LegalizeCommission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/3094 of 27 November 2024 laying down detailed rules on certain selective devices to reduce incidental catches of cod in the Baltic Sea provided for in Annex VIII to Regulation (EU) 2019/1241 of the European Parliament and of the Council
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 (1), and in particular Article 24(1)(a) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Annex VIII to Regulation (EU) 2019/1241, Part B, point 1.3.1.1 provides for certain selectivity devices attached to the fishing gear, to reduce incidental catches of Baltic cod when fishing for flatfish in ICES subdivisions 22-26.
(2) Technical specifications of those devices should be established.
(3) Those technical specifications should in particular concern the use of a roofless selection device, a modified T90 codend (with a mesh size of at least 125 mm and a reinforcement of the selvedges with lastridge ropes) and a square mesh codend (consisting of two panels and a minimum mesh size of at least 125 mm).
(4) The Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) concluded (2) that those technical specifications are detailed and sufficient for implementation purposes.
(5) The STECF also evaluated a number of additional specifications suggested by the Member States during the meeting of the Committee for Fisheries and Aquaculture in September 2022. They concern a new version of the technical description of the gears. The STECF concluded (3) that the proposed specifications are clearer and simpler and do not reduce the functionality and selectivity of the devices.
(6) Sufficient time should be given to vessels owners to equip their vessels with the new selectivity devices.
(7) 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 technical specifications of the selectivity devices referred to in Part B, point 1.3.1.1, of Annex VIII to Regulation (EU) 2019/1241 shall be as provided for in the Annex to this Regulation.
Article 2
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
It shall apply from 9 April 2025.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 27 November 2024.
For the Commission The President Ursula VON DER LEYEN
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