farms, reporting, transfers, transfer authorisations, caging identifiers, caging authorisations, caging operations and their video monitoring, control of caging, harvesting operations, harvesting control activities in the farms after caging, and enforcement, as well as national observer programmes and ICCAT regional observer programme, rules on treatment of dead or lost fish, the procedure for sealing operations of transport cages, and the template for processing declaration and harvesting declaration.

(4) Union legal acts should merely implement the ICCAT recommendations into Union law in order to place Union and third-country fishers on an equal footing and to ensure that the rules can be accepted by all.

(5) The delegated acts provided for in this Regulation are without prejudice to the implementation of future ICCAT recommendations into Union law through the ordinary legislative procedure.

(7) The number, recorded in June 2023, of support vessels should not increase as set out in ICCAT Recommendation 22-01. Such retroactive application does not affect the principle of legal certainty and the protection of legitimate expectations.

(8) Regulations (EU) 2017/2107 and (EU) 2023/2053 should therefore be amended accordingly,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Amendments to Regulation (EU) 2017/2107

Regulation (EU) 2017/2107 is amended as follows:

(2) the following article is inserted: ‘Article 5a Capacity limitation for tropical tuna

(4) in Article 7, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: ‘2.   Large-scale fishing vessels not entered into the ICCAT record of authorised tropical tuna vessels, including support vessels, shall not be allowed to fish, retain on board, tranship, transport, transfer, process or land tropical tunas from the ICCAT Convention area, or to carry out any kind of support to those activities, including deploying and retrieving FADs or buoys. Article 15(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 shall not apply in such cases.

(5) Article 8 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 8 List of vessels fishing tropical tunas in a given year Member States shall, by 30 June of each year, submit to the Commission the list of authorised vessels flying their flag which have fished tropical tunas in the ICCAT Convention area or have offered any kind of support to the fishing activity (support vessels) in the previous calendar year. For purse seiners, that list shall also include the support vessels that have supported the fishing activity, irrespective of their flag. The Commission shall, by 31 July of each year, notify the ICCAT Secretariat of the lists received from the Member States.

Article 8a

Underage or overage of bigeye tuna

(6) in Article 9, paragraph 4 is replaced by the following: ‘4.   Member States shall ensure that no more than 300 FADs per vessel with operational buoys are active at the same time.

(11) Article 16 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 16 Identification of IUU fishing If the ICCAT Executive Secretary notifies the Commission of a possible infringement by Union fishing vessels of Article 7(2) or Article 14(1) or (2), the Commission shall without delay inform the flag Member State concerned. That Member State shall immediately investigate the situation and, if the vessel is fishing in association with objects that could affect fish aggregation, including FADs, during the period of closure, shall request the vessel to stop fishing and, if necessary, to leave the area without delay. The flag Member State concerned shall, without delay, report to the Commission the results of its investigation and the corresponding measures taken. The Commission shall forward that information to the coastal State and to the ICCAT Executive Secretary.’

(12) the title of Title II, Chapter II, is replaced by the following: ‘CHAPTER II ALBACORE Section 1 North and South Atlantic albacore ’;

(13) the following articles are inserted: ‘Article 17a Specific authorisations for large-scale catching vessels targeting North and South Atlantic albacore

Article 17b

Underage or overage of North and South Atlantic albacore

Article 17c

South Atlantic albacore record of catches The flag Member States of the vessels that fish South Atlantic albacore shall report their accurate and validated South Atlantic albacore catch to the ICCAT Secretariat as part of Task I and II data referred to in Article 50. (*1)  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 (OJ L 347, 28.12.2017, p. 81).’;"

(14) in Title II, Chapter II, the following section is inserted: ‘ Section 2 Mediterranean albacore

Article 17d

Recreational fisheries for Mediterranean albacore

(15) the following articles are inserted: ‘Article 18a Specific authorisations for large-scale catching vessels targeting North and South Atlantic swordfish

Article 18b

Underage of North and South Atlantic swordfish

(16) the title of Title II, Chapter IV, is replaced by the following: ‘CHAPTER IV BILLFISH, SAILFISH, BLUE MARLIN, WHITE MARLIN AND ROUNDSCALE SPEARFISH ’;

(17) Articles 27 to 29 are replaced by the following: ‘Article 27 Release of blue marlin, white marlin and roundscale spearfish caught alive

Article 28

Landing of blue marlin, white marlin and roundscale spearfish beyond the fishing opportunities When a Member State has exhausted its quota, that Member State shall ensure that the landings of blue marlins, white marlins and roundscale spearfish that are dead when brought alongside the vessel are not sold or entered into commerce. Such landings shall not count against that Member State’s catch limits as set out on the basis of the Union landing limit laid down in paragraph 2 of ICCAT Recommendation 19-05, provided that such prohibition is clearly explained in the annual report referred to in Article 71 of this Regulation.

Article 29

Recreational fisheries of blue marlin, white marlin and roundscale spearfish

Article 29a

Data collection for sailfish Member States shall collect data on catches of sailfish, including live and dead discards, and report those data annually as part of their Task I and II data submission to support the stock assessment process.

Article 29b

Data collection and reporting for billfish, blue marlin, white marlin and round-scale spearfish

(18) Article 33 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 33 North Atlantic shortfin mako sharks (Isurus oxyrinchus)

Article 33a

South Atlantic shortfin mako sharks (Isurus oxyrinchus)

(19) the following article is inserted: ‘Article 36a Data collection for sharks

(21) the following article is inserted: ‘Article 44a Vessel monitoring system Where fishing vessels have installed tracking devices in accordance with Article 9 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009, Member States shall ensure that the tracking devices of fishing vessels flying their flag are permanently and continuously operational and that the information is collected and transmitted to the competent authorities of the Member State at least once every hour for purse seiners and at least once every 2 hours for all other vessels targeting ICCAT species. In the event of technical failure or non-operation of the tracking device fitted on board a Union fishing vessel, the device shall be repaired or replaced as soon as possible and in any case within 1 month of the event, unless the vessel is no longer operating in the ICCAT Convention area. Union fishing vessels shall not start a fishing trip without the tracking device having been repaired or replaced.’

(26) in Article 66, the following paragraphs are added: ‘4.   Each Member State shall inspect annually at least 5 % of landing and transhipment operations conducted by third-country fishing vessels in its designated ports.

(28) the following article is inserted: ‘Article 69a IUU vessels Member States shall ensure that vessels included on the ICCAT IUU list are not authorised to land, tranship, re-fuel, re-supply or engage in other commercial transactions.’

(29) in Article 71(1), the date ‘20 August’ is replaced by ‘1 August’;

(31) Annex I is replaced by the text set out in Annex I to this Regulation;

(32) Annex VI is replaced by the text set out in Annex II to this Regulation;

(33) the text set out in Annex III to this Regulation is added as Annexes IX and X.

Article 2

Amendments to Regulation (EU) 2023/2053

Regulation (EU) 2023/2053 is amended as follows:

(2) in Article 7, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: ‘1.   The carry-over of non-harvested live bluefin tuna from previous years’ catches within a farm may be permitted only if a reinforced system of control is developed and reported by the Member State to the Commission. That system shall be an integral part of the Member State’s annual monitoring, control and inspection plan referred to in Article 14 and shall include at least the measures established pursuant to Articles 56c, 56d and 61.’

(3) Article 8 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 8 Carry-over of unused quotas

(4) in Article 9, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: ‘1.   Transfers of quotas between the Union and the other CPCs shall only be carried out with the prior authorisation of the Member States and CPCs concerned. The Commission shall notify the ICCAT Secretariat of the quantity of quotas concerned prior to the transfer of quotas.’

(8) in Article 17, paragraphs 4 and 5 are replaced by the following: ‘4.   By way of derogation from paragraphs 1, 2 and 3, if weather conditions prevent fishing operations, Member States may decide that the fishing seasons referred in those paragraphs be expanded by an equivalent number of lost days up to 10 days.

(9) the following article is inserted: ‘Article 21a Prohibition of retention of bluefin tuna on board support vessels Support vessels shall not retain on board or transport bluefin tuna.’

(10) in Article 23, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: ‘1.   Member States may allocate, where appropriate, a specific quota to recreational fisheries. Possible dead bluefin tuna shall be taken into account in such allocation, including in the framework of catch and release fishing. Member States shall inform the Commission of the quota allocated to recreational fisheries when submitting their fishing plans.’

(15) in Article 33, the following paragraph is added: ‘4.   This Article shall apply without prejudice to the right of access to port under international law concerning fishing vessels in distress or in the event of force majeure.’

(17) in Article 35, paragraph 5 is replaced by the following: ‘5.   The masters, or their representatives, of Union fishing vessels engaged in transhipment operations shall complete and transmit to the competent authorities of their flag Member States the ICCAT transhipment declaration no later than 5 working days after the date of transhipment in port. The masters, or their representatives, of the transhipping fishing vessels shall complete the ICCAT transhipment declaration in accordance with the format set out in Annex V. The ICCAT transhipment declaration shall be linked with the eBCD to facilitate cross-checking of data contained therein.’

(18) Article 36 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 36 Catch reports submitted by Member States Each Member State shall submit catch reports to the Commission every 2 weeks. Those reports shall include the data required under Article 32 as regards traps and catching vessels. The information shall be structured by gear type. The Commission shall transmit that information to the ICCAT Secretariat without delay.’

(25) the following article is inserted: ‘Article 43a Voluntary and control transfers

(27) in Chapter V, Section 6, the following article is inserted: ‘Article 45a Amendments to ITDs and eBCDs following inspections at sea or investigations If, following an inspection at sea or an investigation, the difference in the number of bluefin tuna individuals being transferred is found to be greater than 10 % to that declared in the ITD and eBCD, the eBCD shall be amended by the competent authority of the Member State of the donor operator to reflect the result of that inspection or investigation.’

(30) Article 47 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 47 Bluefin tuna catch documentation It shall be prohibited for farm Member States to authorise the cage of bluefin tuna that are not accompanied by the documents required by ICCAT in the framework of the catch documentation programme of Regulation (EU) 2023/2833(2). The documentation shall be accurate and complete, and shall be validated by the flag Member State or CPC of the catching vessels or the catching trap Member State or CPC. (2)  Regulation (EU) 2023/2833 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2023 establishing a catch documentation programme for bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) and repealing Regulation (EU) No 640/2010 (OJ L, 2023/2833, 20.12.2023, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/2833/oj).’;"

(31) Article 48 is deleted;

(33) Articles 53 to 55 are deleted;

(36) in Article 59, the title is replaced by the following: ‘ Inspections in the event of suspected infringements ’;