L_2014082EN.01000101.xml
| 20.3.2014 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | L 82/1 |
COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) No 277/2014
of 19 March 2014
derogating from Council Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 as regards the minimum distance from coast and the minimum sea depth for the ‘volantina’ trawlers fishing in the territorial waters of Slovenia
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 of 21 December 2006 concerning management measures for the sustainable exploitation of fishery resources in the Mediterranean Sea (1), and in particular Article 13(5) thereof,
Whereas:
| (1) | Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 prohibits the use of towed gears within 3 nautical miles of the coast or within the 50 m isobath where that depth is reached at a shorter distance from the coast. |
| (2) | At the request of a Member State, the Commission may allow a derogation from Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006, provided that a number of conditions set out in Article 13(5) and(9) are fulfilled. |
| (3) | On 8 February 2013 the Commission received a request from Slovenia for a derogation from the first subparagraph of Article 13(1) of that Regulation, for the use of ‘volantina’ trawlers in the territorial waters of Slovenia, at less than 50 meters depth, in the area between 1,5 and 3 nautical miles from the coast. |
| (4) | The request covers vessels with a track record in the fishery of more than five years and which operate under a management plan adopted by Slovenia on 13 February 2014 (2) in accordance with Article 19(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006. Those vessels are included on a list communicated to the Commission in line with the requirements of Article 13(9) of Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006. |
| (5) | The management plan guarantees no future increase in the fishing effort, as fishing authorisations will be issued only to specified 12 vessels involving a total effort of 178 gross tonnes that are already authorised to fish by Slovenia. |
| (6) | Slovenia provided up-to-date scientific and technical justifications for the derogation. |
| (7) | The Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) assessed the derogation requested by Slovenia and the related draft management plan at its plenary session held from 8 to 12 April 2013. |
| (9) | In particular, there are specific geographical constraints, as the territorial waters of Slovenia do not at any point reach a depth of 50 meters. Bottom trawlers, including the ‘volantina’ trawlers, therefore currently operate exclusively beyond 3 nautical miles, where fishing grounds are significantly limited by an area devoted to commercial shipping routes. |
| (10) | The ‘volantina’ trawl fishery cannot be undertaken with other gears, has no significant impact on marine |
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