Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/86Show full title

Article 1 Implementation of the landing obligation

The landing obligation provided for in Article 15(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 shall apply in the Mediterranean Sea to the fisheries as set out in the Annex to this Regulation.

That landing obligation shall apply to the species referred to in that Annex when caught during fishing activities in Union waters or by Union fishing vessels outside the Union waters in waters not subject to third countries' sovereignty or jurisdiction.

Article 2 Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:

(a)

‘Mediterranean Sea’ means maritime waters of the Mediterranean to the east of line 5°36′ West;

(b)

‘GFCM Geographical Sub-Areas’ (GSAs) means General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) Geographical Sub-Areas as defined in the Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 1343/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council(1);

(c)

‘Western Mediterranean Sea’ means GFCM Geographical Sub-Areas 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11;

(d)

‘Adriatic Sea’ means GFCM Geographical Sub-Areas 17 and 18;

(e)

‘South-eastern Mediterranean Sea’ means GFCM Geographical Sub-Areas 15, 16, 19, 20, 22, 23 and 25.

Article 3 Survivability exemption

1. The exemption from the landing obligation pursuant to Article 15(4)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 for species for which scientific evidence demonstrates high survival rates shall apply in 2017 to:

(a) common sole (Solea solea) caught with rapido (beam trawl), (TBB)(2) in GSAs 17 and 18;

(b) scallop (Pecten jacobeus) caught with mechanised dredges (HMD) in GSAs 1, 2, 5 and 6;

(c) carpet clams (Venerupis spp.) caught with mechanised dredges (HMD) in GSAs 1, 2, 5 and 6;

(d) Venus shells (Venus spp.) caught with mechanised dredges (HMD) in GSAs 1, 2, 5 and 6.

2. Common sole (Solea solea), scallop (Pecten jacobeus), carpet clams (Venerupis spp.) and Venus shells (Venus spp.) caught in the circumstances referred to in paragraph 1 shall be released immediately in the area where they have been caught.

3. By 1 May 2017, Member States having a direct management interest in the fisheries in the Mediterranean Sea shall submit to the Commission additional discard data to those provided for in the Joint Recommendations of 4 and 7 July 2016 and any other relevant scientific information supporting the exemption laid down in paragraph 1. The Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) shall assess those data and that information by July 2017 at the latest.

Article 4 De minimis exemption

By way of derogation from Article 15(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013, the following quantities of species which define the fisheries as set out in the Annex to this Regulation may be discarded pursuant to Article 15(4)(c) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013:

(a)

in the western Mediterranean Sea (point 1 of the Annex):

(i)

for hake (Merluccius merluccius) and red mullet (Mullus spp.), up to a maximum of 7 % for 2017 and 2018 and up to a maximum of 6 % in 2019 of the total annual catches of these species by vessels using trawl nets; and

(ii)

for hake (Merluccius merluccius) and red mullet (Mullus spp.), up to a maximum of 1 % of the total annual catches of these species by vessels using gillnets;

(b)

in the Adriatic Sea (point 2 of the Annex):

(i)

for hake (Merluccius merluccius) and red mullet (Mullus spp.), up to 7 % for 2017 and 2018 and up to 6 % for 2019 of the total annual catches of these species by vessels using trawl nets;

(ii)

for hake (Merluccius merluccius) and red mullet (Mullus spp.), up to 1 % of the total annual catches of these species by vessels using gillnets;

(iii)

for hake (Merluccius merluccius) and red mullet (Mullus spp.), up to 1 % of the total annual catches of these species by vessels using rapido (beam trawl);

(iv)

for common sole (Solea solea), up to 3 % for 2017 and 2018 and up to 2 % for 2019 of the total annual catches of this species by vessels using trawl nets; and

(v)

for common sole (Solea solea), 0 % of the total annual catches of this species by vessels using gillnets;

(c)

in the south-eastern Mediterranean Sea (point 3 of the Annex):

(i)

for hake (Merluccius merluccius) and red mullet (Mullus spp.), up to 7 % for 2017 and 2018 and up to 6 % for 2019 of the total annual catches of these species by vessels using trawl nets;

(ii)

for hake (Merluccius merluccius) and red mullet (Mullus spp.), up to 1 % of the total annual catches of these species by vessels using gillnets; and

(iii)

for deep-water rose shrimp (Parapenaeus longirostris), up to 7 % for 2017and 2018 and up to 6 % for 2019 of the total annual catches of this species by vessels using trawl nets.

Article 5 List of vessels

1. The Member States concerned shall determine, in accordance with the criteria laid down in the Annex, the vessels subject to the landing obligation for each particular fishery.

2. By 31 December 2016, the Member States concerned shall submit to the Commission and to the other Member States, using the secure Union control website, the lists of all vessels targeting hake, red mullet, common sole and deep-water rose shrimp. They shall keep those lists updated.

Article 6 Entry into force and application

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2019.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 20 October 2016.

For the Commission

The President

Jean-Claude Juncker