THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 of 20 November 2009 establishing a Community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy, amending Regulations (EC) No 847/96, (EC) No 2371/2002, (EC) No 811/2004, (EC) No 768/2005, (EC) No 2115/2005, (EC) No 2166/2005, (EC) No 388/2006, (EC) No 509/2007, (EC) No 676/2007, (EC) No 1098/2007, (EC) No 1300/2008, (EC) No 1342/2008 and repealing Regulations (EEC) No 2847/93, (EC) No 1627/94 and (EC) No 1966/2006,
1 and in particular Article 95 thereof,
Whereas:
(1)Commission Implementing Decision 2013/328/EU
2 establishes a specific control and inspection programme for fisheries exploiting cod, plaice and sole in the Kattegat, the North Sea, the Skagerrak, the eastern Channel, the waters west of Scotland and the Irish Sea.
(2)Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council
3 establishes a landing obligation for pelagic and demersal fisheries in order to reduce the current high levels of unwanted catches and to gradually eliminate discards. Details for the implementation of the landing obligation are laid down in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1395/2014
4 and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2440
5. Compliance with the landing obligation should be controlled and inspected.
(3)In addition to the fisheries of sole, plaice and cod in the North Sea covered by Implementing Decision 2013/328/EU, which should continue to be covered by a specific control and inspection programme, the fisheries defined in the annex to the discard plans referred to in Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1395/2014 and Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2440 should also be included in the specific control and inspection programme in order to enable Member States concerned to undertake efficiently and effectively joint inspection and surveillance activities.
(4)On the basis of the results of the Member States' risk assessment carried out in respect of each of the fisheries covered by the discard plans, the overall inspection benchmarks laid down by the present specific control and inspection programme have to be implemented by the Member States.
(5)In order to take into account the regional specificities and the need to harmonise and increase the effectiveness of the control and inspection procedures, the present specific control and inspection programme covers the Union Waters of the North Sea as defined in Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 (ICES zone IIIa, i.e. including the Kattegat and the Skagerrak and ICES zone IV), as well as Union waters of ICES Division IIa.
(6)The present specific control and inspection programme covers certain demersal species and fisheries in the Union waters of the North Sea and in Union waters of ICES Division IIa, and certain pelagic fisheries in the Union waters of the North Sea (ICES Area IIIa and IV) and in Union waters of ICES Division IIa. Commission Implementing Decision 2012/807/EU
6, as amended by Implementing Decision 2015/1944/EU
7, establishes a specific control and inspection programme for pelagic fisheries in the western waters of the north-east Atlantic and in the northern North Sea (ICES Area IVa). It is therefore appropriate to align the scope of Implementing Decision 2012/807/EU with the present Decision.
(7)Council Regulation (EC) No 850/98
8 and in particular Title IIIa thereof establishes measures to reduce discarding. The specific control and inspection programme should ensure compliance with the prohibition of highgrading, the moving-on provisions and the prohibition on slipping.
(8)The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee for Fisheries and Aquaculture,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: