Council Regulation (EC) No 43/2009Show full title

CHAPTER X SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR COMMUNITY VESSELS FISHING IN THE SEAFO AREA

SECTION 1 Authorisation of vessels

Article 55 Authorisation of vessels

1. Member States shall submit electronically, where possible, to the Commission by 1 June 2009, the list of their vessels that are authorised to operate in the SEAFO Convention Area by issue of a fishing authorisation.

2. Owners of the vessels included in the list referred to in paragraph 1 shall be citizens or legal entities of the Community.

3. Fishing vessels may be authorised to operate in the SEAFO Convention Area only if they are able to fulfil in respect of those vessels the requirements and responsibilities under the SEAFO Convention and its conservation and management measures.

4. No fishing authorisation shall be issued to vessels that have a history of IUU fishing activities unless the new owners have provided sufficient evidence demonstrating that the previous owners and operators have no legal, beneficial or financial interest in, or control over those vessels, or that, having taken into account all relevant facts, their vessels are not engaged in or associated with IUU fishing.

5. The list referred to in paragraph 1 shall include the following information:

(a) the name of vessel, registration number, previous names (if known), and port of registry;

(b) the previous flag (if any);

(c) the International Radio Call Sign (if any);

(d) the name and address of owner or owners;

(e) the type of vessel;

(f) the length;

(g) the name and address of operator (manager) or operators (managers) (if any);

(h) the gross register tonnage; and

(i) the power of main engine or engines.

6. Member States shall promptly notify the Commission, after the establishment of the initial list of authorised vessels, of any addition to, deletion from and/or any modification whenever such changes occur.

Article 56 Obligations for authorised vessels

1. Vessels shall comply with all the relevant SEAFO conservation and management measures.

2. Authorised vessels shall keep on board valid certificates of vessel registration and valid authorisation to fish and/or tranship.

Article 57 Unauthorised vessels

1. Member States shall take measures to prohibit the fishing for, the retaining on board, the transhipment and landing of species covered by the SEAFO Convention by the vessels which are not entered into the SEAFO record of authorised vessels.

2. Member States shall notify the Commission of any factual information showing that there are reasonable grounds for suspecting vessels not on the SEAFO record of authorised vessels to be engaged in fishing for and/or transhipment of species covered by the SEAFO Convention in the SEAFO Convention Area.

3. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the owners of vessels included in the SEAFO record of authorised vessels are not engaged in or associated with fishing activities conducted by vessels not entered into the record of authorised vessels in the SEAFO Convention Area.

SECTION 2 Transhipments

Article 58 Prohibition of transhipments at sea

Each Member State shall prohibit transhipments at sea by vessels flying their flag in the SEAFO Convention Area, for species covered by the SEAFO Convention.

Article 59 In-port Transhipments

1. Community vessels which catch species covered by the SEAFO Convention in the SEAFO Convention Area shall only tranship in the port of a SEAFO Contracting Party if they have prior authorisation from the Contracting Party in whose port the operation will take place. Community vessels shall be permitted to carry out transhipments only if they have obtained such a prior authorisation to tranship from the flag Member State and the port State.

2. Each Member State shall ensure that its authorised fishing vessels obtain a prior authorisation to engage in in-port transhipments. Member States shall also ensure that the transhipments are consistent with the reported catch amount of each vessel and require the reporting of transhipments.

3. The master of a Community fishing vessel who transships to another vessel, hereinafter referred to as ‘the receiving vessel’, any quantity of catches of species covered by the SEAFO Convention fished in the SEAFO Convention Area shall at the time of the transshipment inform the flag State of the receiving vessel of the species and quantities involved, of the date of the transshipment and the location of catches and shall submit to his flag Member State a SEAFO transshipment declaration in accordance with the format set out in Part I of Annex XIV.

4. The master of the Community fishing vessel shall notify, at least 24 hours in advance, the following information to the SEAFO Contracting Party in whose port the transshipment will take place:

• the names of the transshipping fishing vessels,

• the names of the receiving vessels,

• the tonnage by species to be transshipped,

• the day and port of transshipment.

5. Not later than 24 hours before the beginning, and at the end of a transshipment when this takes place in a port of a SEAFO Contracting Party, the master of the Community flagged receiving vessel shall inform the competent authorities of the port State of the quantities of catches of species covered by the SEAFO Convention on board his vessel and transmit the SEAFO transshipment declaration to these competent authorities within 24 hours.

6. The master of the receiving Community vessel shall, 48 hours before landing, submit a SEAFO transshipment declaration to the competent authorities of the port State where the landing takes place.

7. Each Member State shall take the appropriate measures to verify the accuracy of the information received and shall cooperate with the flag State to ensure that landings are consistent with the reported catches amount of each vessel.

8. Each Member State with vessels authorised to fish in the SEAFO Convention Area for species covered by the SEAFO Convention, shall notify by 1 June 2009 to the Commission the details of the transshipments by its flag vessels.

SECTION 3 Conservation measures for the management of vulnerable deep-water habitats and ecosystems

Article 60 Closed areas

All fishing activities for species covered by the SEAFO Convention by Community vessels shall be prohibited in the areas defined below:

(a)

Sub Division A1

(i)

Dampier Seamount

10o00'S 02o00'W	10o00'S 00o00'E
12o00'S 02o00'W	12o00'S 00o00'E;

(ii)

Malahit Guyot Seamount

11o00'S 02o00'W	11o00'S 04o00'W
13o00'S 02o00'W	13o00'S 04o00'W;

(b)

Sub-division B1

Molloy Seamount

27o00'S 08o00'E	27o00'S 10o00'E
29o00'S 08o00'E	29o00'S 10o00'E;

(c)

Division C

(i)

Schmidt-Ott Seamount & Erica Seamount

37o00'S 13o00E	37o00'S 17o00'E
40o00'S 13o00E	40o00'S 17o00'E;

(ii)

Africana seamount

37o00'S 28o00E	37o00'S 30o00E
38o00'S 28o00E	38o00'S 30o00E;

(iii)

Panzarini Seamount

39o00'S 11o00'E	39o00'S 13o00'E
41o00'S 11o00'E	41o00'S 13o00'E;

(d)

Sub-division C1

(i)

Vema Seamount

31o00'S 08o00'E	31o00'S 09o00'E
32o00'S 08o00'E	32o00'S 09o00'E;

(ii)

Wust Seamount

33o00'S 06o00'E	33o00'S 08o00'E
34o00'S 06o00'E	34o00'S 08o00'E;

(e)

Division D

(i)

Discovery, Junoy, Shannon Seamounts

41o00'S 06o00'W	41o00'S 03o00'E
44o00'S 06o00'W	44o00'S 03o00'E;

(ii)

Schwabenland & Herdman Seamounts

44o00'S 01o00'W	44o00'S 02o00'E
47o00'S 01o00'W	47o00'S 02o00'E.

Article 61 Resumption of fishing in a closed area

1. No fishing shall resume in a closed fishing area referred to in Article 60 until the flag State has identified and mapped vulnerable marine ecosystems, including seamounts, hydrothermal vents and cold water corals in the area and made an assessment on the impact of any resumption of fishing on such vulnerable marine ecosystems.

2. The results of the identification, mapping and impact assessment carried out in accordance with paragraph 1 shall be submitted by the flag State to the Commission for transmission to the Annual Scientific Committee Meeting of SEAFO.

3. Member States may submit Research Fishing Plans to the Commission for evaluation of the impact of the fisheries on the sustainability of the fisheries resources and on vulnerable marine habitats.

SECTION 4 Measures on reducing incidental by-catch of seabirds

Article 62 Information on interactions with seabirds

Member States shall collect and provide all available information to the Commission by 1 June 2009, on interactions with seabirds, including incidental catches by their fishing vessels, fishing for species covered by the SEAFO Convention.

Article 63 Mitigation measures

1. All Community vessels fishing south of the parallel of latitude 30 degrees South shall carry and use bird-scaring lines (tori poles):

(a) tori poles shall comply with agreed tori pole design and deployment guidelines, as set out in Part II of Annex XIV;

(b) tori poles shall be deployed prior to longlines entering the water at all times south of the parallel of latitude 30 degrees South;

(c) where practical, vessels shall be encouraged to use a second tori pole and bird-scaring line at times of high bird abundance or activity;

(d) back-up tori lines shall be carried by all vessels and be ready for immediate use.

2. Longlines shall be set at night only (i.e. during the hours of darkness between the times of nautical twilight(1). During longline fishing at night, only the minimum ship's lights necessary for safety shall be used.

3. The dumping of offal shall be prohibited while gear is being shot or set. The dumping of offal during the hauling of gear shall be avoided. Any such discharge shall take place, where possible, on the opposite side of the vessel to that where the gear is being hauled. For vessels or fisheries where there is no requirement to retain offal on board the vessel, a system shall be implemented to remove fish hooks from offal and fish heads prior to discharge. Nets shall be cleaned prior to shooting to remove items that might attract seabirds.

4. Community vessels shall adopt shooting and hauling procedures that minimise the time during which the net is lying on the surface with the meshes slack. Net maintenance shall, to the extent possible, not be carried out with the net in the water.

5. Community vessels shall be encouraged to develop gear configurations that will minimise the likelihood of birds encountering the part of the net to which they are most vulnerable. This may include increasing the weighting or decreasing the buoyancy of the net so that it sinks faster, or placing coloured streamer or other devices over particular areas of the net where the mesh sizes create a particular danger to birds.

6. Community vessels which are so configured that they lack on-board processing facilities or adequate capacity to retain offal on-board, or the ability to discharge offal on the opposite side of the vessel to that where gear is being hauled, shall not be authorised to fish in the SEAFO Convention Area.

7. Every effort shall be made to ensure that birds captured alive during fishing operations are released alive and that whenever possible hooks are removed without jeopardising the life of the bird concerned.

SECTION 5 Technical measures

Article 64 Measures for the protection of deep water sharks

Directed fishing for deep water sharks in the SEAFO Convention Area shall be prohibited.

SECTION 6 Control

Article 65 Special Provisions for Patagonian Toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides)

1. The master of a vessel authorised to fish for Patagonian Toothfish in the SEAFO Convention Area in accordance with Article 55 shall, by electronic means, send to the competent authorities of his flag Member State and the SEAFO Secretariat a catch report stating the quantities of Patagonian Toothfish caught by his vessel including nil returns. This report shall be sent every five days of the fishing trip. Each Member State shall promptly forward that information to the Commission.

2. Member States with vessels authorised to fish for Patagonian Toothfish in the SEAFO Convention Area shall provide detailed catch and effort data to the Commission, and the SEAFO Secretariat, no later than 30 June 2009.

Article 66 Special Provisions for Deep-sea Red Crab (Chaceon spp.)

1. The master of a vessel authorised to fish for Deep-sea Red Crab in the SEAFO Convention Area in accordance with Article 55 shall, by electronic means, send to the competent authorities of his flag Member State and the SEAFO Secretariat a catch report stating the quantities of Deep-sea Red Crab caught by his vessel including nil returns. This report shall be sent every five days of the fishing trip. Each Member State shall promptly forward that information to the Commission.

2. Member States with vessels authorised to fish for Deep-sea Red Crab in the SEAFO Convention Area shall provide detailed catch and effort data to the Commission, and the SEAFO Secretariat, no later than 30 June 2009.

Article 67 Special Provisions for Alfonsino (Beryx spp.)

1. The master of a vessel authorised to fish for Alfonsino in the SEAFO Convention Area in accordance with Article 55 shall, by electronic means, send to the competent authorities of his flag Member State and the SEAFO Secretariat a catch report stating the quantities of Alfonsino caught by his vessel including nil returns. This report shall be sent every five days of the fishing trip. Each Member State shall promptly forward that information to the Commission.

2. Member States with vessels authorised to fish for Alfonsino in the SEAFO Convention Area shall provide detailed catch and effort data to the Commission, and the SEAFO Secretariat, no later than 30 June 2009.

Article 68 Special Provisions for Orange Roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus)

1. The master of a vessel authorised to fish for Orange Roughy in the SEAFO Convention Area in accordance with Article 55 shall, by electronic means, send to the competent authorities of his flag Member State and the SEAFO Secretariat a catch report stating the quantities of Orange Roughy caught by his vessel including nil returns. This report shall be sent every five days of the fishing trip. Each Member State shall promptly forward that information to the Commission.

2. Member States with vessels authorised to fish for Orange Roughy in the SEAFO Convention Area shall provide detailed catch and effort data to the Commission, and the SEAFO Secretariat, no later than 30 June 2009.

Article 69 Communication of vessel movements and catches

1. Fishing vessels and fishing research vessels authorised to fish in the SEAFO Convention Area and which are engaged in fishing shall send entry, catch and exit reports to the flag Member State's authorities by VMS, or other appropriate means, and, if the flag Member State so requires, to the SEAFO Executive Secretary.

2. The entry report shall be made no more than 12 hours and at least 6 hours in advance of each entry into the SEAFO Convention Area and shall include entering date, time, geographical position of the vessel and the quantity of fish on board by species (FAO 3 Alfa Code) and by live weight (Kg).

3. The Catch report shall be made by species (FAO 3 Alfa Code) and by live weight (Kg) at the end of each calendar month.

4. The exit report shall be made no more than 12 hours and at least 6 hours in advance of each exit from the SEAFO Convention Area. It shall include exiting date, time, geographical position of the vessel, the number of fishing days and the catch taken by species (FAO 3 Alfa Code) and by live weight (Kg) in the SEAFO Convention Area since the commencement of fishing in the SEAFO Convention Area, or since the last catch report.

Article 70 Scientific observation and collection of information to support stock assessment

1. Each Member State shall ensure that all its fishing vessels operating in the SEAFO Convention Area, and targeting species covered by the SEAFO Convention, carry qualified scientific observers.

2. Each Member State shall require the submission of the information collected by the observers, in respect of each vessel flying its flag, within 30 days of leaving the SEAFO Convention Area. The data shall be submitted in the format specified by the SEAFO Scientific Committee. The Member State shall provide the Commission with a copy of the information, as soon as possible, taking account of the need to maintain confidentiality of non-aggregated data. The Member State may also provide the SEAFO Executive Secretary with a copy of the information.

3. The information referred to in this Article shall, to the greatest extent possible, be collected and verified by designated observers by 30 June 2009.

Article 71 Sightings of non-Contracting Party vessels

1. Fishing vessels flying the flag of a Member State shall report to their flag Member State information on any possible fishing activity by vessels flying the flag of a non-Contracting Party in the SEAFO Convention Area. This information shall contain, inter alia:

(a) the name of the vessel;

(b) the registration number of the vessel;

(c) the flag State of the vessel;

(d) any other relevant information regarding the sighted vessel.

2. Each Member State shall submit the information referred to in paragraph 1 to the Commission as rapidly as possible. The Commission shall forward this information to the SEAFO Executive Secretary for information.

SECTION 7 Protection of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems

Article 72 Use of terms

For the purpose of this Section, the following definitions shall apply:

(1)

‘bottom fishing activities’ means fishing activities where the fishing gear is likely to contact the seafloor during the normal course of fishing operations;

(2)

‘existing bottom fishing areas’ means areas where VMS data and/or other available geo-reference data indicate that bottom fishing activities have been conducted within a reference period of 1987 to 2007;

(3)

‘new bottom fishing areas’ means areas within the SEAFO Regulatory Area other than existing bottom fishing areas;

(4)

‘exploratory fisheries’ means fisheries conducted in new bottom fishing areas;

(5)

‘marine ecosystem’ means a dynamic complex of plant, animal and micro-organism communities and their non-living environment interacting as a functional unit;

(6)

‘Vulnerable Marine Ecosystem (VME)’ means any marine ecosystem whose integrity (i.e. ecosystem structure or function) is, according to the best scientific information available and to the principle of precaution, threatened by significant adverse impacts resulting from physical contact with bottom gears in the normal course of fishing operations, including reefs, seamounts, hydrothermal vents, cold water corals or cold water sponge beds. The most vulnerable ecosystems are those that are easily disturbed and that are very slow to recover, or may never recover;

(7)

‘significant adverse impacts’ means impacts (evaluated individually, in combination or cumulatively) which compromise ecosystem integrity in a manner that impairs the ability of affected populations to replace themselves and that degrades the long-term natural productivity of habitats, or causes on more than a temporary basis significant loss of species richness, habitat or community types;

(8)

‘bottom gears’ means gears deployed in the normal course of fishing operations in contact with the seabed, including bottom trawls, dredges, bottom-set gill nets, bottom-set longlines, pots and traps;

(9)

‘VME encounter’ means an encounter by a vessel with VME indicator organisms occurring above the threshold level of a catch per set of more than 100 kg of live coral and/or 1 000 kg of live sponge

(10)

‘VME indicator organisms’ means corals and sponges;

(11)

‘Indicator species of coral’ means antipatharians, gorgonians, cerianthid anemone fields, lophelia, or sea pen fields.

Article 73 Identification of existing bottom fishing areas

Member States with vessels involved in bottom fishing activities in the period of 1987-2007 in the SEAFO Convention Area shall submit comprehensive maps of existing fishing areas to the Commission by 1 April 2009. The Commission shall forward these maps to the Executive Secretary of SEAFO without delay. Maps shall be based on VMS data and/or other available geo-reference data and expressed in the most precise spatial and temporal resolution as possible.

Article 74 Bottom fishing activities in new bottom fishing areas

1. As from 1 November 2009, all exploratory fisheries or fishing activities with bottom gear not previously used in the existing fishing area concerned shall be conducted in accordance with the requirements set out in an Exploratory Bottom Fisheries Protocol.

2. The Exploratory Bottom Fisheries Protocol referred to in paragraph 1 shall be developed by each Member State concerned and include the following:

(a) a harvesting plan which outlines target species, dates and areas. Area and effort restrictions shall be considered to ensure fisheries occur on a gradual basis in a limited geographical area;

(b) where possible, an initial assessment of the known and anticipated impacts of its bottom fishing activities on Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems;

(c) a mitigation plan including measures to prevent significant adverse impact to Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems that may be encountered during the fishery;

(d) a catch monitoring plan that includes recording/reporting of all species caught. The recording/reporting of catch shall be sufficiently detailed to conduct an assessment of activity, if required;

(e) a data collection plan to facilitate the identification of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems/species in the area fished.

3. As from the date referred to in paragraph 1, exploratory fisheries or fishing activities with bottom gear not previously used in the existing fishing area shall not commence until the information outlined in paragraph 2 has been provided by the Member States to the SEAFO Executive Secretary via the Commission.

4. Member States shall provide a report of the results of bottom fishing activities to the SEAFO Secretary via the Commission.

Article 75 Assessment of bottom fishing activities in new and existing areas

1. Member States whose vessels conduct or intend to conduct bottom fishing activities in the SEAFO Regulatory Area shall carry out an assessment of the known and anticipated impacts of those activities on Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems. Such an assessment shall aim at determining if such activities, taking account of the history of bottom fishing activities in the SEAFO Regulatory Area, would have a significant adverse impact on Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems.

2. For the purposes of the implementation of the assessment referred to in paragraph 1, Member States shall rely on the best scientific and technical information available concerning the location of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems in the areas in which their fishing vessels intend to operate. That information shall include, where available, scientific data on the basis of which the likelihood of occurrence of such ecosystems can be estimated.

3. Member States shall submit their assessment referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 to the Commission and SEAFO Secretariat as soon as possible but not later than 1 September 2009. This submission shall also include a description of the mitigation measures intended to prevent significant adverse impacts on Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems and be carried out in accordance with guidance developed by the SEAFO Scientific Committee, as available.

Article 76 Scientific Observers

1. In addition to the requirement set out in Article 70, Member States shall ensure that vessels flying their flag and conducting exploratory fisheries in accordance with Article 74 have a scientific observer on board. Observers shall collect data in accordance with a Vulnerable Marine Ecosystem Data Collection Protocol.

2. The Observers collecting data in accordance with the Vulnerable Marine Ecosystem Data Collection Protocol referred to in paragraph 1 shall:

(a) monitor any set for evidence of VMEs and the presence of vulnerable marine species;

(b) record the following information for identification of VMEs: vessel name, gear type, date, position (latitude/longitude), depth, species code, trip-number, set-number, and name of the observer on datasheets;

(c) collect representative biological samples from the entire catch. Biological samples shall be collected and frozen when requested by the scientific authority in a flag Member State or by the Commission;

(d) transmit samples to the scientific authority of a flag Member State at the end of the fishing trip.

Article 77 VME encounters

1. Vessels flying Community flag conducting bottom fishing activities within the SEAFO Regulatory Area shall comply with the following:

(a) where a VME encounter is suspected based on the available information, in particular where significant quantities of VME indicator organisms are present in the catch, the vessels shall quantify catch of VME indicator organisms. Observers deployed in accordance with Article 74 shall identify corals, sponges and any other VME organisms to the lowest possible taxonomical level and apply the Exploratory Bottom Fisheries Protocol as provided for in Article 74(2) and SEAFO catch sampling forms. Observers shall submit SEAFO trip summary reports to flag Member States which without delay shall forward the information to the SEAFO Secretariat via the Commission;

(b) where a VME encounter is confirmed, on the basis of measures taken under point (a), the vessel master shall:

(i)

report the incident to the flag Member State, which without delay shall forward the information to the Commission and the SEAFO Executive Secretary. The Commission shall immediately request Member States to alert all Community vessels authorised to operate in the SEAFO Regulatory Area,

(ii)

cease fishing, haul the gear, and move away at least two nautical miles from the endpoint of the tow/set in the direction least likely to result in further encounters based on all available sources of information. Any further tows or sets shall be parallel to the tow/set when the encounter was made.

2. The Commission shall, in case a confirmed VME encounter takes place in new fishing areas, upon a notification from the SEAFO Executive Secretary, implement an interim closure of two miles radius around the reporting position referred to in paragraph 1(b). The reporting position is that provided by the vessel, either the endpoint of the tow/set or another position that the evidence suggests is closest to the exact encounter location. This temporary closure shall apply until such time when the SEAFO Secretariat advises that the area can be reopened.

(1)

The exact times of nautical twilight are set out in the Nautical Almanac tables for the relevant latitude, local time and date. All times, whether for ship operations or observer reporting, shall be referenced to GMT.