Council Regulation (EC) No 51/2006Show full title

CHAPTER II FISHING OPPORTUNITIES AND ASSOCIATED CONDITIONS FOR COMMUNITY VESSELS

Article 5 Catch limits and allocations

1. The catch limits for Community vessels in Community waters or in certain non-Community waters and the allocation of such catch limits among Member States and additional conditions in accordance with Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 are set out in Annex I.

2. Community vessels are hereby authorised to make catches, within the quota limits set out in Annex I, in waters falling within the fisheries jurisdiction of the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland and Norway, and the fishing zone around Jan Mayen, subject to the conditions set out in Articles 10, 17 and 18.

3. The Commission shall immediately stop fishing activities concerning anchovy in subarea VIII if STECF advises that the spawning stock biomass at spawning time in 2006 is less than 28 000 tonnes.

4. The Commission shall fix the final catch limits for the fisheries on sandeel in ICES Divisions IIa (EC waters), IIIa, and Subarea IV (EC waters) according to the rules laid down in point 6 of Annex IID

5. The Commission shall fix catch limits for capelin in zones V, XIV (Greenland waters) available to the Community at 7,7% of the capelin TAC as soon as the TAC has been established.

6. Catch limits for the stocks of anglerfish in zones IIa (EC waters) and IV (EC waters) and in zones Vb (EC waters), VI, XII, and XIV may be revised by the Commission in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 30(2) of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 following analysis by the STECF of observed catch-per-unit-effort data collected during the first quarter of 2006.

7. Catch limits for the stock of Norway pout in zones IIa (EC waters), IIIa and IV (EC waters) and for the stock of sprat in zones IIa (EC waters) and IV (EC waters) may be revised by the Commission in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 30(2) of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 in the light of scientific information collected during the first half of 2006.

Article 6 Special provisions on allocations

1. The allocation of fishing opportunities among Member States as set out in Annex I shall be without prejudice to:

(a) exchanges made pursuant to Article 20(5) of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002;

(b) reallocations made pursuant to Articles 21(4), 23(1) and 32(2) of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93;

(c) additional landings allowed under Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96;

(d) quantities withheld in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96;

(e) deductions made pursuant to Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96.

2. For the purpose of withholding quotas to be transferred to 2007, Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 shall apply, by way of derogation from that Regulation, to all stocks subject to analytical TAC.

Article 7 Fishing effort limits and associated conditions for the management of stocks

1. From 1 February 2006 to 31 January 2007, the fishing effort limitations and associated conditions laid down in:

• Annex IIA shall apply for the management of certain stocks in the Kattegat, the Skagerrak, Subarea IV, and ICES Divisions IIa (EC waters), IIIa, VIa, VIIa and VIId;

• Annex IIB shall apply for the management of hake in ICES Divisions VIIIc and IXa with the exception of Gulf of Cadiz.;

• Annex IIC shall apply for the management of sole stocks in the ICES Division VIIe;

• Annex IID shall apply for the management of sandeel stocks in the Skagerrak, ICES Subarea IV and Division IIa (EC waters).

2. For the period 1 January 2006 to 31 January 2006 for the stocks mentioned in paragraph 1, the fishing effort and associated conditions laid down in Annexes IVa, IVb, IVc and V to Regulation (EC) No 27/2005 shall continue to apply.

3. Vessels using gear types identified in point 4 of Annex IIA and in point 3 of Annexes IIB and IIC respectively and fishing in areas defined in point 2 of Annex IIA and in point 1 of Annexes IIB and IIC respectively shall hold a special fishing permit issued in accordance with Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 1627/94, as provided for in these Annexes.

4. The Commission shall fix the final fishing effort for 2006 for the fisheries on sandeel in ICES Divisions IIa (EC waters), IIIa, and Subarea IV based on the rules laid down in point 6 of Annex IId.

5. Member States shall ensure that for 2006 the fishing effort levels, measured in kilowatt days absent from port, by vessels holding deep-sea fishing permits do not exceed 80% of the average annual fishing effort deployed by the vessels of the Member State concerned in 2003 on trips when deep-sea fishing permits were held and deep-sea species, as listed in Annex I and in point 15 of Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 2347/2002, were caught. This paragraph shall apply only to fishing trips on which more than 100 kg of deep sea species, other than greater silver smelt, were caught.

Article 8 Conditions for landing catches and by-catches

1. Fish from stocks for which catch limits are fixed shall be retained on board or landed only if:

(a) the catches have been taken by vessels of a Member State having a quota and that quota is not exhausted; or

(b) the catches consist of a part of a Community share which has not been allocated by quota among Member States, and that share has not been exhausted.

2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, the following fish may be retained on board and landed even if a Member State has no quotas or the quotas or shares are exhausted:

(a) species, other than herring and mackerel, where

(i)

they are caught mixed with other species with nets whose mesh size is less than 32 mm in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 850/98, and;

(ii)

the catches are not sorted either on board or on landing;

or

(b) mackerel, where

(i)

they are caught mixed with horse mackerel or pilchard;

(ii)

they do not exceed 10 % of the total weight of mackerel, horse mackerel and pilchard on board and;

(iii)

the catches are not sorted either on board or on landing.

3. Article 2(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1434/98, shall not apply to herring caught in ICES Subarea IV and ICES Divisions IIa (EC waters), IIIa and VIId.

4. All landings shall count against the quota or, if the Community share has not been allocated between Member States by quotas, against the Community share, except for catches made under the provisions of paragraph 2.

5. When catch limits of a Member State for herring in ICES Subareas II (EC waters), IV and Subdivisions IIIa and VIId are exhausted, flying the flag of that Member State, registered in the Community and operating within the fisheries to which the relevant catch limitations apply, shall be prohibited from landing catches which are unsorted and which contain herring.

6. The determination of the percentage of by-catches and their disposal shall be made in accordance with Articles 4 and 11 of Regulation (EC) No 850/98.

Article 9 Unsorted landings in ICES Subarea IV and ICES Divisions IIa (EC waters), IIIa and VIId

1. Member States shall ensure that an adequate sampling programme is in place allowing an efficient monitoring of unsorted landings by species caught in ICES Subarea IV and ICES Divisions IIa (EC waters), IIIa and VIId.

2. Unsorted catches in ICES Subarea IV and ICES Divisions IIa (EC waters), IIIa and VIId shall be landed only at ports and landing locations where a sampling programme as referred to in paragraph 1 is in place.

Article 10 Access limits

No fishing by Community vessels shall take place in the Skagerrak within 12 nautical miles from the baselines of Norway. However, vessels flying the flag of Denmark or Sweden shall be allowed to fish up to four nautical miles from the baselines of Norway

Article 11 Transitional technical and control measures

Transitional technical and control measures for Community vessels shall be as set out in Annex III.