Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2017)461 - Fixing for 2018 of the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks applicable in the Baltic Sea - Main contents
Please note
This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2017)461 - Fixing for 2018 of the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks applicable in the Baltic Sea. |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2017)461  |
| date | 29-08-2017 |
1. CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL
• Reasons for and objectives of the proposal
In accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of 11 December 2013 on the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), the exploitation of living marine biological resources shall restore and maintain populations of harvested species above levels which can produce the maximum sustainable yield (MSY). One important tool in this respect is the annual fixing of fishing opportunities in the form of total allowable catches (TACs) and quotas.
The Regulation (EU) 2016/1139 of 6 July 2016 establishing a multiannual management plan for the stocks of cod, herring and sprat in the Baltic sea and the fisheries exploiting those stocks further specifies the values of fishing mortalities expressed as ranges which are used in this proposal in order to reach the objectives of the CFP, especially reaching and maintaining the MSY.
The objective of this proposal is to fix, for the commercially most important fish stocks in the Baltic Sea, the fishing opportunities for Member States for 2018. With a view to simplifying and clarifying the annual TAC and quota decisions, fishing opportunities in the Baltic Sea have been fixed by a separate Regulation since 2006.
• Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area
The proposal establishes quotas at the levels consistent with the objectives of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of 11 December 2013 on the Common Fisheries Policy. It takes into account the changes introduced by the Regulation (EU) 2015/812 which abolished the fishing effort system in the Baltic Sea.
• Consistency with other Union policies
The proposed measures are in accordance with the objectives and rules of the Common Fisheries Policy and are consistent with the Union’s policy on sustainable development.
2. LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY
• Legal basis
Article 43(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
• Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)
The proposal falls under the Union’s exclusive competence as referred to in Article 3(1)(d) TFEU. The subsidiarity principle therefore does not apply.
• Proportionality
The proposal complies with the proportionality principle for the following reasons.
The Common Fisheries Policy is a common policy. According to Article 43(3) TFEU it is incumbent upon the Council to adopt measures on the fixing and allocation of fishing opportunities.
The Council Regulation in question allocates fishing opportunities to Member States. Having regard to Article 16(6) and (7) and Article 17 of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013, Member States are free to allocate such opportunities among regions or operators according to the criteria set in the mentioned Articles. Therefore, Member States have ample room for manoeuvre on decisions related to the social/economic model of their choice to exploit their allocated fishing opportunities.
The proposal has no new financial implications for Member States. This particular Regulation is adopted by the Council every year, and the public and private means to implement it are already in place.
• Choice of the instrument
Proposed instrument: Regulation.
This is a proposal for fisheries management on the basis of Article 43(3) TFEU.
3. RESULTS OF EX-POST EVALUATIONS, STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS
• Stakeholder consultations
The Baltic Sea Advisory Council (BSAC) was consulted on the basis of the Communication from the Commission concerning Consultation on the Fishing Opportunities for 2018 under the Common Fisheries Policy COM(2017) 368 final). The scientific basis for the proposal was provided by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). The preliminary views expressed on all the fish stocks concerned were considered and taken into account as far as possible in the proposal without contradicting existing policies or causing any deterioration in the state of vulnerable resources.
The scientific advice on catch limitations and status of the stocks were also discussed with MS in the regional forum BALTFISH in June 2017.
• Collection and use of expertise
The scientific organisation consulted was ICES.
The Union asks ICES each year for scientific advice on the state of important fish stocks. The advice received covers all Baltic stocks and TACs are proposed for the commercially most important ones.
• Impact assessment
The proposal is part of a long-term approach whereby the level of fishing is adjusted to and maintained at long-term sustainable levels. This approach will result in a stable fishing pressure, higher quotas and hence an improved income for fishermen and their families. The increased landings are expected to be beneficial for the fishing industry, consumers, processing and retail industry as well as for the rest of the ancillary industry linked to commercial and recreational fishing.
Decisions taken on the Baltic fishing opportunities over the past years have already succeeded in rebuilding some stocks (with an increase of the biomass for pelagic stocks by 50% between 2012 and 2016) and in rebalancing fishing capacity and fishing opportunities. Progress is still necessary however to rebuild demersal stocks, some of them still under safe biomass limits, and to bring all stocks under MSY.
Taking the above into account, the Commission proposal would decrease quotas of western, Gulf of Bothnia and Gulf of Riga herring, eastern cod and plaice stocks – on average by 32%. An increase is proposed for Central herring and sprat stocks by 25% and 0.5% respectively. The amount of the Baltic fishing opportunities for salmon stocks expressed in number of pieces of fish will increase from 106.413 to 116.099 fish. This represents an increase by 9% when compared to 2017. A roll-over is proposed for the western cod stock.
The impact of the proposals for 2018 will therefore be highly differentiated by type of fishery. All in all, the Commission proposal leads to a level of approximately 647 thousand tonnes for the Baltic fishing opportunities, a reduction by 7% compared to 2017.
• Regulatory fitness and simplification
The proposal remains flexible in application of quota exchange mechanisms which were already introduced in the previous years' Regulations concerning fishing opportunities in the Baltic Sea. There are no new elements or new administrative procedures proposed for public authorities (EU or national) which could increase the administrative burden.
The proposal concerns an annual Regulation for the year 2018 and therefore does not include a revision clause.
4. BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS
The proposal has no implications for the EU budget.
5. OTHER ELEMENTS
• Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements
The monitoring of the use of fishing opportunities in the form of TACs and quotas has been established by Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009.
• Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal
The proposal fixes for 2018 the fishing opportunities for certain stocks or groups of stocks for Member States fishing in the Baltic Sea. For the first time, it also establishes a species for which fishing is prohibited. This concerns the stock of European eel.
Contents
The new multiannual plan for the fisheries in the Baltic Sea has entered into force on 20 July 2016 1 . Under the provisions of this plan, the fishing opportunities shall be fixed in accordance with the targets of the plan and shall comply with target fishing mortality ranges set out therein. In cases when the stock's biomass is below the reference points established in the plan, the fishing opportunities shall be fixed at a level corresponding to the fishing mortality that is reduced proportionally taking into account the decrease of the stock's biomass.
The fishing opportunities are proposed in accordance with Articles 16(1) (referring to the principle of relative stability) and 16 i (referring to the objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy and the rules provided for in multiannual plans).
Where relevant, in order to set the EU quotas for stocks shared with the Russian Federation, the respective quantities of these stocks were deducted from the TACs advised by ICES. The TACs and quotas allocated to Member States are shown in Annex to the Regulation.
All five pelagic stocks (four stocks of herring and one sprat stock), western cod, plaice and Main Basin salmon in the Baltic Sea are to be fished at MSY levels in 2018. The fishing opportunities of all stocks subject to the Baltic MAP are set at the target fishing mortality ranges consistent with achieving maximum sustainable yield in 2018: the proposed quotas for three herring stocks in the western and Central Baltic and Gulf of Riga correspond to the fishing mortalities matching both parts of the MSY fishing mortality range as referred to in Articles 4(2) of the Regulation (EU) 2016/1139. For two stocks, i.e. western herring and western cod the fishing opportunities correspond to the fishing mortality within the range as referred to in Article 5(2), (3) of the Regulation (EU) 2016/1139.
The TACs for Gulf of Finland salmon and eastern cod correspond to the approach developed by ICES which is applied to data limited stocks.
Council Regulation (EC) No 847/96 introduced additional conditions for year-to-year management of TACs, including flexibility provisions under Articles 3 and 4 for precautionary and analytical stocks respectively. Under its Article 2, when fixing the TACs, the Council shall decide to which stocks Articles 3 and 4 shall not apply, in particular on the basis of the biological status of the stocks. More recently, the flexibility mechanism was introduced for all stocks covered by the landing obligation by Article 15(9) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013. Therefore, in order to avoid excessive flexibility that would undermine the principle of rational and responsible exploitation of living marine biological resources and hinder the achievement of the objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy, it should be clarified that Article 3 and 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 apply only where Member States do not use the year-to-year flexibility provided for in Article 15(9) of Regulation 1380/2013.
The European eel life cycle is complex, as it is a long-lived fish which is widely dispersed: recent evidence suggests that eels spawn in the Sargasso Sea and their larvae arrive with the ocean currents to the continental shelf of Europe and North Africa, where they transform into glass eels and enter continental waters.
During the continental (brackish and/or freshwater) part of their lifecycle, the mortality factors affecting eels depend on regional conditions. Council Regulation 1100/2007 establishing measures for the recovery of European eel (the Eel regulation) obliges Member States with significant eel habitats to implement eel management plans which can ensure that a sufficient amount of adult eels can leave the river basins and reach the open seas so that they can spawn and the stock can recover. The national eel management plans may (but do not have to) include marine waters.
Recent data has however shown that 57% of those silver eels that have reached the open seas are caught by commercial and recreational fishing in the Baltic Sea. The Eel regulation obliges Member States that operate eel fisheries in EU waters to reduce efforts and/or catches by 50% compared to the 2004-2006 average, unless their management plans also cover marine waters. None of the Baltic Sea Member States achieve that objective.
The recurrent scientific advice states that: "… when the precautionary approach is applied for European eel, all anthropogenic impacts (e.g. recreational and commercial fishing on all stages, hydropower, pumping stations, and pollution) decreasing production and escapement of silver eel should be reduced to – or kept as close to –zero as possible." 2
In light of the state of the stock, which is listed in CITES Annex II, the 50% reduction in effort or catches prescribed in the Eel regulation is not in line with the objectives of the 2013 CFP for sustainable exploitation of resources. Given the ICES advice it is important that all fisheries that target spawners should cease until there is a clear evidence of improvement of the state of the stock. Given this severe ICES advice, it is therefore appropriate pending longer term solutions to prohibit any fishery of European eel in the Baltic Sea in 2018.