Legal provisions of COM(2021)424 - Conservation and management measures for the Conservation of the Southern Bluefin Tuna

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dossier COM(2021)424 - Conservation and management measures for the Conservation of the Southern Bluefin Tuna.
document COM(2021)424 EN
date March 15, 2023


Article 1

Subject matter

This Regulation implements into Union law management, conservation and control measures established under the Convention for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna that are binding on the Union.

Article 2

Scope

This Regulation shall apply to:

(a)Union fishing vessels carrying out fishing in the area of distribution of southern bluefin tuna under the Convention; and

(b)Member States importing, exporting or re-exporting southern bluefin tuna.

Article 3

Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply:

(1)‘SBF’ means southern bluefin tuna or fish products originating from southern bluefin tuna;

(2)‘Record of Vessels’ means the record of vessels established by the CCSBT authorised to fish for or by-catch SBF;

(3)‘Union fishing vessel’ means any vessel flying the flag of a Member State, used or intended for use for the purposes of commercial exploitation of marine biological resources, including support vessels, fish processing vessels, vessels engaged in transhipment and carrier vessels equipped for the transportation of fishery products, but excluding container vessels;

(4)‘transhipment’ means the unloading of all or any fishery product(s) on board a fishing vessel to another fishing vessel;

(5)‘SBF tag’ means an external label attached to the whole SBF that contains information on the individual fish;

(6)‘CDS’ means the specific catch documentation scheme for SBF established by the CCSBT comprising the catch monitoring form, catch tagging form and export or re-export form;

(7)‘catch monitoring form’ means the document set out in Annex I, that records information on the catch, transhipment, export and import of SBF;

(8)‘catch tagging form’ means the document set out in Annex II, that records information on individual fish tagged;

(9)‘import’ means the introduction of SBF into the territory of the Union, including for transhipment purposes at ports in its territory;

(10)‘export or re-export form’ means the document set out in Annex III, that contains information on SBF already tracked on the catch monitoring form of an import that is, either in full or part, exported or re-exported;

(11)‘export’ means any movement to a third country of SBF harvested by Union fishing vessels;

(12)‘re-export’ means any movement from the territory of the Union of SBF that had been previously imported into the territory of the Union;

(13)‘whole SBF’ means SBF which has not undergone filleting or loining;

(14)‘processed SBF’ means SBF which has undergone cleaning, gilling gutting, freezing, removal of fins, operculae (gill plates/covers) and tail and removal of the head or parts of the head;

(15)‘SBF parts other than the meat’ means the head, eyes, roe, guts and tail;

(16)‘transhipment declaration’ means the document set out in Annex IV;

(17)‘conservation and management measures’ means the resolutions and other binding measures adopted by the CCSBT;

(18)‘Annual VMS summary report’ means the document the format of which is set out in Attachment A to CCSBT-CC/0910/06 or in any document which supersedes it, in which the relevant VMS information is provided;

(19)‘Compliance Committee’ means the subsidiary body of the CCSBT that monitors, reviews and assesses compliance with conservation and management measures;

(20)‘draft IUU vessel list’ means the initial list drawn up by the Secretariat.

Article 4

General prohibition on the targeting of SBF

The targeting of SBF by Union fishing vessels shall be prohibited. Any SBF retained on board Union fishing vessels shall count exclusively as by-catch.

Article 5

Record of vessels

1. Each flag Member State shall submit to the Commission the list of Union fishing vessels authorised by it to have SBF by-catch that are to be included in the Record of Vessels. That list shall include the following information for each vessel:

(a)Lloyds/International Maritime Organization (IMO) Number;

(b)name of vessel(s), register number(s);

(c)previous name(s) (if any);

(d)previous flag(s) (if any);

(e)previous details of deletion from other registries (if any);

(f)international radio call sign(s) (if any);

(g)type of vessel(s), length overall and gross registered tonnage (GRT);

(h)name and address of owner(s);

(i)name and address of operator(s);

(j)gear(s) used; and

(k)time period authorised for fishing SBF or transhipping.

2. Union fishing vessels that are not included in the Record of Vessels shall be prohibited from retaining on board, transhipping or exporting SBF.

3. Member States shall indicate, when submitting their list of vessels in accordance with paragraph 1, those vessels which are new additions and those which replace vessels currently on the list.

4. Member States shall notify the Commission of any changes to their list of vessels without delay. The Commission shall forward that information to the Secretariat without delay.

5. Where a Union fishing vessel has been involved in IUU fishing, a Member State shall only send to the Commission the information required under paragraph 1 after receiving sufficient commitment from the owner of the vessel concerned that it will no longer conduct such fishing.

Article 6

Tagging of SBF

1. Where SBF that has been by-caught by Union fishing vessels is intended for export or re-export, an SBF tag shall be attached to each whole SBF at the time of harvesting. In exceptional circumstances, where a tag becomes accidentally detached and cannot be reattached, a replacement tag shall be attached as soon as possible and in any event no later than the time of transhipment or export.

2. Non-processed whole SBF shall not be imported, exported or re-exported without a SBF tag except where the tag is no longer required because further processing has occurred.

3. The SBF tag shall remain attached to each individual fish for as long as the fish carcass remains whole and shall include the month, area and method of capture, and the weight and length of each SBF.

4. Each SBF tag shall have a unique pre-recorded tag number in an easily readable form which shall include a unique flag state identifier and a fishing year identifier and shall be:

(a)capable of being securely fastened to SBF;

(b)non-reusable;

(c)tamper-proof;

(d)secure from counterfeiting or replication;

(e)capable of withstanding at least minus sixty degrees Celsius temperatures, salt water and rough-handling; and

(f)food safe.

5. Flag Member States shall record the distribution of SBF tags to the vessels flying their flag and shall ensure that the vessels flying their flag, the operators of those vessels and the relevant authorities, have reporting procedures and formats which enable the required tagging information to be collected.

Article 7

Catch tagging form

1. Where SBF by-caught by Union fishing vessels is intended for export or re-export, a catch tagging form shall be completed as soon as possible after each individual SBF is harvested. The length and weight of the SBF shall be measured before the SBF is frozen.

2. Where the length and weight of the SBF cannot be accurately measured on board the vessel, those measurements shall be taken, and the associated catch tagging form shall be completed, at the time of transhipment, and in any event before any further transfer of the SBF.

3. Masters of Union fishing vessels shall provide the completed catch tagging forms to the authorities of the flag Member States. Member States shall submit the information in the catch tagging forms to the Commission on a quarterly basis. The Commission shall forward that information to the Secretariat without delay.

Article 8

Trade in SBF

1. All imports, exports and re-exports of SBF shall be accompanied by CDS documents and tags, as provided for in this Regulation.

2. SBF parts other than the meat may be imported, exported and re-exported without an export or re-export form, as applicable.

Article 9

Imports of SBF into the Union

1. SBF imported into the Union shall be accompanied by a catch certificate in accordance with Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 and by an export or re-export form, as applicable.

2. Member States shall not accept for import any consignment of SBF that is not accompanied by the CDS documents and tags.

3. Member States shall not accept for import full or partial consignments of untagged non-processed whole SBF.

Article 10

Exports or re-exports of SBF

1. Without prejudice to the validation, in accordance with Article 15(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008, of catch certificates relating to the export of catches made by Union fishing vessels, exports or re-exports of SBF by Member States shall be accompanied by an export or re-export form, as applicable.

2. Member States shall not validate for export or re-export any consignment of SBF that is not accompanied by the CDS documents and tags.

3. Member States shall not validate for export or re-export full or partial consignments of untagged non-processed whole SBF.

Article 11

Validation of CDS documents issued by flag Member States or Member States

1. The competent authorities of the flag Member State or Member State, as appropriate, shall verify the information contained in the CDS documents. They shall not validate CDS documents that are incomplete or contain incorrect information.

2. Where the competent authorities of the flag Member State responsible for the validation of the CDS documents referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article are different from the authorities referred to in Article 15(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008, the flag Member State shall notify the Commission of those competent authorities. The Commission shall transmit that information to the Secretariat without delay.

3. Member States shall carry out verifications, including inspections of vessels, landings and where possible markets, to the extent necessary to validate the information contained in the CDS documents. Member States shall report to the Commission details regarding the measures undertaken to ensure compliance with this paragraph.

Article 12

Verification of CDS documents received by Member States

1. Member States shall carry out verifications, including inspections of vessels, landings and where possible markets, to the extent necessary to validate the information contained in the CDS documents. Member States shall not validate CDS documents that are incomplete or contain incorrect information.

2. Without prejudice to the verifications required pursuant to Article 17 of Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008, Member States shall ensure that their competent authorities identify each consignment of SBF imported into, or exported or re-exported from the Union and examine the CDS documents for each consignment of SBF. The competent authorities may also examine the content of the consignment to verify the information contained in the CDS documents and related documents and, where necessary, shall carry out verifications with the operators concerned.

3. Member States shall report to the Commission details regarding the measures undertaken to ensure compliance with paragraphs 1 and 2.

4. Each Member State shall, as soon as possible, notify the Commission of any consignments of SBF where there are doubts about the information contained in any CDS documents or related documents, or incomplete, missing or non-validated CDS documents. The Commission shall report that information to the Secretariat without delay.

Article 13

Review and investigation of CDS reports

1. Where the Commission receives a report from the Secretariat on the implementation of the CDS provisions containing information to be reviewed by a Member State, it shall forward it without delay to the relevant Member State, which shall review the information and investigate any irregularities identified.

2. The Member State shall cooperate and take all necessary steps to investigate matters related to the implementation of the CDS and notify the Commission of the outcome of any such action.

3. Member States shall cooperate to ensure that CDS documents are not forged or do not contain misinformation.

Article 14

Records of CDS documents

1. Member States shall retain all original CDS documents received by them, or scanned electronic copies of the original documents, for a period of at least three years or longer if so required under national law.

2. Member States shall retain a copy of any CDS document issued by them for a period of three years or longer if so required under national law.

3. Copies of the documents referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, except the catch tagging form, shall be forwarded to the Commission without delay and at the latest before the end of the subsequent quarter following the date where they were issued or received. The Commission shall transmit those documents to the Secretariat without delay.

Article 15

Transhipment ports

1. All transhipments of SBF shall take place in port.

2. Flag Member States shall designate ports for the transhipment of SBF for vessels flying their flag and communicate with the designated port States to share information required for effective monitoring.

Article 16

Transhipment notification

1. Prior to transhipping, the master of the Union fishing vessel involved in a transhipment of SBF shall notify the following information to the port State authorities at least 48 hours in advance or as specified by the port State authorities or, if the time to the port is less than 48 hours, immediately after the end of fishing operations:

(a)the name of the Union fishing vessel and its number in the Record of Vessels;

(b)the SBF product and quantities to be transhipped;

(c)the date and location of transhipment;

(d)the FAO area or subarea of the SBF by-catches.

2. The master of the Union fishing vessel shall, at the time of the transhipment, inform its flag Member State of the following:

(a)the name, registration number and flag of the receiving carrier vessel, and its number in the Record of Vessels;

(b)the SBF products and quantities transhipped;

(c)the date and location of the transhipment;

(d)the FAO alpha-3 code, area or subarea of the SBF catches.

Article 17

Transhipment declaration

1. The master of the Union fishing vessel involved in a transhipment of SBF shall complete and transmit to its flag Member State the transhipment declaration, along with the number of that Union fishing vessel in the Record of Vessels.

2. By way of derogation from Article 22(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009, the transhipment declaration shall be transmitted to the flag Member State at the latest 15 days after the transhipment.

Article 18

Vessel Monitoring System (VMS)

1. When the Commission receives a request from a member or cooperating non-member of the Extended Commission to provide VMS data concerning a Union fishing vessel in relation to an incident in which that Union fishing vessel is suspected to have infringed conservation and management measures, the Commission shall forward those VMS data to the relevant Member State without delay.

2. The flag Member State of the Union fishing vessel shall investigate the incident and provide details of the investigation to the Commission, which shall transmit, without delay, the outcome of the investigation to the member or cooperating non-member of the Extended Commission which requested VMS data.

3. Flag Member States of vessels that retained SBF by-catch on board in a given year shall provide the Annual VMS summary report for that year to the Commission six weeks in advance of the Compliance Committee meeting. The Commission shall transmit that summary report to the Secretariat without delay.

Article 19

Draft IUU vessel list

1. Where the Secretariat notifies the Commission of the inclusion of a Union fishing vessel in the draft IUU vessel list, the Commission shall transmit that notification, including the supporting evidence and any other documented information provided by the Secretariat, to the flag Member State and shall invite the flag Member State to submit comments on that information at least eight weeks in advance of the Compliance Committee meeting. The Commission shall examine any comments submitted by the flag Member State and forward them to the Secretariat at least six weeks in advance of the Compliance Committee meeting.

2. Once notified by the Commission, the authorities of the flag Member State shall inform without delay the owner of the Union fishing vessel of the inclusion of that vessel in the draft IUU vessel list and of the consequences of its potential inclusion in the IUU vessel list adopted by the CCSBT.

Article 20

Possible infringement

1. If the Commission receives from the Secretariat any information concerning a possible infringement of the Convention or conservation and management measures by a Member State or a Union fishing vessel, the Commission shall transmit that information to the Member State concerned without delay.

2. The Member State shall provide the Commission with the findings of any investigation undertaken in relation to the possible infringement and any actions taken to address it at least eight weeks in advance of the annual meeting of the Compliance Committee.

Article 21

Points of contact and port inspection reports

1. Port Member States shall designate a point of contact for the purpose of receiving port inspection reports from CCSBT members.

2. Member States shall notify the Commission of any changes to the designated point of contact at least 21 days before the changes take effect. The Commission shall forward that information to the Secretariat at least 14 days before such changes take effect.

3. If the point of contact designated by a Member State receives an inspection report from a CCSBT member providing evidence that a fishing vessel flying the flag of that Member State has infringed conservation and management measures, the flag Member State shall investigate the alleged infringement without delay and notify the Commission thereof and of any enforcement action taken. The Commission shall inform the Secretariat within three months of receipt of the notification by the Member State.

4. The flag Member State shall provide the Commission with a status report regarding the investigation within six months of receiving the inspection report. If that Member State cannot provide the status report on time, it shall notify the Commission before the end of that six-month period of the reasons why and of the date by which the status report will be submitted. The Commission shall transmit all information regarding the status of or delay in the investigation to the Secretariat without delay.

Article 22

Monthly by-catch reporting

Flag Member States whose flagged vessels retained SBF by-catch on board, shall notify to the Commission on the 15th day of each month data on the by-catch of the preceding month, in accordance with Article 33 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009. The data to be notified shall include data on any discards, including whether the discarded by-catch was live or dead, and the total cumulative SBF by-catch for the year. The Commission shall transmit those data to the Secretariat no later than the last day of each month.

Article 23

Annual reporting

Member States shall submit the following information to the Commission at the latest six weeks before the annual meeting of the Compliance Committee:

(a)the details on the verifications undertaken in accordance with Article 12 to validate the information contained in the CDS documents;

(b)the quantities and percentages of SBF transhipped in port during the previous fishing season and the list of the vessels flying their flag which have transhipped in port during the previous fishing season.

Flag Member States whose flagged vessels retained SBF by-catch on board shall notify to the Commission at the latest six weeks before the annual meeting of the Compliance Committee data on the annual by-catch for the year in accordance with Article 33 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009, including any discards and information on whether the discarded by-catch was live or dead, and the Annual VMS summary report.

Article 24

Confidentiality and data protection

1. In addition to the obligations laid down in Articles 112 and 113 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009, Member States and the Commission shall ensure confidential treatment of electronic reports and messages transmitted to and received from the Secretariat.

2. The collection, transfer, storage or otherwise processing of any data pursuant to this Regulation shall be in accordance with Regulations (EU) 2016/679 and (EU) 2018/1725.

Personal data processed under this Regulation shall not be stored for a period longer than 10 years, except if those personal data are necessary to enable the follow-up of an infringement, an inspection or judicial or administrative procedures. In such cases, the personal data may be stored for up to 20 years. If personal data are retained for a longer period, the data shall be anonymised.

Article 25

Delegation of power

1. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts amending this Regulation in accordance with Article 26 in respect of the following:

(a)the targeting of SBF by Union fishing vessels as referred to in Article 4;

(b)the information to be provided under Article 5(1);

(c)the time-limits or periods related to any of the following:

(i)the submission of the information in the catch tagging forms under Article 7(3);

(ii)the retention of CDS documents under Article 14(2);

(iii)the transmission of transhipment notifications under Article 16(1);

(iv)the transmission of information to the Secretariat under Article 19(1) and Article 20(1);

(v)the transmission of information concerning points of contact for port inspections under Article 21(2);

(vi)the transmission of by-catch notifications under Article 22; and

(vii)the submission of information under Article 23;

(d)areas covered by Annexes I to IV.

2. Delegated acts referred to in paragraph 1 shall be strictly limited to the implementation into Union law of amendments to the conservation and management measures.

Article 26

Exercise of the delegation

1. The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to conditions laid down in this Article.

2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 25 shall be conferred on the Commission for a period of five years from 13 April 2023.

3. The delegation of power referred to in Article 25 may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated act already in force.

4. Before adopting a delegated act, the Commission shall consult experts designated by each Member State in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making.

5. As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council.

6. A delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 25 shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or the Council within a period of two months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by two months at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.

Article 27

Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.