Council Regulation (EC) No 52/2006 (repealed)Show full title

ANNEX III TRANSITIONAL TECHNICAL AND CONTROL MEASURES

1. Restrictions on fishing

1.1. All fishing activity within the areas enclosed by sequentially joining with rhumb lines the following positions, which shall be measured according to the WGS84 coordinate system, is prohibited from 1 May to 31 October.

Area 1:

• 55^o45'N, 15^o30'E

• 55^o45'N, 16^o30'E

• 55^o00'N, 16^o30'E

• 55^o00'N, 16^o00'E

• 55^o15'N, 16^o00'E

• 55^o15'N, 15^o30'E

• 55^o45'N, 15^o30'E

Area 2:

• 55^o00'N, 19^o14'E

• 54^o48'N, 19^o20'E

• 54^o45'N, 19^o19'E

• 54^o45'N, 18^o55'E

• 55^o00'N, 19^o14'E

Area 3:

• 56^o13'N, 18^o27'E

• 56^o13'N, 19^o31'E

• 55^o59'N, 19^o13'E

• 56^o03'N, 19^o06'E

• 56^o00'N, 18^o51'E

• 55^o47'N, 18^o57'E

• 55^o30'N, 18^o34'E

• 56^o13'N, 18^o27'E

1.2. By way of derogation from point 1.1, fishing with gillnets, entangling nets and trammel nets with mesh size equal to or greater than 157 mm or with lines shall be permitted. When fishing with lines, no cod shall be retained on board.

2. Monitoring, inspection and surveillance in connection with the recovery of cod stocks in the Baltic Sea

2.1. Special permit for fishing for cod in the Baltic Sea

2.1.1. By way of derogation from Article 1(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1627/94 of 27 June 1994 laying down general provisions concerning special fishing permits(1), all Community vessels of an overall length equal to or greater than 8 m carrying on board or using any gear authorised for cod fishing in the Baltic Sea and Sound in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 2187/2005 shall hold a special permit for fishing for cod in the Baltic Sea.

2.1.2. A Member State may issue the special permit for fishing for cod referred to in point 2.1.1 only to Community vessels holding in 2005 a special permit for fishing for cod in the Baltic Sea in accordance with point 6.2.1 of Annex III to Council Regulation (EC) No 27/2005 of 22 December 2004 fixing for 2005 the fishing opportunities and associated conditions for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks, applicable in Community waters and, for Community vessels, in waters where catch limitations are required(2). However, a Member State may issue a special permit for fishing for cod to a Community vessel, flying the flag of that Member State, not holding a special fishing permit in 2005 if it ensures that equivalent capacity, measured in kilowatts (kW), is prevented from fishing in the Baltic Sea with any gear referred to in point 2.1.1.

2.1.3. Each Member State shall establish and maintain a list of vessels holding a special permit for fishing for cod in the Baltic Sea and make it available on its official website to the Commission and other Member States bordering the Baltic Sea.

2.1.4. The master of a Community vessel, or his/her authorised representative, to which a Member State has issued a special permit for fishing for cod in the Baltic Sea shall keep a copy of this permit on board the fishing vessel.

2.2. Logbooks

By way of derogation from Article 6(4) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 of 12 October 1993 establishing a control system applicable to the common fisheries policy(3), the masters of Community vessels of an overall length equal to or greater than 8 m shall keep a logbook of their operations in accordance with Article 6 of that Regulation.

2.3. Margin of tolerance

By way of derogation from Article 5(2) of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2807/83 of 22 September 1983 laying down detailed rules for recording information on Member States' catches of fish(4), the permitted margin of tolerance in estimating quantities, in kilograms, of fish that are retained on board Community vessels shall be 8 % of the logbook figure.

However, for catches which are landed unsorted the permitted margin of tolerance in estimating quantities shall be 8 % of the total quantity landed.

2.4. Prior notification

2.4.1. Fishing vessels fishing in Community waters of Subdivision 22-24 (Area A) or in Subdivision 25-32 (Area B) must comply with the following conditions:

(a)

commence fishing in either Area A or B with less than 100 kg of cod on board;

(b)

if the vessel has more than 300 kg of cod on board when leaving either Area A or B and by way of derogation from Article 7(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93, the master of the vessel shall notify the competent authorities of the flag State one hour before leaving the Area of:

(i)

the time and position of exit,

(ii)

the quantities of species in live weight for all catch retained on board,

(iii)

the name of the landing location and the estimated time of arrival at that location;

(c)

when the fishing is finished and the vessel has more than 100 kg of cod on board it shall:

(i)

go directly to port within the Area it has been fishing and land the fish, or

(ii)

go directly to port outside the Area where it has been fishing and land the fish. When leaving the Area where it has been fishing the nets shall be stowed so that they may not readily be used in accordance with the following conditions:

• nets, weights and similar gear shall be disconnected from their trawl boards and towing and hauling wires and ropes,

• nets which are on or above deck shall be securely lashed to some part of the superstructure;

(d)

Vessels referred to in (b) shall not commence discharging until authorised by the competent authorities.

2.4.2. Point 2.4.1 shall not apply to vessels equipped with vessel monitoring systems in accordance with Articles 5 and 6 of Regulation (EC) No 2244/2003. However, such vessels shall transmit their catch report on a daily basis to the Fisheries Monitoring Centre of the flag Member State, provided for by Article 3(7) of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93, for inclusion in its computerised database.

2.5. Designated ports

2.5.1. When a vessel retains more than 750 kg live weight of cod, that cod may be landed exclusively at designated ports.

2.5.2. Each Member State may designate ports at which any Baltic cod in excess of 750 kg is landed.

2.5.3. Within 15 days of the date of entry into force of this Regulation, each Member State that has established a list of designated ports shall maintain and make available on its official website to the Commission and other Member States bordering the Baltic Sea a list of designated ports. The list shall include the relevant contact details for the submission of logbooks and landing declarations when landing in that Member State.

2.6. Weighing of cod first landed

2.6.1. The competent authorities of a Member State may require that any quantity of cod caught in the Baltic Sea and first landed in that Member State be weighed in the presence of controllers before it is transported elsewhere from the port of first landing.

2.6.2. Each Member State shall set specific inspection benchmarks. Such benchmarks shall be revised periodically after analysis of the results achieved. Inspection benchmarks shall evolve progressively until the target benchmarks defined in Appendix 1 are reached.

2.7. VMS messages

2.7.1. Member States shall ensure that the following data received pursuant to Articles 8, 10(1) and 11(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2244/2003 are recorded in a computer–readable form:

(a)

each entry into, and exit from, port;

(b)

each entry into, and exit from, maritime areas where specific rules on access to waters and resources apply.

2.7.2. Member States shall verify the submission of logbooks and relevant information recorded in the logbook by using VMS data. Such cross-checks shall be recorded and made available to the Commission on request.

2.8. Prohibition on transit and transhipment

2.8.1. Transit within the areas closed for cod fishing is prohibited unless the fishing gear on board is securely lashed and stowed in accordance with the conditions set out in Article 20(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93.

2.8.2. Trans–shipment of cod is prohibited.

2.9. Transport of Baltic cod

By way of derogation from Article 13(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93, Baltic cod of more than 50 kg landed for transport by Community vessels having an overall length equal to or more than 8 m shall be accompanied by a landing declaration as provided for in Article 8(1) of that Regulation.

2.10. Joint surveillance and exchange of inspectors

2.10.1. Member States shall undertake joint inspection and surveillance activities and shall establish joint operational procedures to that effect.

2.10.2. Member States engaged in joint inspection and surveillance activities shall ensure that inspectors from each of the participating Member States are invited to partake at least in these activities.

2.10.3. Commission inspectors may participate in these joint inspection and surveillance activities.

2.10.4. A meeting of the competent national inspection authorities shall be convened by the Commission before 31 January 2006 to coordinate the joint inspection and surveillance programme for 2006.

2.11. National control action programmes

2.11.1. Member States concerned shall define a national control action programme for the Baltic Sea in accordance with Appendix 2.

2.11.2. Before 31 January 2006, Member States concerned shall make available to the Commission and other Member States bordering the Baltic Sea on its official website the national control action programme referred to in point 2.11.1, together with an implementation schedule.

2.11.3. The Commission shall convene a meeting of the Committee for Fisheries and Aquaculture to evaluate the compliance with and results of the national control action programmes for cod stocks in the Baltic Sea.

3. Restrictions on fishing for flounder and turbot

3.1. The retention on board of the following species of fish which are caught within the geographical areas and during the periods mentioned below shall be prohibited:

Species	Geographical area	Period
Flounder (Platichthys flesus)	Subdivisions 26 to 28, 29 south of 59o30'N Subdivision 32	15 February to 15 May 15 February to 31 May
Turbot (Psetta maxima)	Subdivisions 25 to 26, 28 south of 58o50'N	1 June to 31 July

3.2. By way of derogation from point 3.1, when fishing with trawls, Danish seines and similar gears with a mesh size equal to or greater then 105 mm or with gillnets, entangling nets or trammel nets with a mesh size equal to or greater than 100 mm, by-catches of flounder and turbot may be retained on board and landed within a limit of 10 % by live weight of the total catch retained on board and landed during the periods of prohibition referred to in that point.

Appendix 1 to Annex III Common rules for national control programmes

Objective

1. Each Member State shall set specific inspection benchmarks in accordance with the aims set out in this Appendix.

Strategy

2. Inspection and surveillance of fishing activities shall concentrate on vessels likely to catch cod. Random inspections of transport and marketing of cod shall be used as a complementary cross-checking mechanism to test the effectiveness of inspection and surveillance.

Priorities

3. Different gear types shall be subject to different levels of inspection, depending on the extent to which the fleets are affected by fishing opportunity limits. For that reason, each Member State shall set specific priorities.

Target benchmarks

4. Not later than one month from the date of entry into force of this Regulation, Member States shall implement their inspection schedules with the aim of attaining the targets set out below:

(a)

Level of inspection in ports

As a general rule, inspections shall aim to cover 20 % by weight of cod landings covering all places of landing.

Alternatively:

(i)

inspections shall be undertaken at such frequency with the aim that during a three-month period a number of Community vessels that account for 20 % or more by weight of cod landings are inspected at least once;

(ii)

this may be based on a simple random sampling or by using an appropriate sampling plan which would achieve at least the same level of accuracy.

(b)

Level of inspection of marketing

Inspection of 5 % of the quantities of cod offered for sale at auction.

(c)

Level of inspection at sea

Flexible benchmark: to be set after a detailed analysis of the fishing activity in each area. Benchmarks at sea shall refer the number of patrol days at sea in the cod management areas, with possibly a separate benchmark for days patrolling specific areas.

(d)

Level of aerial surveillance

Flexible benchmark: to be set after a detailed analysis of the fishing activity conducted in each area and taking the available resources at the Member State's disposal into consideration.

Appendix 2 to Annex III Contents of national control action programmes

National control action programmes shall aim, inter alia, to specify the following.

1. MEANS OF CONTROL

Human resources

1.1. The numbers of shore-based and seagoing inspectors and the periods when, and zones where, they are to be deployed.

Technical resources

1.2. The numbers of patrol vessels and aircraft and the periods when, and zones where, they are to be deployed.

Financial resources

1.3. The budgetary allocation for deployment of human resources, patrol vessels and aircraft.

2. DESIGNATION OF PORTS

Where relevant, a list of ports designated for cod landings in accordance with point 2.5.3 of Annex III.

3. PRIOR NOTIFICATION

Description of the systems implemented to ensure compliance with the provisions in point 2.4 of Annex III.

4. LANDINGS CONTROL

Description of any facilities and or systems implemented to ensure compliance with the provisions in points 2.3, 2.5 and 2.6 of Annex III.

5. INSPECTION PROCEDURES

The national control action programmes shall specify the procedures that will be followed:

(a)

when conducting inspections at sea and on land;

(b)

for communicating with the competent authorities designated by other Member States as responsible for the national control action programme for cod;

(c)

for joint surveillance and exchange of inspectors, including specification of powers and authority of inspectors operating in other Member States' waters.

(1)

OJ L 171, 6.7.1994, p. 7.

(2)

OJ L 12, 14.1.2005, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1936/2005 (OJ L 311, 26.11.2005, p. 1).

(3)

OJ L 261, 20.10.1993, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 768/2005 (OJ L 128, 21.5.2005, p. 1).

(4)

OJ L 276, 10.10.1983, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1804/2005 (OJ L 290, 4.11.2005, p. 10).