Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/856 of 5 May 2025 amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/2910 on the implementation of the Union’s international obligations, as referred to in Article 15(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council, under the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

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

Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on the Common Fisheries Policy, amending Council Regulations (EC) No 1954/2003 and (EC) No 1224/2009 and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 2371/2002 and (EC) No 639/2004 and Council Decision 2004/585/EC (1), and in particular Article 15(2) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 provides for the landing of all catches of species which are subject to catch limits (‘the landing obligation’). Article 15 of that Regulation covers fishing activities in Union waters or by Union fishing vessels outside Union waters not falling under third countries’ sovereignty or jurisdiction.

(2) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/2910 (2) implements the Union’s international obligations in the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) Agreement area of application in accordance with Article 15(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 by providing a series of derogations to the obligation to land fish, in compliance with Recommendations adopted during the annual meetings of the GFCM.

(3) At the 47th General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean annual meeting held from 4 to 8 November 2024, the GFCM Contracting Parties adopted Recommendation GFCM/47/2024/8. Paragraph 2 of that Recommendation prohibits the retaining on board, transhipping, transferring, landing, storing, selling and displaying of turbot in the Black Sea of a size less than 45 cm, measured from the tip of the snout to the end of the tail fin.

(4) In order to ensure consistency between that Recommendation and Union law, the landing obligation in Article 15(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 should not apply to Union vessels participating in the fisheries covered by that recommendation.

(5) Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/2910 should therefore be amended to take account of the decision taken in GFCM.

(6) Since this prohibition currently applies in the GFCM Agreement area of application, in order to ensure legal continuity this Regulation should enter into force on the day following that of its publication,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/2910 is amended as follows:

(2) the following Article 4a is inserted between Article 4 and Article 5: ‘Article 4a Turbot

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply until 31 December 2026.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 5 May 2025.

For the Commission The President Ursula VON DER LEYEN

(1) OJ L 354, 28.12.2013, p. 22, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2013/1380/oj.

(2) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/2910 of 28 May 2024 on the implementation of the Union’s international obligations, as referred to in Article 15(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council, under the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (OJ L, 2024/2910, 26.11.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_del/2024/2910/oj).