Council Regulation (EC) No 2341/2002 of 20 December 2002 fixing for 2003 the fishing opportunities and associated conditions for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks, applicable in Community waters and, for Community vessels, in waters where catch limitations are required

• Published date: 31 December 2002
• Subject Matter: Fisheries policy
• Official Gazette Publication: Official Journal of the European Communities, L 356, 31 December 2002

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Council Regulation (EC) No 2341/2002 of 20 December 2002 fixing for 2003 the fishing opportunities and associated conditions for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks, applicable in Community waters and, for Community vessels, in waters where catch limitations are required

Official Journal L 356 , 31/12/2002 P. 0012 - 0120

Council Regulation (EC) No 2341/2002

of 20 December 2002

fixing for 2003 the fishing opportunities and associated conditions for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks, applicable in Community waters and, for Community vessels, in waters where catch limitations are required

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 3760/92 of 20 December 1992 establishing a Community system for fisheries and aquaculture(1), and in particular Article 8(4) thereof,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 66/98 of 18 December 1997 laying down certain conservation and control measures applicable to fishing activities in the Antarctic and repealing Regulation (EC) No 2113/96(2), and in particular Article 21 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal of the Commission,

Whereas:

(1) Article 4 of Regulation (EEC) No 3760/92 requires the Council to adopt, in the light of the available scientific advice and, in particular, of the report prepared by the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries, the measures necessary to ensure the rational and responsible exploitation of resources on a sustainable basis.

(2) Under the terms of Article 8(4) of Regulation (EEC) No 3760/92, it is incumbent upon the Council, in accordance with Article 4 of that Regulation, to establish the total allowable catches (TAC) by fishery or group of fisheries. Fishing opportunities should be allocated to Member States and third countries in accordance with Article 8(4)(ii) and (vi) of that Regulation.

(3) In order to ensure effective management of these TACs and quotas, the specific conditions under which fishing operations occur should be established.

(4) It is necessary to establish the principles and certain procedures of fishery management at Community level, so that Member States can ensure the management of the vessels flying their flag.

(5) In accordance with the provisions laid down in Article 2 of Council Regulation (EC) No 847/96 of 6 May 1996 introducing additional conditions for year to year management of TACs and quotas(3), it is necessary to indicate which stocks are subject to the various measures fixed therein.

(6) In accordance with the procedure provided for in the agreements or protocols on fisheries relations, the Community has held consultations on fishing rights with the Kingdom of Norway(4), the Government of Denmark and the Home government of the Faroe Islands(5) and the Home Rule Government of Greenland(6), the Republic of Iceland(7), the Republic of Latvia(8), the Republic of Lithuania(9) and the Republic of Estonia(10).

(7) Pursuant to Article 124 of the 1994 Act of Accession, fisheries agreements concluded by the Kingdom of Sweden and the Republic of Finland with third countries are managed by the Community. In accordance with these agreements, the Community has held consultation with the Republic of Poland.

(8) The Community is a Contracting Party to several regional fisheries organisations. These fisheries organisations have recommended the setting of catch limitations and other conservation rules for certain species, these recommendations should therefore be implemented by the Community.

(9) The execution of fishing opportunities should be in accordance with the Community legislation on the matter, and in particular with Council Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 of 12 October 1993 establishing a control system applicable to the common fisheries policy(11), Council Regulation (EC) No 1626/94 of 27 June 1994 laying down certain technical measures for the conservation of fishery resources in the Mediterranean(12), Council Regulation (EC) No 1627/94 of 27 June 1994 laying down general provisions concerning special fishing permits(13), Regulation (EC) No 66/98, Council Regulation (EC) No 88/98 of 18 December 1997 laying down certain technical measures for the conservation of fishery resources in the waters of the Baltic Sea, the Belts and the Sound(14) and Council Regulation (EC) No 850/98 of 30 March 1998 for the conservation of fishery resources through technical measures for the protection of juveniles of marine organisms(15).

(10) The duration of the application of certain provisions is limited in order to enable the Commission to adopt detailed rules implementing Article 28c of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93.

(11) TACs for stocks with recovery plans for 2003 should correspond to the recovery strategy laid down in a Council Regulation establishing measures for the recovery of cod and hake stocks. Pending the adoption of that Regulation it is necessary to continue to apply temporarily certain technical measures to protect mature cod during their spawning season of 2002 in the Irish Sea (ICES Division VIIa) provided for in Regulation (EC) No 254/2002 of 12 February 2002 establishing measures to be applicable in 2002 for the recovery of the stock of cod in the Irish Sea (ICES Division VIIa)(16).

(12) It is necessary to limit in this Regulation fishing effort for cod in the North Sea, Skagerrak, Kattegat and to the West of Scotland.

(13) In order to contribute to the conservation of fish stocks, certain complementary measures on control and technical conditions of fishing should be implemented in 2003.

(14) In order to comply with international obligations undertaken by the Community as a Contracting Party to the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), and accordingly the obligation to apply the measures adopted by the CCAMLR Commission, the relevant dates of application are those corresponding to the beginning of the respective periods of application of the TACs as specified in Annex IG.

(15) Furthermore, during its Annual Meeting, ICCAT adopted tables showing the under-utilisation and over-utilisation by the ICCAT Contracting Parties of their fishing possibilities. In this context, ICCAT adopted a decision showing that during 2001, the European Community under-exploited the quotas of several stocks.

(16) In order to respect the adjustments to the Community quotas established by ICCAT, it is necessary for the distribution of the under-utilisation to be carried out on the basis of the respective contribution of each Member State towards the under-utilisation without modifying the distribution key established under the present Regulation concerning the annual allocation of TACs.

(17) In order to ensure the livelihood of Community fishermen, it is important to open these fisheries on 1 January 2003. Given the urgency of the matter, it is imperative to grant an exception to the six-week period mentioned in paragraph I(3) of the Protocol on the role of national Parliaments in the European Union, annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaties establishing the European Communities,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

CHAPTER I

SCOPE AND DEFINITIONS

Article 1

1. This Regulation fixes for 2003, for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks, fishing opportunities applicable to:

(a) vessels flying the flag and registered in Member States, hereinafter "Community vessels" or "EC vessels" in zones where catch limitations are required; and

(b) vessels flying the flag and registered in third countries, hereinafter "third country vessels" in waters falling within the sovereignty or jurisdiction of Member States, hereinafter "Community waters" or "EC waters";

and the specific conditions under which these fishing opportunities may be utilised.

However, for certain Antarctic stocks, fishing opportunities are fixed for the period specified in Annex IG.

2. For the purposes of this Regulation, fishing opportunities shall take the form of:

(a) TACs or the number of vessels authorised to fish and/or the duration of these authorisations;

(b) shares of the TACs available to the Community;

(c) quotas allocated to the Community in third countries' waters;

(d) allocation of Community fishing opportunities under (b) and (c) to Member States in the form of quotas;

(e) allocation to third countries of quotas to be fished in Community waters.

Article 2

1. The definitions of ICES(17), CECAF(18) (Eastern Central Atlantic or FAO major fishing zone 34) NAFO(19) and CCAMLR(20) zones are those given, respectively, in Council Regulation (EEC) No 3880/91 of 17 December 1991 on the submission of nominal catch statistics by Member States fishing in the Northeast Atlantic(21), Council Regulation (EC) No 2597/95 of 23 October 1995 on the submission of nominal catch statistics by Member States fishing in certain areas other than those of the North Atlantic(22), Council Regulation (EEC) No 2018/93 of 30 June 1993 on the submission of catch and activity statistics by Member States fishing in the Northwest Atlantic(23) and Regulation (EC) No 66/98.

2. For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:

(a) International waters shall be those falling outside the sovereignty or jurisdiction of any State;

(b) NAFO Regulatory Area shall be the part of the area of the NAFO Convention not falling under the sovereignty or within the jurisdiction of coastal States;

(c) the Skagerrak shall be bounded on the west by a line drawn from the Hanstholm lighthouse to the Lindesnes lighthouse and on the south by a line drawn from the Skagen lighthouse to the Tistlarna lighthouse and from this point to the nearest point on the Swedish coast;

(d) the Kattegat shall be bounded on the north by a line drawn from the Skagen lighthouse to the Tistlarna lighthouse and from this point to the...