Council Regulation (EU) No 57/2011Show full title

ANNEX IIB FISHING EFFORT FOR VESSELS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE RECOVERY OF CERTAIN SOUTHERN HAKE AND NORWAY LOBSTER STOCKS IN ICES DIVISIONS VIIIc AND IXa EXCLUDING THE GULF OF CADIZ

1. Scope

This Annex shall apply to EU vessels of 10 metres’ length overall or more carrying on board or deploying trawls, Danish seines or similar gears of mesh size equal to or larger than 32 mm and gill-nets of mesh size equal to or larger than 60 mm or bottom longlines, and present in ICES divisions VIIIc and IXa excluding the Gulf of Cadiz.

2. Definitions

For the purposes of this Annex:

(a)

‘gear grouping’ means the grouping of trawls, Danish seines or similar gears of mesh size equal to or larger than 32 mm and gill-nets of mesh size equal to or larger than 60 mm and bottom longlines;

(b)

‘regulated gear’ means any of the two gear categories belonging to the gear grouping;

(c)

‘area’ means ICES divisions VIIIc and IXa excluding the Gulf of Cadiz;

(d)

‘2011 management period’ means the period from 1 February 2011 to 31 January 2012;

(e)

‘special conditions’ means the special conditions set out in point 5.2. of this Annex.

3. Vessels concerned by fishing effort limitations

3.1. A Member State shall not authorise fishing with a regulated gear in the area by any of its vessels which have no record of such fishing activity in the years 2002 to 2010 in the area, excluding the record of fishing activities as a result of transfer of days between fishing vessels, unless it ensures that equivalent capacity, measured in kilowatts, is prevented from fishing in the area.

3.2. A vessel flying the flag of a Member State having no quotas in the area shall not be authorised to fish in the area with a regulated gear, unless the vessel is allocated a quota after a transfer as permitted in accordance with Article 20(5) of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 and is allocated days at sea in accordance with point 10 or 11 of this Annex.

4. General obligations and limitation in activity

4.1. Member States shall manage the maximum allowable effort in accordance with the conditions laid down in Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 2166/2005 and Articles 26 to 35 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009.

4.2. Without prejudice to Article 29 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009, each Member State shall ensure that, when carrying on board any regulated gear, EU vessels flying its flag shall be present within the area for no more than the number of days specified in point 5 of this Annex.

4.3. Article 28 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 shall apply to vessels falling under the scope of this Annex. The geographical area referred to in that Article shall be understood as the area defined in point 2 of this Annex.

NUMBER OF DAYS PRESENT WITHIN THE AREA ALLOCATED TO EU VESSELS

5. Maximum number of days

5.1. During the 2011 management period, the maximum number of days at sea for which a Member State may authorise a vessel flying its flag to be present within the area having carried on board any regulated gear is shown in Table I.

5.2. For the purposes of fixing the maximum number of days at sea an EU vessel may be authorised by its flag Member State to be present within the area, the following special conditions shall apply in accordance with Table I:

(a)

the total landings of hake in the year 2008 or 2009 made by the vessel shall represent less than 5 tonnes or less than 3 % according to the landings in live weight consigned in the fishing logbook; and

(b)

the total landings of Norway lobster in the year 2008 or 2009 made by the vessel shall represent less than 2,5 tonnes according to the landings in live weight consigned in the fishing logbook.

5.3. The special conditions referred to in point 5.2. might be transferred from one vessel to one or more other vessels which replace that vessel in the fleet, provided that the replacing vessel uses similar gear and does not have in any year of its operation a record of landings of hake and Norway lobster higher than the weights specified in point 5.2.

5.4. A Member State may manage its fishing effort allocations in accordance with a kilowatt days system. By that system it may authorise any vessel concerned for any regulated gear and special conditions as set out in Table I to be present within the area for a maximum number of days which is different from that set out in that Table, provided that the overall amount of kilowatt days corresponding to the regulated gear and to the special conditions referred to in point 5.2. is respected.

This overall amount of kilowatt days shall be the sum of all individual fishing efforts allocated to the vessels flying the flag of that Member State and qualified for the regulated gear and, where applicable, the special conditions. Such individual fishing efforts shall be calculated in kilowatt days by multiplying the engine power of each vessel by the number of days at sea it would benefit from, according to Table I, if this point were not applied. For as long as the number of days is unlimited according to Table I, the relevant number of days the vessel would benefit from is 360.

5.5. A Member State wishing to benefit from the system referred to in point 5.4. shall submit a request to the Commission with reports in electronic format containing for the gear grouping and special conditions as laid down in Table I the details of the calculation based on:

• list of vessels authorised to fish by indicating their EU fishing fleet register number (CFR) and their engine power,

• track records of 2008 and 2009 for such vessels reflecting the catch composition defined in special conditions referred to in point 5.2.(a) or (b), if these vessels are qualified for such special conditions,

• the number of days at sea for which each vessel would have initially been authorised to fish according to Table I and the number of days at sea which each vessel would benefit from in application of point 5.4.

On the basis of that description, the Commission may authorise that Member State to benefit from the system referred to in point 5.4.

6. Management periods

6.1. A Member State may divide the days present within the area given in Table I into management periods of durations of one or more calendar months.

6.2. The number of days or hours for which a vessel may be present within the area during a management period shall be fixed by the Member State concerned.

Where a Member State authorises vessels to be present within the area by hours, the Member State shall continue measuring the consumption of days as specified in point 4.1. Upon request by the Commission, the Member State shall demonstrate its precautionary measures taken to avoid an excessive consumption of days within the area due to a vessel terminating presences in the area before the end of a 24-hour period.

7. Allocation of additional days for permanent cessation of fishing activities

7.1. An additional number of days at sea on which a vessel may be authorised by its flag Member State to be present within the area when carrying on board any regulated gear may be allocated to Member States by the Commission on the basis of permanent cessations of fishing activities that have taken place between 1 February 2010 and 31 January 2011 either in accordance with Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999(1), Article 23 of Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006(2) or resulting from other circumstances duly motivated by Member States. Any vessels for which it can be demonstrated that they have been definitively withdrawn from the area may also be considered.

The effort expended in 2003 measured in kilowatt days of the withdrawn vessels using the gears in question shall be divided by the effort expended by all vessels using those gears during 2003. The additional number of days at sea shall be then calculated by multiplying the ratio so obtained by the number of days that would have been allocated according to Table I. Any part of a day resulting from this calculation shall be rounded to the nearest whole day.

This point shall not apply where a vessel has been replaced in accordance with point 3 or 5.3. of this Annex, or when the withdrawal has already been used in previous years to obtain additional days at sea.

7.2. Member States wishing to benefit from the allocations referred to in point 7.1. shall submit a request to the Commission with reports in electronic format containing, for the gear grouping and special conditions as laid down in Table I, the details of the calculation based on:

• lists of withdrawn vessels with their EU fishing fleet register number (CFR) and their engine power,

• the fishing activity deployed by such vessels in 2003 calculated in days at sea according to the grouping of fishing gears and, if necessary, special conditions.

7.3. On the basis of such a request the Commission may amend the number of days defined in point 5.1. for that Member State in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 30(2) of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002.

7.4. During the 2011 management period, a Member State may re-allocate those additional numbers of days at sea to all or part of the vessels remaining in fleet and qualified for the regulated gears. Additional days stemming from a withdrawn vessel that benefited from a special condition referred to in point 5.2.(a) or (b) may not be allocated to a vessel remaining active that does not benefit from a special condition.

7.5. Any additional number of days resulting from a permanent cessation of fishing activities allocated by the Commission for the 2010 management period shall be included in the maximum number of days per Member State shown in Table I and shall be allocated to the gear groupings in Table I and shall be subject to the adjustment in days at sea ceilings resulting from this Regulation for the 2011 management period.

7.6. By way of derogation from points 7.1., 7.2. and 7.3., the Commission may exceptionally grant a Member State an allocation of additional days during the 2011 management period on the basis of permanent cessation of fishing activities that have taken place from 1 February 2004 to 31 January 2010 and which have not been the subject of a prior request for additional days.

8. Allocation of additional days for enhanced scientific observer coverage

8.1. Three additional days on which a vessel may be present within the area when carrying onboard any regulated gear may be allocated to Member States by the Commission on the basis of an enhanced programme of scientific observer coverage in partnership between scientists and the fishing industry. Such a programme shall focus in particular on levels of discarding and on catch composition and go beyond the requirements on data collection, as laid down in Council Regulation (EC) No 199/2008 of 25 February 2008 concerning the establishment of a Community framework for the collection, management and use of data in the fisheries sector and support for scientific advice regarding the Common Fisheries Policy(3) and its implementing rules for national programmes.

Scientific observers shall be independent from the owner, the master of the vessel and any crew member.

8.2. Member States wishing to benefit from the allocations referred to in point 8.1. shall submit a description of their enhanced scientific observer coverage programme to the Commission for approval.

8.3. On the basis of this description, and after consultation with STECF, the Commission may amend the number of days defined in point 5.1. for that Member State and for the vessels, the area and gear concerned by the enhanced programme of scientific observers in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 30(2) of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002.

8.4. If an enhanced scientific observer coverage programme submitted by a Member State has been approved by the Commission in the past and the Member State wishes to continue its application without changes, the Member State shall inform the Commission of the continuation of that programme four weeks before the beginning of the period for which the programme applies.

9. Special conditions for the allocation of days

9.1. If a vessel has received an unlimited number of days resulting from compliance with the special conditions, the vessel's landings in the 2011 management period shall not exceed 5 tonnes live weight of hake and 2,5 tonnes live weight of Norway lobster.

9.2. When either of these conditions is not met by a vessel, that vessel shall with immediate effect no longer be entitled to the allocation of days corresponding to the given special condition.

Table I
Maximum number of days a vessel may be present within the area by fishing gear per year
Special condition	Regulated gear	Maximum number of days
	Bottom trawls, Danish seines and similar trawls of mesh size ≥ 32 mm, gill-nets of mesh size ≥ 60 mm and bottom longlines	ES	158
		FR	142
		PT	172
5.2.(a) and 5.2.(b)	Bottom trawls, Danish seines and similar trawls of mesh size ≥ 32 mm, gill-nets of mesh size ≥ 60 mm and bottom longlines	Unlimited

EXCHANGES OF FISHING EFFORT ALLOCATIONS

10. Transfer of days between vessels flying the flag of a Member State

10.1. A Member State may permit any fishing vessel flying its flag to transfer days present within the area for which it has been authorised to another vessel flying its flag within the area, provided that the product of the days received by a vessel multiplied by its engine power in kilowatts (kilowatt days) is equal to or less than the product of the days transferred by the donor vessel and the engine power in kilowatts of that vessel. The engine power in kilowatts of the vessels shall be that recorded for each vessel in the EU fishing fleet register.

10.2. The total number of days present within the area transferred under point 10.1. multiplied by the engine power in kilowatts of the donor vessel shall not be higher than the donor vessel's average annual days track record in the area as verified by the fishing logbook in the years 2008 and 2009 multiplied by the engine power in kilowatts of that vessel.

10.3. The transfer of days as described in point 10.1. shall be permitted only between vessels operating with any regulated gear and during the same management period.

10.4. Transfer of days is only permitted for vessels benefiting from an allocation of fishing days without special conditions.

10.5. On request from the Commission, Member States shall provide information on the transfers that have taken place. Formats of spreadsheet for the collection and transmission of information referred to in this point may be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 30(2) of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002.

11. Transfer of days between fishing vessels flying the flag of different Member States

Member States may permit transfer of days present within the area for the same management period and within the area between any fishing vessels flying their flags provided that points 3.1., 3.2., and 10 apply mutatis mutandis. Where Member States decide to authorise such a transfer, they shall notify the Commission, before the transfer takes place, the details of the transfer, including the number of days, the fishing effort and, where applicable, the fishing quotas relating thereto.

REPORTING OBLIGATIONS

12. Collection of relevant data

Member States, on the basis of information used for the management of fishing days present within the area as set out in this Annex, shall collect on a quarterly basis the information about total fishing effort deployed within the area for towed gears and static gears, effort deployed by vessels using different types of gear in the area, and the engine power of those vessels in kW.

13. Communication of relevant data

Upon request from the Commission, Member States shall make available to the Commission a spreadsheet with the data referred to in point 12 in the format specified in Tables II and III by sending it to the appropriate electronic mailbox address, which shall be communicated to the Member States by the Commission. Member States shall, upon the Commission's request, send to the Commission detailed information on effort allocated and consumed covering all or parts of the 2010 and 2011 management periods, using the data format specified in Tables IV and V.

Table II

Reporting format kW-day information by year

Member State	Gear	Year	Cumulative effort declaration
(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)

Table III

Data format kW-day information by year

a Information relevant for transmission of data by fixed-length formatting.
Name of field	Maximum number of characters/digits	AlignmentaL(eft)/R(ight)	Definition and comments
(1) Member State	3		Member State (Alpha-3 ISO code) in which the vessel is registered
(2) Gear	2		One of the following gear types: TR = trawls, Danish seines and similar gear ≥ 32 mm GN = gillnets ≥ 60 mm LL = bottom longlines
(3) Year	4		Either 2006 or 2007 or 2008 or 2009 or 2010 or 2011
(4) Cumulative effort declaration	7	R	Cumulative amount of fishing effort expressed in kilowatt days deployed from 1 January until 31 December of the year

Table IV

Reporting format for vessel-related information

Member State	CFR	External marking	Length of management period	Gear notified				Special condition applying to notified gear(s)				Days eligible using notified gear(s)				Days spent with notified gear(s)				Transfer of days
				No 1	No 2	No 3	…	No 1	No 2	No 3	…	No 1	No 2	No 3	…	No 1	No 2	No 3	…
(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(5)	(5)	(5)	(6)	(6)	(6)	(6)	(7)	(7)	(7)	(7)	(8)	(8)	(8)	(8)	(9)

Table V

Data format for vessel-related information

a Information relevant for transmission of data by fixed-length formatting.
b Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1381/87 of 20 May 1987 establishing detailed rules concerning the marking and documentation of fishing vessels (OJ L 132, 21.5.1987, p. 9).
Name of field	Maximum number of characters/digits	AlignmentaL(eft)/R(ight)	Definition and comments
(1) Member State	3		Member State (Alpha-3 ISO code) in which vessel is registered
(2) CFR	12		EU fishing fleet register number Unique identification number of a fishing vessel Member State (Alpha-3 ISO code) followed by an identifying series (9 characters). Where a series has fewer than 9 characters, additional zeros must be inserted on the left hand side
(3) External marking	14	L	Under Regulation (EEC) No 1381/87b
(4) Length of management period	2	L	Length of the management period measured in months
(5) Gears notified	2	L	One of the following gear types TR = trawls, Danish seines and similar gear ≥ 32 mm GN = gillnets ≥ 60 mm LL = bottom longlines
(6) Special condition applying to notified gear(s)	2	L	Indication of which, if any, of the special condition referred to in point 5.2.(a) or (b) of Annex IIB that apply
(7) Days eligible using notified gear(s)	3	L	Number of days for which the vessel is eligible under Annex IIB for the choice of gears and length of management period notified
(8) Days spent with notified gear(s)	3	L	Number of days the vessel actually spent present within the area and using a gear corresponding to gear notified during the notified management period
(9) Transfers of days	4	L	For days transferred indicate ‘– number of days transferred’ and for days received indicate ‘+ number of days transferred’

(1)

Council Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999 of 17 December 1999 laying down the detailed rules and arrangements regarding Community structural assistance in the fisheries sector (OJ L 337, 30.12.1999, p. 10).

(2)

Council Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006 of 27 July 2006 on the European Fisheries Fund (OJ L 223, 15.8.2006, p. 1).

(3)

OJ L 60, 5.3.2008, p. 1.