According to Article 4(2) of Regulation No (EC) No 847/96, Member States may ask the Commission, before 31 October of the year of application of a fishing quota allocated to them, to withhold a maximum of 10 % of that quota to be transferred to the following year. The Commission is to add to the relevant quota the quantity withheld.

TAC and Member State quotas for the stock of anchovy in the Bay of Biscay (ICES subarea VIII) are currently set for an annual management season running from 1 July to 30 June of the following year.

Council Regulation (EU) No 713/20132 fixes the fishing quotas for anchovy in the Bay of Biscay (ICES subarea VIII) for the period starting on the 1 July 2013 and ending on the 30 June 2014.

Council Regulation (EU) No 779/20143 fixes the fishing quotas for anchovy in the Bay of Biscay (ICES subarea VIII) for the period starting on the 1 July 2014 and ending on the 30 June 2015.

However, taking into account exchanges of fishing opportunities in accordance with Article 16(8) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council4 and quota transfers in accordance with Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 847/96, the quotas available for that stock to France and Spain during the 2013-2014 fishing season amounted respectively to 3 590,9 tonnes and 15 226 tonnes.

At the end of that fishing season, France and Spain reported catches of anchovy in the Bay of Biscay for respective total amounts of 3 197,05 tonnes and 14 468,16 tonnes.

France and Spain have requested pursuant to Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 that part of their anchovy quota for the 2013-2014 fishing season be withheld and transferred to the following fishing season. Within the limits indicated by that Regulation, the quantities withheld should be added to the respective quotas established by Council Regulation (EU) No 779/20145 for the 2014-2015 fishing season.

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee for Fisheries and Aquaculture,