The Sea Fisheries (Amendment etc.) (No. 2) Regulations 2021
The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred by—
In accordance with Article 15(2A) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1241 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the conservation of fishery resources and the protection of marine ecosystems through technical measures, the Secretary of State has obtained scientific evidence to support the measures made under Article 15(2A) contained in these Regulations.
In accordance with section 41(1) of the Fisheries Act 2020, the Secretary of State has consulted the Scottish Ministers, the Welsh Ministers, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland and such other persons likely to be affected by the measures made under section 36(1)(b) and (c) contained in these Regulations as the Secretary of State considers appropriate.
In accordance with—
Article 15(6B) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Common Fisheries Policy;
Article 4(3) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1004 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the establishment of a Union framework for the collection, management and use of data in the fisheries sector and support for scientific advice regarding the common fisheries policy;
Article 11(1B) of Regulation (EU) 2018/973 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a multiannual plan for demersal stocks in the North Sea and the fisheries exploiting those stocks, specifying details of the implementation of the landing obligation in the North Sea;
Article 13(1B) of Regulation (EU) 2019/472 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a multiannual plan for stocks fished in the Western Waters and adjacent waters, and for fisheries exploiting those stocks;
Article 15(2B) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1241 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the conservation of fishery resources and the protection of marine ecosystems through technical measures; and
section 40 of the Fisheries Act 2020,
the Secretary of State has, where necessary, obtained the consent of the Scottish Ministers, the Welsh Ministers and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland to the making of these Regulations.
Citation, commencement and extent1.
(1)
These Regulations may be cited as the Sea Fisheries (Amendment etc.) (No. 2) Regulations 2021 and come into force on 31st December 2021.
(2)
These Regulations extend to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Commission Regulation (EU) No 468/2010 establishing the EU list of vessels engaged in illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing2.
(1)
(2)
Part B of the Annex (vessels listed by Regional Fisheries Management Organisations) is amended in accordance with the Schedule to these Regulations.
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1393/2014 establishing a discard plan for certain pelagic fisheries in north-western waters3.
(1)
(2)
In Article 2 (survivability exemption)—
(a)
“1.
By way of derogation from Article 15(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013, the landing obligation does not apply to:
(a)
catches of mackerel and herring in the purse seine fisheries in ICES area 6; or
(b)
catches of mackerel, horse mackerel, herring and sprat in the ring net fishery targeting pelagic species not subject to quotas in ICES divisions 7e and 7f,
if all of the conditions listed in paragraph 1A are satisfied and the requirement in Article 4 is met.
1A.
The conditions referred to in paragraph 1 are:
(a)
the catch is released before a certain percentage (specified in paragraphs 2 and 3) of the purse seine is closed (“the point of retrieval”);
(b)
the purse seine gear is fitted with a visible buoy clearly marking the limit for the point of retrieval; and
(c)
the vessel and the purse seine gear are equipped with an electronic system which records and documents information on the time and location that the purse seine is hauled, and the extent to which it is hauled, for all fishing operations.”;
(b)
in paragraph 2, for “in fisheries for”, in both places it occurs, substitute “where the catch is mostly”
;
(c)
in paragraph 3, for “a mixture of both species” substitute “any other combination of mackerel, herring, horse mackerel or sprat,”
;
(d)
in paragraph 4, for “mackerel and herring” substitute “mackerel, horse mackerel, herring and sprat”
;
(e)
omit paragraph 6.
(3)
Omit Article 3 (de minimis exemptions in the years 2015, 2016 and 2017).
(4)
In Article 3a (de minimis exemptions in the years 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021)—
(a)
in the heading, omit “in the years 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021”;
(b)
in point (a)—
(i)
omit “6 %, in 2018, and”;
(ii)
omit “, in 2019, 2020 and 2021,”;
(c)
in point (b)—
(i)
omit “6 %, in 2018, and”;
(ii)
omit “, in 2019, 2020 and 2021,”;
(iii)
after “subarea VII” insert “, if the requirement in Article 4 of this Regulation is met”
;
(d)
in point (c), omit “, in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021,”.
(5)
In Article 4 (documentation of catches)—
(a)
for “exemption” substitute “exemptions”
;
(b)
for “Article 2” substitute “Articles 2 and 3a”
.
(6)
In Article 5 (expiry), for “2021” substitute “2024”
.
(7)
In the Annex, in the table following paragraph 2, in the final column of the final row, after “horse mackerel” insert “, herring, sprat”
.
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1395/2014 establishing a discard plan for certain small pelagic fisheries and fisheries for industrial purposes in the North Sea4.
(1)
(2)
Omit Article 3 (de minimis exemption in the years 2015 and 2016).
(3)
In Article 3a (de minimis exemption in the years 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021)—
(a)
omit from the heading “in the years 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021”;
(b)
omit “in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021”.
(4)
In Article 4 (documentation of catches under the exemptions), in paragraph 2, for “Article 3” substitute “Article 3a”
.
(5)
In Article 5 (expiry), for “2021” substitute “2024”
.
(6)
In the Annex—
(a)
omit point 1 (including the table);
(b)
in point 3, for “points 1 and 2” substitute “point 2”
;
(c)
in point 4, omit “IIIa and”.
Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/909 establishing the list of mandatory research surveys and thresholds for the purposes of the multiannual Union programme for the collection and management of data in the fisheries and aquaculture sectors5.
(1)
(2)
In Article 1, for “2020-2021” substitute “from 1 January 2022 until the end of 31 December 2024”
.
Commission Delegated Decision (EU) 2019/910 establishing the multiannual Union programme for the collection and management of biological, environmental, technical and socioeconomic data in the fisheries and aquaculture sectors6.
(1)
(2)
In Article 1, for “2020-2021” substitute “from 1 January 2022 until the end of 31 December 2024”
.
Regulation (EU) 2019/1241 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the conservation of fisheries resources and the protection of marine ecosystems through technical measures7.
(1)
Regulation (EU) 2019/1241 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the conservation of fisheries resources and the protection of marine ecosystems through technical measures is amended as follows.
(2)
In Annex 6 (North Western waters), in Part B (mesh sizes), in the table following point 2, in table note (1), after “In division 7d,” insert “with the exception of directed fishing for bass,”
.
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2238 specifying details of implementation of the landing obligation for certain demersal fisheries in the North Sea for the period 2020-20218.
(1)
(2)
In Article 1 (implementation of the landing obligation), omit “until the end of 2021”.
(3)
In Article 2 (definitions)—
(a)
in point (4), for “codend” substitute “cod-end”
;
(b)
in point (5), after “maximum mesh size of 105 mm” insert “, except that in United Kingdom waters of ICES division 4b the uppermost cod-end may be constructed with square meshes of at least 80 mm”
;
(c)
“(6)
‘cod-end’ means the rearmost part of the trawl, having either a cylindrical shape, with the same circumference throughout, or a tapering shape. It may be made up of one or more panels attached to one another along their sides and includes any lengthening piece which is made up of one of more panels located just in front of the cod-end.”.
(4)
In Article 6 (survivability exemption for catch and by-catch of plaice), in paragraph 3, after “immediately” insert “and in the case referred to in point (a) of paragraph 1, the plaice must be released during the net hauling process wherever this is reasonably possible”
.
(5)
In Article 10 (de minimis exemptions)—
(a)
in point (e), omit “in 2020 and 2021”;
(b)
omit point (f);
(c)
“(fa)
in the mixed demersal fisheries in United Kingdom waters of ICES divisions 4a and 4b, by vessels using bottom trawls or seines (OTB, OTT, SDN, SSC) with a mesh size of 70-99 mm:
a quantity of whiting below the minimum conservation reference size, which must not exceed 5 % of the total annual catches of whiting;”;
(d)
in point (j) for “a quantity” to the end of the sentence in which it occurs substitute “any species subject to catch limits may be discarded, provided the total amount of each species discarded does not exceed 5 % of the total annual catches of that species;”
;
(e)
in point (k), for “7 % in 2020 and 6 % in 2021” substitute “6 %”
;
(f)
in point (l), for “7 % in 2020 and 6 % in 2021” substitute “6 %”
;
(g)
(6)
“Article 14Expiry
This Regulation ceases to have effect at the end of 31 December 2024.”.
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2239 specifying details of the landing obligation for certain demersal fisheries in North-Western waters for the period 2020-20219.
(1)
(2)
In Article 1 (implementation of the landing obligation)—
(a)
the existing text becomes paragraph 1;
(b)
in that paragraph—
(i)
omit “United Kingdom and International”;
(ii)
after “ICES Subareas 6 and 7” insert “that are not within Union waters”
;
(iii)
omit “until the end of 2021”;
(c)
“2.
In this Regulation, “United Kingdom waters” and “Union waters” have the meanings given in Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013.”.
(3)
In Article 2 (definitions)—
(a)
in paragraph 2(a), for “cod end” substitute “cod-end”
;
(b)
in paragraph 7, for “codend” substitute “cod-end”
;
(c)
“9.
‘cod-end’ means the rearmost part of the trawl, having either a cylindrical shape, with the same circumference throughout, or a tapering shape. It may be made up of one or more panels attached to one another along their sides and includes any lengthening piece which is made up of one of more panels located just in front of the cod-end.”.
(4)
In Article 3 (survivability exemption for Norway lobster)—
(a)
omit points (b) and (c);
(b)
“(ca)
Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) caught with otter trawls (OTT, OTB, TBS, TBN, TB, PTB) with a mesh size equal to or greater than 70 mm in ICES subarea 7;”.
(5)
In Article 4 (survivability exemption for common sole), in paragraph 1—
(a)
for “division 7d” substitute “divisions 7a, 7d, 7e, 7f and 7g”
;
(b)
for “cod end” substitute “cod-end”
.
(6)
In Article 6 (survivability exemption for plaice), in paragraph 3, after “immediately” insert “and in the case referred to in point (a) of paragraph 1, the plaice must be released during the net hauling process wherever this is reasonably possible”
.
(7)
In Article 7 (survivability exemption for species caught in pots, traps and creels), in paragraph 1—
(a)
omit “United Kingdom and International”;
(b)
after “ICES Subareas 6 and 7” insert “that are not within Union waters”
.
(8)
In Article 8 (de minimis exemptions), in paragraph 1—
(a)
omit point (c);
(b)
“(ca)
for common sole (Solea solea), up to a maximum of 3 % in ICES divisions 7d, 7e and 7h, and up to a maximum of 6 % in ICES divisions 7f and 7g, of the total annual catches of that species by vessels using TBB gear with a mesh size of 80-119 mm equipped with Flemish panel;”.
(c)
in point (g) —
(i)
for “(BT2)” substitute “(TBB)”
;
(ii)
for “7a to 7j” substitute “7a and 7j”
;
(d)
in point (i), for “7f” substitute “7d”
;
(e)
in point (l), for “31 mm” substitute “16 mm”
;
(f)
“(m)
for monkfish (Lophius spp.), up to a maximum of 7% of the total annual catches of that species by vessels using beam trawls (TBB) in ICES divisions 7d to 7j.”.
(9)
In Article 12 (repeal), for “Articles 9 and 10” substitute “Article 10”
.
(10)
“Article 13Expiry
This Regulation ceases to have effect at the end of 31 December 2024.”.
Council Regulation (EU) 2020/123 fixing for 2020 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks, applicable in Union waters and, for Union fishing vessels, in certain non-Union waters10.
(1)
(2)
In Article 10 (measures on European seabass fisheries)—
(a)
in paragraph 1—
(i)
for “Until the end of 2021 it” substitute “It”
;
(ii)
for “During that period it” substitute “It”
;
(b)
in paragraph 2—
(i)
in the first subparagraph—
(aa)
for “until the end of January 2021 and from 1 April to the end of December 2021” substitute “during January and during the period from 1 April to the end of December in each calendar year”
;
(bb)
“(a)
using demersal trawls (OTT, OTB, PTB, TBB, TBN, TBS and TB), as specified in Annex XI of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 404/2011 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 (“Annex XI”), for unavoidable by-catches not exceeding 380 kilogrammes per month and 5 % of the weight of the total catches of marine organisms on board caught by that vessel per fishing trip;
(b)
using seines (SSC, SDN, SPR, SV, and SX), as specified in Annex XI, for unavoidable by-catches not exceeding 380 kilogrammes per month and 5 % of the weight of the total catches of marine organisms on board caught by that vessel per fishing trip;
(c)
using hooks and lines (LHP, LHM, LLD, LL, LTL, LX and LLS), as specified in Annex XI, only where the vessel has recorded catches of European seabass using hooks and lines over the period from 1 July 2015 to the end of September 2016, not exceeding 5.7 tonnes per vessel per year;
(d)
using fixed gillnets, only where the vessel has recorded catches of European seabass using fixed gillnets over the period from 1 July 2015 to the end of September 2016, for by-catches not exceeding 1.4 tonnes per vessel per year.”;
(ii)
in the second subparagraph, omit the first sentence;
(iii)
in the final subparagraph, omit “for an English or Welsh fishing vessel”;
(c)
in paragraph 3, for the word “The”, in the first place it occurs, substitute “Except in the case of a replacement vessel as provided for in the second subparagraph of paragraph 2, the”
;
(d)
in paragraph 5—
(i)
in point (a), for “until the end of February 2021 and for the whole of December 2021” substitute “during the period from 1 January to the end of February and during December in each calendar year”
;
(ii)
in point (b), for “from 1 March to the end of November 2021” substitute “during the period from 1 March to the end of November in each calendar year”
;
(e)
in paragraph 6, omit the definitions for “British fishery limits”, “English fishing vessel”, “the English zone”, “the Northern Ireland zone”, “the Scottish zone” and “Welsh fishing vessel”.
(3)
Omit Article 12a (closed fishing seasons for sandeels).
SCHEDULEAmendments to table
The table in Part B of the Annex to Commission Regulation (EU) No 468/2010 (vessels listed by Regional Fisheries Management Organisations) is amended as follows—
(a)
add two additional columns on the right side of the table, the first headed “Date of inclusion in UK IUU vessel list” and the second headed “Additional information”;
(b)
in the entry for each vessel already listed in the table, in the new column headed “date of inclusion in UK IUU vessel list” insert “IP completion day”
;
(c)
“417000878
ABISHAK PUTHA 3
Unknown
SIOFA/CCSBT
31/12/2021
Call sign: 4SFXXXX”;
(d)
“5IM61 / ICCAT
4000354 / E20-09219
HALELUYA
Unknown (latest known flag: Malaysia)
ICCAT, IOTC, NAFO, NEAFC
31/12/2021
Call sign: 51M615
Owner/Operator:
Imanely SAS / NIT: 900076756 / No de Registry: 21591712 / Etat: Actif”;
(e)
“E21-05566
IMULA 0730 KLT
Sri Lanka
ICCAT/IOTC
31/12/2021
Call sign: 4SF4482
E21-05566
IMULA 0846 KLT
Sri Lanka
ICCAT/IOTC
31/12/2021
E21-05566
IMUL-A-1028-TLE
Sri Lanka
ICCAT/IOTC
31/12/2021
E21-05566
IND-TN-15-MM8297/ARARAT/RESH
MITHA
India
ICCAT/IOTC
31/12/2021”
(f)
“Unknown
LU RONG YUAN YU 197
Unknown
NPFC
31/12/2021
Unknown
LU RONG YUAN YU 581
Unknown
NPFC
31/12/2021
Unknown
LU RONG YUAN YU 582
Unknown
NPFC
31/12/2021”
(g)
“8529533 /
E20-08757
MARIO 11
Senegal
ICCAT/IOTC
31/12/2021
Call sign: 6WMR
Owner/Operator: HSIN FEI Trading Investment Co. Ltd
20180002 [ICCAT] / 61 [IOTC] [CCSBT: Unknown]
MARWAN 1 (known as AL WESAM 4 by ICCAT)
Somalia (previously DJIBOUTI, THAILAND)
CCSBT, ICCAT, IOTC
31/12/2021
Call sign: Unknown (previously HSN5721)
Owner: SOMLINK FISHERIES INVESTMENT (MARINE RENOWN SARL)”;
(h)
“8808654
NIKA
Unknown / Panama
CCAMLR/IOTC
31/12/2021
Call sign: HP6686
Owner: Jiho Shipping Ltd
Operator: Marine Fisheries Corp. Co. Ltd”;
(i)
“8665193 /
E20-04293
OCEAN STAR No 2
Unknown
ICCAT/IOTC
31/12/2021
Call sign: YJRU6
Owner/Operator: Ming Shun Fishery Co LTD”;
(j)
“20180003 [ICCAT] /
62 [IOTC] [CCSBT: 22/IS/2019 (Registration No.)]
PROGRESO (previously listed as AL WESAM 5)
Cameroon (previously DJIBOUTI, THAILAND)
CCSBT, ICCAT, IOTC
31/12/2021
Call sign: Unknown (previously HSN5447)
Owner: Mr Pornchai Viriyajit (previously MARINE RENOWN SARL)”;
(k)
“7825215 / 125
[IATTC] / 20110014
[ICCAT] /
25 [IOTC] /
280020064 [CCSBT/IATTC]
SAGE [according to ICCAT], CHIA HAO No. 66 [according to IATTC, IOTC, GFCM, NEAFC, SIOFA], (previous name according to IOTC: CHI FUW No. 6, previous names according to ICCAT: CHIA HAO No. 66, CHI FUW No. 6)
Gambia, previously Equatorial Guinea according to IOTC
IOTC/ICCAT
31/12/2021
Call sign: V3IN2 (IOTC) / C5J82 (ICCAT)
Owner/Operator: Song Maw Fishery S.A.”;
(l)
“20180004 [ICCAT] / 63 [IOTC] [CCSBT: 8692342]
SEA VIEW (previously listed as AL WESAM 2)
Cameroon (previously DJIBOUTI, THAILAND)
CCSBT, ICCAT, IOTC
31/12/2021
Call sign: Unknown (previously HSB3852)
Owner/Operator: Unknown (previously MARINE RENOWN SARL)
20180005 [ICCAT] / 64 [IOTC] [CCSBT: 8692354]
SEA WIND (previously listed as AL WESAM 1)
Cameroon (previously DJIBOUTI, THAILAND)
CCSBT, ICCAT, IOTC
31/12/2021
Call sign: Unknown (previously HSN5282)
Owner/Operator: Unknown (previously MARINE RENOWN SARL)”;
(m)
“7816472/72 [SIOFA]
SUMMER REFER [according to GFCM, NEAFC, SIOFA], OKAPI MARTA [according to ICCAT, IOTC, NEAFC] (previously listed solely as OKAPI MARTA)
Belize
GFCM, SIOFA, IOTC, ICCAT
31/12/2021”
These Regulations make amendments to retained EU law in the field of sea fisheries.
The United Kingdom’s illegal, unreported and unregulated (“IUU”) fishing vessel list is contained in Commission Regulation (EU) No 468/2010. Regulation 2 introduces the Schedule to these Regulations which amends the part of the list which specifies vessels contained in the IUU fishing vessels lists of regional fisheries management organisations (“RFMOs”). The amendments add vessels to the UK list to ensure that the UK maintains a list which includes all relevant vessels identified by RFMOs and meets its obligations to the RFMOs of which it is a member.
An impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen.