Council Regulation (EC) No 40/2008Show 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 11, 20 and 21.

3. The Commission shall fix the catch limits for the fisheries on sandeel in ICES zones IIIa and IV and EC waters of ICES zone IIa according to the rules laid down in point 6 of Annex IID.

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

5. Catch limits for the stock of Norway pout in ICES zone IIIa and in EC waters of ICES zones IIa and IV and for the stock of sprat in EC waters of ICES zones IIa and IV 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 2008.

6. The Commission may fix the catch limits for the stock of anchovy in ICES zone VIII 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 2008.

7. As a consequence of a revision of the stock of Norway pout in accordance with paragraph 5, the catch limits for the stocks of whiting in ICES zone IIIa and ICES zone IV and EC waters of ICES zone IIa and for the stocks of haddock in ICES zone IIIa and EC waters of ICES zones IIIb, IIIc and IIId and in ICES zone IV and EC waters of ICES zone IIa may be revised by the Commission in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 30(2) of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 to take into account industrial by-catches in the Norway pout fishery.

Article 6 Prohibited species

It shall be prohibited for Community vessels to fish for, to retain on board, to tranship and to land the following species in all Community and non-Community waters:

• Basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus)

• White shark (Carcharodon carcharias).

Article 7 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 2009, 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 8 Fishing effort limits and associated conditions for the management of stocks

1. From 1 February 2008 to 31 January 2009, the fishing effort limitations and associated conditions laid down in:

(a) Annex IIA shall apply for the management of certain stocks in the Kattegat, the Skagerrak and ICES zones IV, VIa, VIIa, VIId and EC waters of ICES zone IIa;

(b) Annex IIB shall apply for the management of hake and Norway lobster in ICES zones VIIIc and IXa with the exception of the Gulf of Cadiz;

(c) Annex IIC shall apply for the management of the sole stock in ICES zone VIIe;

(d) Annex IID shall apply for the management of sandeel stocks in ICES zones IIIa and IV and EC waters of ICES zone IIa.

2. For the period from 1 January 2008 to 31 January 2008 for the stocks mentioned in paragraph 1, the fishing effort and associated conditions laid down in Annexes IIA, IIB, IIC and IID to Regulation (EC) No 41/2007 shall continue to apply.

3. The Commission shall fix the fishing effort for 2008 for the fisheries on sandeel in ICES zones IIIa and IV and in EC waters of ICES zone IIa based on the rules laid down in points 4 and 5 of Annex IID.

4. Member States shall ensure that for 2008 the fishing effort levels, measured in kilowatt days absent from port, by vessels holding deep-sea fishing permits do not exceed 75 % 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/or deep-sea species, as listed in Annexes I and II 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 9 Conditions for landing catches and by-catches

1. Fish from stocks for which catch limits are established 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. 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.

4. 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 10 Unsorted landings in ICES zones IIIa, IV and VIId and EC waters of ICES zone IIa

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

2. When catch limits of a Member State for herring in ICES zones IIIa, IV and VIId and EC waters of ICES zone IIa are exhausted, vessels 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.

3. Member States shall ensure that an adequate sampling programme is in place allowing an efficient monitoring of unsorted landings by species caught in ICES zones IIIa, IV and VIId and EC waters of ICES zone IIa.

4. Unsorted catches in ICES zones IIIa, IV and VIId and EC waters of ICES zone IIa shall be landed only at ports and landing locations where a sampling programme as referred to in paragraph 1 is in place.

Article 11 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 12 Determination of mesh size and twine thickness

Mesh size and twine thickness referred to in this Regulation shall be determined in accordance with Commission Regulation (EC) No 129/2003 of 24 January 2003 laying down detailed rules for determining the mesh seize and thickness of twine of fishing nets(1), when Community fishing vessels are inspected by Community inspectors, Commission inspectors and national inspectors.

Article 13 Transitional technical and control measures

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

(1)

OJ L 22, 25.1.2003, p. 5.