Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1060 of 26 January 2024 amending Regulation (EU) 2019/1241 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards technical measures for Atlantic halibut in the Skagerrak and Kattegat

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

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

Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2019/1241 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on the conservation of fisheries resources and the protection of marine ecosystems through technical measures, amending Council Regulations (EC) No 1967/2006, (EC) No 1224/2009 and Regulations (EU) No 1380/2013, (EU) No 2016/1139, (EU) 2018/973, (EU) 2019/472 and (EU) 2019/1022 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 894/97, (EC) No 850/98, (EC) No 2549/2000, (EC) No 254/2002, (EC) No 812/2004 and (EC) No 2187/2005 [^ntr1-L_202401060EN.000101-E0001], and in particular Article 15(2) thereof,

Whereas:

• (1) Regulation (EU) 2019/1241 (the ‘Technical Measures Regulation’) on the conservation measures of fisheries resources and the protection of marine ecosystems through technical measures entered into force on 14 August 2019. Annex V sets out regional technical measures for the North Sea.

• (2) Belgium, Denmark, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Sweden (‘Scheveningen Group’) have a direct fisheries management interest in the region of the North Sea. In accordance with Article 15(3) of the Technical Measures Regulation, on 27 June 2023 the Member States concerned submitted to the Commission a joint recommendation for a delegated act. Previously, on 23 June 2023 the Member States concerned sent the joint recommendation for consultation by the North Sea Advisory Council (NSAC).

• (3) In the Agreed Record of Conclusions of Fisheries Consultations between Norway and the European Union on the Regulation of Fisheries in Skagerrak and Kattegat for 2023 [^ntr2-L_202401060EN.000101-E0002], the Union noted the need for the Parties to seek harmonisation of technical measures for Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus), recalling Sweden’s decision in 2010 to prohibit Swedish vessels from retaining on board, landing and marketing Atlantic halibut in the Skagerrak and Kattegat during the species spawning season. It was therefore agreed in that Record to consider the introduction of a Union-level seasonal closure for Atlantic halibut.

• (4) The joint recommendation submitted by the Scheveningen Group proposed changes to Annex V of Regulation (EU) 2019/1241, by introducing a closed fishing season from 20 December to 31 March during the spawning season of Atlantic halibut in the Skagerrak and Kattegat (ICES division 3a).

• (5) The technical measure proposed in the joint recommendation was evaluated by the Commission in accordance with Article 15 of the Technical Measures Regulation. The Member States concerned provided evidence to demonstrate that the proposal complies with Article 15(4) of the Technical Measures Regulation.

• (6) The Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) analysed and positively assessed the evidence presented by the Member States concerned. The STECF concluded [^ntr3-L_202401060EN.000101-E0003] that the proposed closed fishing season for Atlantic halibut in the Skagerrak and in the Swedish Exclusive Economic Zone of the Kattegat from 20 December to 31 March is spatially and temporally coherent with the location of putative spawning areas and covers the assumed peak of the species spawning period in the ICES division 3a. STECF also concluded that there is an urgent need to rebuild the stock by reducing the fishing mortality through management measures and that the proposed EU-level seasonal closure is coherent with measures currently in place in Norway and Sweden.

• (7) The Expert Group for Fisheries and Aquaculture was consulted during a meeting that took place on 15 November 2023.

• (8) In view of the depleted and highly vulnerable nature of the stock of Atlantic halibut, the urgent need to address the conservation objectives of the Technical Measures Regulation, as well as the measure’s direct impact on the economic activities linked to the fisheries and planning of the fishing season for Union vessels, this Regulation should enter into force on the day following that of its publication.

• (9) The measures in this Regulation applicable to Union waters are in pursuit of the objectives set out in Article 494(1) and (2) of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) [^ntr4-L_202401060EN.000101-E0004] and have regard to the principles referred to in Article 494(3) of that agreement. They are without prejudice to any measures applicable in waters of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EU) 2019/1241 is amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the 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, 26 January 2024.

For the Commission

The President

Ursula VON DER LEYEN

[^ntr1-L_202401060EN.000101-E0001]: OJ L 198, 25.7.2019, p. 105, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2019/1241/oj.

[^ntr3-L_202401060EN.000101-E0003]: Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) – 73rd Plenary Report (STECF-PLEN-23-02). Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2023. https://stecf.jrc.ec.europa.eu/documents/43805/67497497/STECF+PLEN+23-02.pdf/94846c76-e677-408e-b23c-ec0d572a9bca.

[^ntr4-L_202401060EN.000101-E0004]: Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the other part (OJ L 149, 30.4.2021, p. 10, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/agree_internation/2021/689(1)/oj).

ANNEX

In Annex V to Regulation (EU) 2019/1241, in Part C, the following point is added:

• ‘5.4. It shall be prohibited to conduct any commercial and recreational fishing for, retaining on board, transhipping or landing of Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) in the Skagerrak (ICES division 3aN) and in the Swedish exclusive economic zone in the Kattegat (ICES division 3aS) from 20 December to 31 March each year. When accidentally caught during this period, specimens shall not be harmed and shall be promptly released.’

ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_del/2024/1060/oj

ISSN 1977-0677 (electronic edition)