THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on the Common Fisheries Policy, amending Council Regulations (EC) No 1954/2003 and (EC) No 1224/2009 and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 2371/2002 and (EC) No 639/2004 and Council Decision 2004/585/EC, and in particular Article 15(2) thereof,
Whereas:
(1)
To protect juvenile swordfish, paragraphs 15 and 17 of Recommendation 16-05 of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) provide for a minimum size for swordfish caught in the Mediterranean. Catches and by-catches of swordfish below this minimum size, including in sport and recreational fisheries, should not be kept on board the fishing vessel, transhipped, transported, stored, landed, sold, displayed or offered for sale.
(2)
Furthermore, under paragraph 17 of Recommendation 16-05, vessels actively fishing for swordfish must discard incidental catches of swordfish below the minimum size that exceed 5 % of their total swordfish catch.
(3)
For sport and recreational fisheries, paragraphs 23 and 26 of ICCAT Recommendation 16-05 establish that it should be prohibited to catch, retain on board, tranship or land more than one Mediterranean swordfish per vessel per day. Necessary measures should be put in place to ensure, to the greatest extent possible, the release of Mediterranean swordfish caught alive during sport and recreational fishing, especially juveniles.
(4)
Paragraph 30 of ICCAT Recommendation 16-05 establishes that vessels not authorised to fish actively for Mediterranean swordfish may keep on board swordfish catches not exceeding a maximum by-catch limit per vessel and per fishing operation. Member States should establish that by-catch limit in their annual fishing plans and report it to the Commission. Vessels not authorised to fish actively for Mediterranean swordfish should not retain on board by-catches of Mediterranean swordfish exceeding the limits in the national annual fishing plans.
(5)
To ensure consistency between ICCAT Recommendation 16-05 and European Union law, the landing obligation in Article 15(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 should not apply to Union vessels participating in Mediterranean swordfish fisheries.
(6)
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/98 should be amended to include new provisions reflecting the fishing conditions established in ICCAT Recommendation 16-05.
(7)
In line with the timeframe laid down in Article 15(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013, this Regulation should enter into force immediately after its publication,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: