Council Regulation (EU) No 43/2012Show full title

ANNEX IIC FISHING EFFORT FOR VESSELS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE MANAGEMENT OF WESTERN CHANNEL SOLE STOCKS IN ICES DIVISION VIIe

CHAPTER I GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. Scope

1.1. This Annex shall apply to EU vessels of 10 metres length overall or more carrying on board or deploying any of the gears specified in point 2 of this Annex in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 509/2007, and present in ICES division VIIe. For the purposes of this Annex, a reference to the 2012 management period means the period from 1 February 2012 to 31 January 2013.

1.2. Vessels fishing with static nets with mesh size equal to or larger than 120 mm and with track records of less than 300 kg live weight of sole according to the fishing logbook in 2004 shall be exempt from the application of this Annex provided that:

(a)

such vessels catch less than 300 kg live weight of sole during the 2012 management period;

(b)

such vessels do not tranship any fish at sea to another vessel; and

(c)

by 31 July 2012 and 31 January 2013 each Member State concerned make a report to the Commission on these vessels’ track records for sole in 2004 and catches of sole in 2012.

When either of these conditions is not met, the vessels concerned shall, with immediate effect, cease to be exempt from the application of this Annex.

2. Fishing gear

For the purposes of this Annex, the following groupings of fishing gears shall apply:

(a)

beam trawls of mesh size equal to or greater than 80 mm;

(b)

static nets including gill-nets, trammel-nets and tangle-nets with mesh size equal to or less than 220 mm.

3. Limitations in activity

Each Member State shall ensure that, when carrying on board any of the groupings of fishing gears specified in point 2, fishing vessels flying its flag and registered in the Union shall be present within the area for no more than the number of days set out in Chapter III.

CHAPTER II AUTHORISATIONS

4. Authorised vessels

4.1. Vessels using gear types specified in point 2 of this Annex and fishing in the area specified in point 1.1 of this Annex shall hold fishing authorisations issued in accordance with Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009.

4.2. A Member State shall not authorise fishing with a gear belonging to a grouping of fishing gears specified in point 2 in the area by any of vessels flying its flag which have no record of such fishing activity in the years 2002 to 2011 in that area unless it ensures that equivalent capacity, measured in kilowatts, is prevented from fishing in the regulated area.

4.3. However, a vessel with a track record of using a gear belonging to a grouping of fishing gears specified in point 2 may be authorised to use a different fishing gear, provided that the number of days allocated to this latter gear is greater than or equal to the number of days allocated to the first gear.

4.4. A vessel flying the flag of a Member State having no quotas in the area shall not be authorised to fish in that area with a gear belonging to a grouping of fishing gear specified in point 2, unless the vessel is allocated a quota after a transfer as permitted in accordance with the 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.

CHAPTER III NUMBER OF DAYS PRESENT WITHIN THE AREA ALLOCATED TO EU VESSELS

5. Maximum number of days

During the 2012 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 and used any one of the fishing gears specified in point 2 is shown in Table I.

Table I

Maximum number of days a vessel may be present within the area by gear grouping per year

Gears point 2	Denomination(only the gears as specified in point 2 are used)	Western Channel
2(a)	Beam trawls of mesh size ≥ 80 mm	164
2(b)	Static nets with mesh size ≤ 220 mm	164

6. Kilowatt day system

6.1. During the 2012 management period, a Member State may manage its fishing effort allocation according to a kilowatt days system. Through that system it may authorise any vessel concerned to be present within the area for a maximum number of days which is different from that set out in Table I for any one of the groupings of fishing gears laid down in that Table, provided that the overall amount of kilowatt days corresponding to such a grouping is respected.

6.2. For a specific grouping of fishing gears, the overall amount of kilowatt days shall be the sum of all individual fishing efforts allocated to the vessels flying the flag of the Member State concerned and qualified for that specific grouping. 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 point 6.1 were not applied.

6.3. A Member State wishing to benefit from the system referred to in point 6.1 shall submit a request to the Commission, with reports in electronic format containing, for each grouping of fishing gears, the details of the calculation based on:

(a)

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

(b)

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 6.1.

6.4. On the basis of that request, the Commission shall assess whether the conditions referred to in point 6 are complied with and, where applicable, may authorise that Member State to benefit from the system referred to in point 6.1.

7. Allocation of additional days for permanent cessations 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 of the gears specified in point 2 may be allocated to a Member State by the Commission on the basis of permanent cessations of fishing activities that have taken place since 1 January 2004 either in accordance with Article 23 of Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006 or Regulation (EC) No 744/2008. Permanent cessations resulting from any other circumstances may be considered by the Commission on a case-by-case basis, following a written and duly motivated request from the Member State concerned. Such written request shall identify the vessels concerned and confirm, for each of them, that they shall never return to fishing activities.

7.2. The effort expended in 2003 measured in kilowatt days of the withdrawn vessels using a given gear grouping shall be divided by the effort expended by all vessels using that gear grouping 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 that calculation shall be rounded to the nearest whole day.

7.3. Points 7.1 and 7.2 shall not apply where a vessel has been replaced in accordance with point 4.2 or when the withdrawal has already been used in previous years to obtain additional days at sea.

7.4. A Member State wishing to benefit from the allocations referred to in point 7.1 shall submit a request to the Commission, by 15 June 2012, with reports in electronic format containing for each grouping of fishing gears the details of the calculation based on:

(a)

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

(b)

the fishing activity deployed by such vessels in 2003 calculated in days at sea by grouping of fishing gears concerned.

7.5. On the basis of such a request by a Member State the Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, allocate that Member State a number of days additional to that referred to in point 5 for that Member State. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 14(2).

7.6. During the 2012 management period, a Member State may re-allocate those additional numbers of days at sea to all or parts of the vessels remaining in fleet and qualified for the relevant grouping of fishing gears.

7.7. A Member State may not re-allocate in the 2012 management period any additional number of days resulting from a permanent cessation of activity previously allocated by the Commission, unless the Commission has taken a decision that reassesses those additional numbers of days on the basis of the current gear groupings and limitations in days at sea. Upon the Member State's request to reassess the number of days, the Member State is provisionally authorised to reallocate 50 % of the additional number of days, until the Commission takes its decision.

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 on board any of the groupings of fishing gear specified in point 2 may be allocated between 1 February 2012 and 31 January 2013 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 Regulation (EC) No 199/2008 and Regulation (EC) No 665/2008(1) for national programmes.

8.2. Observers shall be independent from the owner, the master of the fishing vessel and any crew member.

8.3. A Member State wishing to benefit from the allocations referred to in point 8.1 shall submit a description of its enhanced scientific observer coverage programme to the Commission for approval.

8.4. On the basis of that description, and after consultation with STECF, the Commission may, by means of implementing acts, allocate that Member State a number of days additional to that referred to in point 5 for that Member State and for the vessels, the area and gear concerned by the enhanced programme of observers. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 14(2).

8.5. 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 concerned wishes to continue its application without changes, it shall inform the Commission of the continuation of that programme 4 weeks before the beginning of the period for which the programme applies.

CHAPTER IV MANAGEMENT

9. General obligation

Member States shall manage the maximum allowable effort in accordance with Articles 26 to 35 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009.

10. Management periods

10.1. A Member State may divide the days present within the area set out in Table I into management periods of durations of 1 or more calendar months.

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

10.3. 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 3. 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 that do not coincide with the end of a 24-hour period.

CHAPTER V EXCHANGES OF FISHING EFFORT ALLOCATIONS

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

11.1. A Member State may permit any fishing vessels flying its flag to transfer days present within the area for which it has been authorised to another vessels flying its flag within the area, provided that the product of the days received by a vessel and 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.

11.2. The total number of days present within the area transferred in accordance with point 11.1, 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 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 multiplied by the engine power in kilowatts of that vessel.

11.3. The transfer of days as described in point 11.1 shall be permitted only between vessels operating within the same gear grouping specified in point 2 and during the same management period.

11.4. 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 established by the Commission by means of implementing acts. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 14(2).

12. 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 4.2, 4.4, 5, 6 and 10 apply mutatis mutandis. Where Member States decide to authorise such a transfer, as a preliminary they shall notify the Commission before the transfer takes place, the details of the transfer, including the number of days transferred, the fishing effort and, where applicable, the fishing quotas relating thereto, as agreed between them.

CHAPTER VI REPORTING OBLIGATIONS

13. Fishing effort report

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 ICES division VIIe.

14. 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 and effort deployed by vessels using different types of gear in the area.

15. Communication of relevant data

Upon request from the Commission, Member States shall make available to the Commission a spreadsheet with data specified in point 14 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 2011 and 2012 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: BT = beam trawls ≥ 80 mm GN = gillnet < 220 mm TN = trammel net or entangling net < 220 mm
(3) Year	4		Either 2006 or 2007 or 2008 or 2009 or 2010 or 2011 or 2012
(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				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	…
(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(5)	(5)	(5)	(6)	(6)	(6)	(6)	(7)	(7)	(7)	(7)	(8)

Table V

Data format for vessel-related information

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 vessel is registered
(2) CFR	12		EU fishing fleet register number (CFR) 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 1381/87
(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: BT = beam trawls ≥ 80 mm GN = gillnet < 220 mm TN = trammel net or entangling net < 220 mm
(6) Special condition applying to notified gear(s)	3	L	Number of days for which the vessel is eligible under Annex IIC 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)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 665/2008 of 14 July 2008 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 199/2008 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 (OJ L 186, 15.7.2008, p. 3).