According to Article 2(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013, the Common Fisheries Policy shall aim to ensure that exploitation of living marine biological resources restores and maintains populations of harvested species above levels which can produce the maximum sustainable yield.

In Article 45(1) of Regulation (EC) No 850/98 it is provided that, where the conservation of stocks of marine organisms calls for immediate action, the Commission may, in addition to or by way of derogation from that Regulation, adopt any necessary measures. Annex XII of the same Regulation sets out minimum conservation reference sizes of marine organisms. Currently this Annex does not provide for a minimum conservation reference size for red seabream (Pagellus bogaraveo).

Red blackspot seabream (hereinafter ‘red seabream’) is a long-lived, late-maturing, slow-growth deep-sea species with low productivity and vulnerable to exploitation found in the North-East Atlantic. Tagging data show that red seabream is distributed across a large area. It straddles between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. For biological and management reasons the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) considers that in the North-East Atlantic there are three different components of this population, namely in: a) ICES subareas VI, VII, and VIII; b) ICES subarea IX and adjacent areas, and c) ICES subarea X (Azores).

According to the latest ICES advice for red seabream in ICES subarea X it is recommended to decrease catches by 12 % for 2017 and by another 12 % for 2018. In ICES subarea X catches of red seabream have been at around two thirds of the level of 2009 and preceding years. In April 2015 the STECF noted that both red seabream catches and catch per unit effort have been declining in recent years, implying that the fishable biomass of red seabream has also been declining, thereby indicating that the current measures in place have not been sufficiently effective to prevent such decline.

ICES recommends the establishment of a management plan that covers the entire stock distribution area, which includes adjacent CECAF (the Fishery Committee for the Eastern Central Atlantic) and GFCM (the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean) areas, especially considering important catches from the area IX stock are taken in adjacent areas not regulated by the current TAC and where stock information is missing. ICES recommends implementing management measures that ensure a balanced exploitation between younger fish and older fish, which can be achieved by setting a minimum landing size.

The above recent developments show that heavy exploitation of red seabream due to overfishing and a lack of sufficient management measures led the stock in ICES subareas VI, VII and VIII to be seriously depleted and has led to the decline of the stock to low levels in ICES subareas IX and X.

In light of the above there are clear indications that the North-East Atlantic red seabream stocks are overexploited and subject to a risk of collapse in all areas, if no immediate action to protect juveniles is taken.

Furthermore a minimum size for red seabream of 33 cm currently applies in the Mediterranean. As red seabream straddles between the Mediterranean and the North-East Atlantic, it is necessary to provide the same level of protection to all stock distribution areas in order for the measures to be effective. This would also prevent misreporting. Allowing catching and landing red seabream below a size of 33 cm has a negative effect on the reproductive capacity of the species causing a serious threat to the conservation of the North-East Atlantic stocks.

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