Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/2925 of 19 June 2024 amending Regulation (EU) 2023/2053 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the management of bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and in the Mediterranean

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

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

Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2023/2053 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 September 2023 establishing a multiannual management plan for bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean, amending Regulations (EC) No 1936/2001, (EU) 2017/2107, and (EU) 2019/833 and repealing Regulation (EU) 2016/1627 (1), and in particular Article 66, paragraph 1, points (e) and (k), thereof,

Whereas:

(1) The Union is party to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), having approved the ICCAT Convention pursuant to Council Decision 86/238/EEC (2).

(2) ICCAT adopts measures to ensure the long-term conservation and sustainable use of the fishery resources in the ICCAT Convention area and to safeguard the marine ecosystems in which these resources occur. Such measures may become binding upon the Union.

(3) Since the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2023/2053, ICCAT has adopted at its 2023 annual meeting ICCAT recommendation 23-06 (3) in relation to the management of bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and in the Mediterranean. ICCAT recommendation 23-06 includes provisions on a revision of the limits on bluefin tuna farming capacity, an addition to the release protocol and an update to the reporting template for the treatment of dead and/or lost fish and an update on the procedure for the provision of ICCAT seals to ICCAT regional observers. Those measures should be implemented into Union law.

(4) Moreover, a number of updates and amendments need to be made to Regulation (EU) 2023/2053, namely updating the entirety of the release protocol in Annex XII and amending the indicated vessel length in Annex XV.

(5) As the provisions provided for in this Regulation have a direct impact on the planning of the fishing season of Union vessels and on related economic activities, this Regulation should enter into force as soon as possible,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

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

(1) in Article 15, paragraph 3 is deleted;

(2) Annexes XII, XIII, XV and XVa are 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, 19 June 2024.

For the Commission The President Ursula VON DER LEYEN

(1) Regulation (EU) 2023/2053 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 September 2023 establishing a multiannual management plan for bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean, amending Regulations (EC) No 1936/2001, (EU) 2017/2107, and (EU) 2019/833 and repealing Regulation (EU) 2016/1627 (OJ L 238, 27.9.2023, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/2053/oj).

(2) Council Decision 86/238/EEC of 9 June 1986 on the accession of the Community to the International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, as amended by the Protocol annexed to the Final Act of the Conference of Plenipotentiaries of the States Parties to the Convention signed in Paris on 10 July 1984 (OJ L 162, 18.6.1986, p. 33, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/1986/238/oj).

(3) Recommendation by ICCAT amending the recommendation 22-08 establishing a multi-annual management plan for bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean.