Regulation (EU) No 1343/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on certain provisions for fishing in the GFCM (General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean) Agreement area and amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 concerning management measures for the sustainable exploitation of fishery resources in the Mediterranean Sea

• Published date: 10 July 2019
• Official Gazette Publication: Gazzetta ufficiale dell’Unione europea, L 347, 30 dicembre 2011,Diario Oficial de la Unión Europea, L 347, 30 de diciembre de 2011,Journal officiel de l’Union européenne, L 347, 30 décembre 2011

02011R1343 — EN — 10.07.2019 — 002.001

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This text is meant purely as a documentation tool and has no legal effect. The Union's institutions do not assume any liability for its contents. The authentic versions of the relevant acts, including their preambles, are those published in the Official Journal of the European Union and available in EUR-Lex. Those official texts are directly accessible through the links embedded in this document

►B REGULATION (EU) No 1343/2011 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 13 December 2011 on certain provisions for fishing in the GFCM (General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean) Agreement area and amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 concerning management measures for the sustainable exploitation of fishery resources in the Mediterranean Sea (OJ L 347 30.12.2011, p. 44)

Amended by:

		Official Journal
		No	page	date
►M1	REGULATION (EU) 2015/2102 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 28 October 2015	L 308	1	25.11.2015
►M2	REGULATION (EU) 2019/982 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 5 June 2019	L 164	1	20.6.2019

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▼B

REGULATION (EU) No 1343/2011 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

of 13 December 2011

on certain provisions for fishing in the GFCM (General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean) Agreement area and amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 concerning management measures for the sustainable exploitation of fishery resources in the Mediterranean Sea

TITLE I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1

Subject matter

This Regulation lays down the rules for the application by the Union of the conservation, management, exploitation, monitoring, marketing and enforcement measures for fishery and aquaculture products established by the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM).

Article 2

Scope

1. ►M2 This Regulation applies to all commercial fishing and aquaculture activities, as well as to recreational fishing activities where specifically provided for in this Regulation, conducted by Union fishing vessels and nationals of Member States in the GFCM Agreement area. ◄

It shall apply without prejudice to Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006.

2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, this Regulation shall not apply to fishing operations conducted solely for the purpose of scientific investigations which are carried out with the permission and under the authority of the Member State whose flag the vessel is flying and of which the Commission and the Member States in whose waters the research is carried out have been informed in advance. Member States conducting fishing operations for the purpose of scientific investigations shall inform the Commission, the Member States in whose waters the research is carried out and the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries of all catches from such fishing operations.

Article 3

Definitions

►M2 For the purposes of this Regulation the following definitions shall apply in addition to the definitions laid down in Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 1 ), Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 and Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 ( 2 ): ◄

(a) ‘GFCM Agreement area’ means the Mediterranean and the Black Sea and connecting waters, as described in the GFCM Agreement;

(b) ‘fishing effort’ means the product resulting from multiplying the capacity of a fishing vessel, expressed either in kW or in GT (gross tonnage), by the activity expressed in number of days at sea;

(c) ‘day at sea’ means any calendar day on which a vessel is absent from port, irrespective of the amount of time in the course of that day that that vessel is present in an area;

(d) ‘EU Fleet Register number’ means the Community Fleet Register number defined in Annex I to Commission Regulation (EC) No 26/2004 of 30 December 2003 on the Community fishing fleet register ( 3 );

▼M2

(e) ‘buffer area’ means a zone surrounding a fisheries restricted area in order to avoid accidental access to it, enhancing the protection of the surrounded area;

(f) ‘Targeting blackspot seabream’ means carrying out fishing activities in which the quantities of blackspot seabream on board or landed constitute more than 20 % of the catch in live weight after sorting per tide.

▼B

TITLE II

TECHNICAL MEASURES

CHAPTER I

Fisheries restricted areas

Section I

Fisheries restricted area in the Gulf of Lions

Article 4

Establishment of a fisheries restricted area

A fisheries restricted area is established in the eastern Gulf of Lions, bounded by lines joining the following geographic coordinates:

— 42° 40′ N, 4° 20′ E

— 42° 40′ N, 5° 00′ E

— 43° 00′ N, 4° 20′ E

— 43° 00′ N, 5° 00′ E.

Article 5

Fishing effort

For demersal stocks, the fishing effort of vessels using towed nets, bottom- and mid-water longlines and bottom-set nets in the fisheries restricted area as referred to in Article 4 shall not exceed the level of fishing effort applied in 2008 by each Member State in that area.

Article 6

Fishing track record

Member States shall, not later than 16 February 2012, submit to the Commission in electronic format a list of vessels flying their flag that had a track record of fishing during the year 2008 in the area referred to in Article 4 and in GFCM Geographical Sub-Area 7 as defined in Annex I. That list shall contain the name of the vessel, its EU Fleet Register number, the period for which the vessel was authorised to fish in the area referred to in Article 4 and the number of days spent by each vessel in the year 2008 in Geographical Sub-Area 7 and more specifically in the area referred to in Article 4.

Article 7

Authorised vessels

1. Vessels authorised to fish in the area referred to in Article 4 shall be issued with a fishing authorisation by their Member State in accordance with Article 7 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 of 20 November 2009 establishing a Community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the common fisheries policy ( 4 ).

2. Fishing vessels which do not have records of fishing within the area referred to in Article 4 prior to 31 December 2008 shall not be authorised to start fishing therein.

3. Member States shall, not later than 16 February 2012, communicate to the Commission the national legislation in force on 31 December 2008 concerning:

(a) the maximum number of hours per day a vessel is permitted to engage in fishing activity;

(b) the maximum number of days per week a vessel is permitted to stay at sea and be absent from port; and

(c) the compulsory times for fishing vessels to exit from, and return to, their registered port.

Article 8

Protection of sensitive habitats

Member States shall ensure that the area referred to in Article 4 is protected from the impact of any other human activity jeopardising the conservation of the features that characterise that area as an area of spawners’ aggregation.

Article 9

Information

Before 1 February of each year, Member States shall submit to the Commission in electronic format a report on the fishing activities carried out in the area referred to in Article 4.

The Commission may adopt implementing acts as regards detailed rules for the format and transmission of the report on such fishing activities. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 25(2).

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Section Ia

Fisheries restricted areas to protect essential fish habitats and vulnerable marine ecosystems

Article 9a

Fisheries restricted areas in the Strait of Sicily

Fishing with bottom trawl nets shall be prohibited in the:

(1) fisheries restricted area ‘East of Adventure Bank’ bound by lines joining the following coordinates:

— 37° 23,850′ N, 12° 30,072′ E

— 37° 23,884′ N, 12° 48,282′ E

— 37° 11,567′ N, 12° 48,305′ E

— 37° 11,532′ N, 12° 30,095′ E

(2) fisheries restricted area ‘West of Gela Basin’ bound by lines joining the following coordinates:

— 37° 12,040′ N, 13° 17,925′ E

— 37° 12,047′ N, 13° 36,170′ E

— 36° 59,725′ N, 13° 36,175′ E

— 36° 59,717′ N, 13° 17,930′ E

(3) fisheries restricted area ‘East of Malta Bank’ bound by lines joining the following coordinates:

— 36° 12,621′ N, 15° 13,338′ E

— 36° 12,621′ N, 15° 26,062′ E

— 35° 59,344′ N, 15° 26,062′ E

— 35° 59,344′ N, 15° 13,338′ E.

Article 9b

Buffer areas in the Strait of Sicily

1. A buffer area bound by lines joining the following coordinates shall be established around the fisheries restricted area ‘East of Adventure Bank’ as referred to in Article 9a(1):

— 37° 24,849′ N, 12° 28,814′ E

— 37° 24,888′ N, 12° 49,536′ E

— 37° 10,567′ N, 12° 49,559′ E

— 37° 10,528′ N, 12° 28,845′ E

2. A buffer area bounded by lines joining the following coordinates shall be established around the fisheries restricted area ‘West of Gela Basin’ as referred to in Article 9a(2):

— 37° 13,041′ N, 13° 16,672′ E

— 37° 13,049′ N, 13° 37,422′ E

— 36° 58,723′ N, 13° 37,424′ E

— 36° 58,715′ N, 13° 16,682′ E

3. A buffer area bounded by lines joining the following coordinates shall be established around the fisheries restricted area ‘East of Malta Bank’ as referred to in Article 9a(3):

— 36° 13,624′ N, 15° 12,102′ E

— 36° 13,624′ N, 15° 27,298′ E

— 35° 58,342′ N, 15° 27,294′ E

— 35° 58,342′ N, 15° 12,106′ E

4. Vessels carrying out fishing activities with bottom trawl nets in the buffer areas referred to in this Article shall ensure appropriate transmission frequency of their vessel monitoring system (VMS) signals. Vessels not equipped with a VMS transponder and aiming to fish with bottom trawl...