Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2017/10Show full title

Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2017/10

of 5 January 2017

amending Implementing Decision 2013/328/EU and Implementing Decision 2012/807/EU establishing specific control and inspection programmes for certain demersal and pelagic fisheries in the Union waters of the North Sea and in the Union waters of ICES Division IIa

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

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

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 of 20 November 2009 establishing a Community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy, amending Regulations (EC) No 847/96, (EC) No 2371/2002, (EC) No 811/2004, (EC) No 768/2005, (EC) No 2115/2005, (EC) No 2166/2005, (EC) No 388/2006, (EC) No 509/2007, (EC) No 676/2007, (EC) No 1098/2007, (EC) No 1300/2008, (EC) No 1342/2008 and repealing Regulations (EEC) No 2847/93, (EC) No 1627/94 and (EC) No 1966/2006,(1) and in particular Article 95 thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Commission Implementing Decision 2013/328/EU(2) establishes a specific control and inspection programme for fisheries exploiting cod, plaice and sole in the Kattegat, the North Sea, the Skagerrak, the eastern Channel, the waters west of Scotland and the Irish Sea.

(2) Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council(3) establishes a landing obligation for pelagic and demersal fisheries in order to reduce the current high levels of unwanted catches and to gradually eliminate discards. Details for the implementation of the landing obligation are laid down in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1395/2014(4) and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2440(5). Compliance with the landing obligation should be controlled and inspected.

(3) In addition to the fisheries of sole, plaice and cod in the North Sea covered by Implementing Decision 2013/328/EU, which should continue to be covered by a specific control and inspection programme, the fisheries defined in the annex to the discard plans referred to in Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1395/2014 and Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2440 should also be included in the specific control and inspection programme in order to enable Member States concerned to undertake efficiently and effectively joint inspection and surveillance activities.

(4) On the basis of the results of the Member States' risk assessment carried out in respect of each of the fisheries covered by the discard plans, the overall inspection benchmarks laid down by the present specific control and inspection programme have to be implemented by the Member States.

(5) In order to take into account the regional specificities and the need to harmonise and increase the effectiveness of the control and inspection procedures, the present specific control and inspection programme covers the Union Waters of the North Sea as defined in Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 (ICES zone IIIa, i.e. including the Kattegat and the Skagerrak and ICES zone IV), as well as Union waters of ICES Division IIa.

(6) The present specific control and inspection programme covers certain demersal species and fisheries in the Union waters of the North Sea and in Union waters of ICES Division IIa, and certain pelagic fisheries in the Union waters of the North Sea (ICES Area IIIa and IV) and in Union waters of ICES Division IIa. Commission Implementing Decision 2012/807/EU(6), as amended by Implementing Decision 2015/1944/EU(7), establishes a specific control and inspection programme for pelagic fisheries in the western waters of the north-east Atlantic and in the northern North Sea (ICES Area IVa). It is therefore appropriate to align the scope of Implementing Decision 2012/807/EU with the present Decision.

(7) Council Regulation (EC) No 850/98(8) and in particular Title IIIa thereof establishes measures to reduce discarding. The specific control and inspection programme should ensure compliance with the prohibition of highgrading, the moving-on provisions and the prohibition on slipping.

(8) The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee for Fisheries and Aquaculture,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

(1)

OJ L 343, 22.12.2009, p. 1.

(2)

Commission Implementing Decision 2013/328/EU of 25 June 2013 establishing a specific control and inspection programme for fisheries exploiting cod, plaice and sole in the Kattegat, the North Sea, the Skagerrak, the eastern Channel, the waters west of Scotland and the Irish Sea (OJ L 175, 27.6.2013, p. 61).

(3)

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 (OJ L 354, 28.12.2013, p. 22).

(4)

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1395/2014 of 20 October 2014 establishing a discard plan for certain small pelagic fisheries and fisheries for industrial purposes in the North Sea (OJ L 370, 30.12.2014, p. 35).

(5)

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2440 of 22 October 2015 establishing a discard plan for certain demersal fisheries in the North Sea and in Union waters of ICES Division IIa (OJ L 336, 23.12.2015, p. 42).

(6)

Commission Implementing Decision 2012/807/EU of 19 December 2012 establishing a specific control and inspection programme for pelagic fisheries in Western waters of the North East Atlantic (OJ L 350, 20.12.2012, p. 99).

(7)

Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/1944 of 28 October 2015 amending Implementing Decision 2012/807/EU establishing a specific control and inspection programme for pelagic fisheries in Western Waters of the North East Atlantic (OJ L 283, 29.10.2015, p. 13).

(8)

Council Regulation (EC) No 850/98 of 30 March 1998 for the conservation of fishery resources through technical measures for the protection of juveniles of marine organisms (OJ L 125, 27.4.1998, p. 1).