Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/837 of 7 February 2025 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) No 2017/2107, and (EU) 2019/833 and repealing Regulation (EU) 2016/1627 (1), and in particular Article 66, paragraph 1, points (c), (e) and (k), thereof,

Whereas:

(1) The Union is party to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), having approved the accession to 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 are binding upon the Union.

(3) Since the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2023/2053, ICCAT has adopted, at its 2024 annual meeting, recommendation 24-05 (3) in relation to the management of bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and in the Mediterranean. ICCAT recommendation 24-05 includes provisions on the increase of bluefin tuna fleets through the conversion of existing fishing capacity.

(4) Furthermore, recommendation 24-05 establishes a derogation allowing for an increase of small-scale coastal vessels licensed to operate in the Gulf of Lion of the Mediterranean Sea, including an increase of quota allocation to this small-scale fleet.

(5) At its 2024 annual meeting, ICCAT also adopted recommendation 24-06 (4), which extends, until 30 September 2025, the framework for a bluefin tuna farming pilot project in the Cantabrian Sea as established in ICCAT recommendation 23-08 (5). Due to administrative delays, this project could not be implemented in 2024, and the Union therefore sought the endorsement of the ICCAT Commission to extend the project through to 2025.

(6) Moreover, the European Fisheries Control Agency should be designated as the authority to handle inspection reports, in order to improve reporting efficiency. Annex IX of Regulation (EU) 2023/2053 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(7) Those measures should be implemented into Union law. Therefore, Regulation (EU) 2023/2053 should be amended accordingly.

(8) 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) Article 13 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 13 Annual fishing capacity management plans (*1)  For 2025, Council Regulation (EU) 2025/202 of 30 January 2025 fixing for 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 (OJ L, 2025/202, 31.1.2025, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2025/202/oj).’;"

(2) in Article 17, paragraph 4a is replaced by the following: ‘4a.   By way of derogation from paragraph 1, Spain may request in its annual fishing plan for 2025, as referred to in Article 11, that purse seine vessels involved in the pilot project for farming bluefin tuna in the Cantabrian Sea be allowed to fish for bluefin tuna in the Cantabrian Sea (ICES fishing area 27.8.b and 27.8.c) from 26 May 2025 until 30 September 2025.’

(3) Annex I and IX 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, 7 February 2025.

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) No 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, http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/1986/238/oj).

(3) Recommendation 24-05 by ICCAT amending the Recommendation 22-08 establishing a multi-annual management plan for bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean, https://www.iccat.int/Documents/Recs/compendiopdf-e/2024-05-e.pdf.

(4) Recommendation 24-06 by ICCAT amending Recommendation 23-08 for a pilot project for farming bluefin tuna (thunnus thynnus) in the Cantabrian Sea https://www.iccat.int/Documents/Recs/compendiopdf-e/2024-06-e.pdf.

(5) https://www.iccat.int/Documents/Recs/compendiopdf-e/2023-08-e.pdf.