Council Regulation (EU) 2018/120Show full title

ANNEX IIB FISHING EFFORT FOR VESSELS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE RECOVERY OF CERTAIN SOUTHERN HAKE AND NORWAY LOBSTER STOCKS IN ICES DIVISIONS 8c AND 9a EXCLUDING THE GULF OF CÁDIZ

CHAPTER I General Provisions

1. Scope

This Annex shall apply to Union fishing vessels of 10 metres' length overall or more carrying on board or deploying trawls, Danish seines or similar gears of mesh size equal to or larger than 32 mm and gillnets of mesh size equal to or larger than 60 mm or bottom longlines in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 2166/2005, and present in ICES divisions 8c and 9a excluding the Gulf of Cádiz.

2. Definitions

For the purposes of this Annex:

(a)

‘gear grouping’ means the grouping consisting of the following two gear categories:

(i)

trawls, Danish seines or similar gears of mesh size equal to or larger than 32 mm, and

(ii)

gillnets of mesh size equal to or larger than 60 mm and bottom longlines;

(b)

‘regulated gear’ means any of the two gear categories belonging to the gear grouping;

(c)

‘area’ means ICES divisions 8c and 9a excluding the Gulf of Cádiz;

(d)

‘current management period’ means the period specified in Article 1(2)(b) of this Regulation;

(e)

‘special conditions’ means the special conditions set out in point 6.1.

3. Limitation in activity

Without prejudice to Article 29 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009, each Member State shall ensure that, when carrying on board any regulated gear, Union fishing vessels flying its flag shall be present within the area for no more than the number of days specified in Chapter III of this Annex.

CHAPTER II Authorisations

4. Authorised vessels

4.1. A Member State shall not authorise fishing with regulated gear in the area by any vessel flying its flag which has no record of such fishing activity in the area in the period from 2002 to 2017, excluding the record of fishing activities as a result of transfer of days between fishing vessels, unless it ensures that equivalent capacity, measured in kilowatts, is prevented from fishing in the area.

4.2. A vessel flying the flag of a Member State having no quotas in the area shall not be authorised to fish in the area with regulated gear, unless the vessel is allocated a quota after a transfer as permitted in accordance with Article 16(8) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 and is allocated days at sea in accordance with point 11 or 12 of this Annex.

CHAPTER III Number of days present within the area allocated to Union fishing vessels

5. Maximum number of days

5.1. During the current 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 any regulated gear is shown in Table I.

5.2. If a vessel is able to demonstrate that its hake catches represent less than 8 % of the total live weight of fish caught in a given fishing trip, the flag Member State of the vessel shall be allowed not to count the days at sea associated with that fishing trip against the applicable maximum number of days at sea as set out in Table I.

6. Special conditions for the allocation of days

6.1. For the purposes of fixing the maximum number of days at sea that a Union fishing vessel may be authorised by its flag Member State to be present within the area, the following special conditions shall apply in accordance with Table I:

(a)

the total landings of hake in each of the two calendar years 2015 and 2016 made by the vessel concerned shall represent less than 5 tonnes according to the landings in live weight; and

(b)

the total landings of Norway lobster in the years specified in point (a) above made by the vessel concerned shall represent less than 2,5 tonnes according to the landings in live weight.

6.2. If a vessel benefits from an unlimited number of days as a result of its compliance with the special conditions, the vessel's landings in the current management period shall not exceed 5 tonnes of the total landings in live weight of hake and 2,5 tonnes of the total landings in live weight of Norway lobster.

6.3. When either of the special conditions is not met by a vessel, that vessel shall, with immediate effect, no longer be entitled to the allocation of days corresponding to the given special condition.

6.4. The application of the special conditions referred to in point 6.1. may be transferred from one vessel to one or more other vessels which replace that vessel in the fleet, provided that the replacing vessel uses similar gear and does not have in any year of its operation a record of landings of hake and Norway lobster higher than the quantities specified in point 6.1.

Table I
Maximum number of days a vessel may be present within the area by fishing gear per year
Special condition	Regulated gear	Maximum number of days
	Trawls, Danish seines and similar gears of mesh size ≥ 32 mm, gillnets of mesh size ≥ 60 mm and bottom longlines	ES	126
		FR	109
		PT	113
6.1.(a) and 6.1.(b)	Trawls, Danish seines and similar gears of mesh size ≥ 32 mm, gillnets of mesh size ≥ 60 mm and bottom longlines	Unlimited

7. Kilowatt day system

7.1. A Member State may manage its fishing effort allocations in accordance with a kilowatt days system. Through that system it may authorise any vessel concerned by any regulated gear and special conditions as set out in Table I to be present within the area for a maximum number of days which is different from that set out in that Table, provided that the overall amount of kilowatt days corresponding to the regulated gear and to the special conditions is respected.

7.2. This overall amount of kilowatt days shall be the sum of all individual fishing efforts allocated to the vessels flying the flag of that Member State and qualified for the regulated gear and, where applicable, the special conditions. 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 7.1. were not applied. For as long as the number of days is unlimited according to Table I, the relevant number of days the vessel would benefit from is 360.

7.3. A Member State wishing to benefit from the system referred to in point 7.1. shall submit a request to the Commission, for the regulated gear and special conditions as laid down in Table I, with reports in electronic format containing the details of the calculation based on:

(a)

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

(b)

the track record of the years specified in point 6.1.(a) for such vessels reflecting the catch composition defined in the special condition referred to in point 6.1.(a) or (b), if those vessels are qualified for such special conditions;

(c)

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 7.1.

7.4. On the basis of that request, the Commission shall assess whether the conditions referred to in point 7 are complied with and, where applicable, may authorise that Member State to benefit from the system referred to in point 7.1.

8. Allocation of additional days for permanent cessation of fishing activities

8.1. 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 regulated gear may be allocated to a Member State by the Commission on the basis of permanent cessations of fishing activities that have taken place during the preceding management period, either in accordance with Article 23 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006(1) or Council Regulation (EC) No 744/2008(2). 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.

8.2. The effort expended in 2003 measured in kilowatt days of the withdrawn vessels using the regulated gear shall be divided by the effort expended by all vessels using that gear 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.

8.3. Points 8.1. and 8.2. shall not apply where a vessel has been replaced in accordance with point 3 or 6.4., or when the withdrawal has already been used in previous years to obtain additional days at sea.

8.4. A Member State wishing to benefit from the allocations referred to in point 8.1. shall submit a request to the Commission, by 15 June of the current management period, with reports in electronic format containing, for the gear grouping and special conditions as laid down in Table I, the details of the calculation based on:

(a)

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

(b)

the fishing activity deployed by such vessels in 2003 calculated in days at sea according to the grouping of fishing gears and, if necessary, special conditions.

8.5. On the basis of such a request by a Member State the Commission may, by means of implementing acts, allocate that Member State a number of days additional to that referred to in point 5.1. for that Member State. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 42(2).

8.6. During the current management period, a Member State may re-allocate those additional days at sea to all or part of the vessels remaining in fleet and qualified for the regulated gears. Additional days stemming from a withdrawn vessel that benefited from a special condition referred to in point 6.1.(a) or (b) may not be allocated to a vessel remaining active that does not benefit from a special condition.

8.7. When the Commission allocates additional days at sea due to a permanent cessation of fishing activities during the preceding management period, the maximum number of days per Member State and gear shown in Table I shall be adjusted accordingly for the current management period.

9. Allocation of additional days for enhanced scientific observer coverage

9.1. Three additional days on which a vessel may be present within the area when carrying on board any regulated gear may be allocated to a Member State 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 shall go beyond the requirements on data collection, as laid down in Council Regulation (EC) No 199/2008(3) and its implementing rules for national programmes.

9.2. Scientific observers shall be independent from the owner, the master of the vessel and any crew member.

9.3. A Member State wishing to benefit from the allocations referred to in point 9.1. shall submit a description of its enhanced scientific observer coverage programme to the Commission for approval.

9.4. On the basis of that description, and after consultation with STECF, the Commission may, by means of implementing acts, allocate the Member State concerned a number of days additional to that referred to in point 5.1. for that Member State and for the vessels, the area and gear concerned by the enhanced programme of scientific observers. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 42(2).

9.5. 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 four weeks before the beginning of the period for which the programme applies.

CHAPTER IV Management

10. General obligation

Member States shall manage the maximum allowable effort in accordance with the conditions laid down in Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 2166/2005 and Articles 26 to 35 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009.

11. Management periods

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

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

11.3. Where a Member State authorises vessels flying its flag to be present within the area by hours, the Member State shall continue measuring the consumption of days as specified in point 10. 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 before the end of a 24-hour period.

CHAPTER V Exchanges of fishing effort allocations

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

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

12.2. The total number of days present within the area transferred in accordance with point 12.1., 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 specified in point 6.1.(a) multiplied by the engine power in kilowatts of that vessel.

12.3. The transfer of days as described in point 12.1. shall be permitted between vessels operating with any regulated gear and during the same management period.

12.4. The transfer of days is only permitted for vessels benefiting from an allocation of fishing days without special conditions.

12.5. On request from the Commission, Member States shall provide information on the transfers that have taken place. The format of spreadsheets 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 42(2).

13. Transfer of days between fishing vessels flying the flag of different Member States

Member States may permit the 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 4.1. and 4.2. and 12 apply mutatis mutandis. Where Member States decide to authorise such a transfer, they shall notify the Commission, before the transfer takes place, of the details of the transfer, including the number of days to be transferred, the fishing effort and, where applicable, the fishing quotas relating thereto.

CHAPTER VI Reporting obligations

14. 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 area specified in point 2 of this Annex.

15. Collection of relevant data

Member States shall collect on a quarterly basis the information about total fishing effort deployed within the area for towed gears and static gears, effort deployed by vessels using different types of gear in the area, and the engine power of those vessels in kilowatt days, on the basis of information used for the management of fishing days present within the area as set out in this Annex.

16. Communication of relevant data

Upon request from the Commission, Member States shall make available to the Commission a spreadsheet with data specified in point 15 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 detailed information to the Commission on effort allocated and consumed covering all or parts of the current and the precedent management periods, using the data format specified in Tables IV and V.

Table II

Reporting format kW-day information by management period

Member State	Gear	Management period	Cumulative effort declaration
(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)

Table III

Data format kW-day information by management period

a Information relevant for transmission of data by fixed-length formatting.
Name of field	Maximum number of characters/digits	Alignmenta L(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: TR = trawls, Danish seines and similar gear ≥ 32 mm GN = gillnets ≥ 60 mm LL = bottom longlines
(3) Management period	4		One management period in the period from the 2006 management period to the current management period
(4) Cumulative effort declaration	7	R	Cumulative amount of fishing effort expressed in kilowatt days deployed from 1 February until 31 January of the relevant management period

Table IV

Reporting format for vessel-related information

Member State	CFR	External marking	Length of management period	Gear notified				Special condition applying to notified gear(s)				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	…	No 1	No 2	No 3	…
(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(5)	(5)	(5)	(6)	(6)	(6)	(6)	(7)	(7)	(7)	(7)	(8)	(8)	(8)	(8)	(9)

Table V

Data format for vessel-related information

a Information relevant for transmission of data by fixed-length formatting.
b Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 404/2011 of 8 April 2011 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 establishing a Community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy (OJ L 112, 30.4.2011, p. 1).
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		Union 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 shall be inserted on the left hand side
(3) External marking	14	L	Under Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 404/2011b
(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: TR = trawls, Danish seines and similar gear ≥ 32 mm GN = gillnets ≥ 60 mm LL = bottom longlines
(6) Special condition applying to notified gear(s)	2	L	Indication of which, if any, of the special condition referred to in point 6.1.(a) or (b) of Annex IIB that apply
(7) Days eligible using notified gear(s)	3	L	Number of days for which the vessel is eligible under Annex IIB 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 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)

Council Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006 of 27 July 2006 on the European Fisheries Fund (OJ L 223, 15.8.2006, p. 1).

(2)

Council Regulation (EC) No 744/2008 of 24 July 2008 instituting a temporary specific action aiming to promote the restructuring of the European Community fishing fleets affected by the economic crisis (OJ L 202, 31.7.2008, p. 1).

(3)

Council Regulation (EC) No 199/2008 of 25 February 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 60, 5.3.2008, p. 1).