Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2019)619 - Multiannual management plan for bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean - Main contents
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| dossier | COM(2019)619 - Multiannual management plan for bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2019)619  |
| date | 28-11-2019 |
1. CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL
• Reasons for and objectives of the proposal
The objective of the Common Fisheries Policy, as set out in Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 1 (the ‘Basic Regulation’), is to ensure an exploitation of marine biological resources that provides sustainable economic, environmental and social conditions.
By Council Decision 98/392/EC 2 the Union approved the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which contains, inter alia, principles and rules with regard to the conservation and management of marine living biological resources. In the framework of its wider international obligations, the Union participates in efforts made in international waters to conserve fish stocks.
Pursuant to Council Decision 86/238/EEC 3 , the Union has been a Contracting Party to the International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (‘the Convention’) since 14 November 1997.
The Convention provides for a framework of regional cooperation on the conservation and management of tunas and tuna-like species in the Atlantic Ocean and the adjoining seas through the setting up of an International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (the ‘ICCAT’).
The ICCAT has the authority to adopt decisions (recommendations) for the conservation and management of the fisheries under its purview, which are binding for the Contracting Parties. Those recommendations are essentially addressed to the Contracting Parties to the Convention, but also contain obligations for operators (e.g. vessel masters). ICCAT recommendations enter into force six months following their adoption and, in respect to the Union, they must be implemented into Union law as soon as possible.
At its 21st special meeting in 2018, the ICCAT adopted Recommendation 18-02 4 establishing a multiannual management plan for bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean called as ‘the Management plan’. The Management plan follows the advice from the Standing Committee on Research and Statistics (‘SCRS’) stating that the ICCAT should establish a multiannual management plan for the stock in 2018 since the current status of the stock no longer appears to require the emergency measures introduced under the recovery plan for bluefin tuna following Recommendation 17-17 amending the Recommendation 14-04 5 .
The purpose of this proposal is to implement ICCAT Recommendation 18-02 into EU law to allow the Union to comply with its international obligations and to provide operators with legal certainty regarding rules and obligations.
The Management plan requires discarding and releasing bluefin tuna in certain circumstances. It obliges to discard quantities of bluefin tuna from fishing vessels, including recreational ones that exceed the allocated quota of the vessel, and/or the maximum level of permitted by-catches. Bluefin tuna caught on board vessels that are below the minimum conservation reference size will also have to be discarded, with the exception of a given limit of tolerance established by Member States in their annual fishing plans.
For the purpose of the Union’s compliance with its international obligations under the ICCAT Convention, Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/98 6 allows for derogations from the landing obligation for bluefin tuna, as provided in Article 15 of the Basic Regulation. Consequently, this Regulation will establish a Management plan for bluefin tuna, which does not cover discard and release obligations, as provisions of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/98 apply.
• Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area
–the recovery plan for bluefin tuna enshrined in Regulation (EU) 2016/1627 7 ,
–technical measures under Article 9 i and Annex III of Regulation (EU) 2019/1241 8 , and under Article 8 and point 6(1) of Annex II of Council Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 9 ,
–Article 43 of Regulation (EU) 2017/2107 10 ,
–Articles 4(a), 4(b) and 4(c ) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1936/2001 11 , and
–Article 53 of Regulation (EU) 2019/833 12 .
Through the negotiations the EU position was in line with objectives of Articles 2 i, 28(1) and i and 29 and 33 of the Basic Regulation.
ICCAT Recommendation 18-02, being transposed by this Regulation, provide for a Management plan, that is more flexible than the existing rules for the recovery, while some measures are more precise or restrictive, such as the control in farms. The main differences could be summarised as follows:
(a)Open seasons: in this Regulation provides for 10 days longer open season for purse seiners than in the Regulation (EU) 2016/1627, unless Member States establish otherwise in their annual fishing plans.
(b)By-catch limit increases to 20% in this Regulation, in comparison to a 5% in Regulation (EU) 2016/1627.
(c)Fishing capacity: up to 20% more purse seiners (reference period 2018) are allowed to fish under this Regulation, in comparison with the Regulation (EU) 2016/1627 and a new sectorial quota for small-scale fisheries in Azores, Madeira and Canaries is recognised.
(d)Farming capacity: with this Regulation there could potentially be a 7% more fish in farms.
(e)Intra-farm transfers and random controls: The control system for bluefin tuna is reinforced, concerning live fish monitoring at farms. This is done through random controls based on risk analysis and estimation of carry-over by using stereoscopical cameras.
• Consistency with other Union policies
The Plan is consistent with other Union policies.
2. LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY
• Legal basis
The proposal is based on Article 43 i TFEU, as it sets out provisions necessary for the pursuit of the objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy.
• Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)
The proposal falls under the exclusive competence of the Union (Article 3(1)(d) TFEU). The subsidiarity principle, therefore, does not apply.
• Proportionality
The proposal will ensure that Union law, with regard to the management of bluefin tuna fisheries, and ina particular all the rules and obligations of the management plan approved by the ICCAT is in line with its international obligations and that the Union complies with the decisions taken by the RFMOs to which the Union is a Contracting Party. The proposal transposes without exceeding what is necessary to achieve the objective pursued.
• Choice of the instrument
The instrument chosen is a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.
3. RESULTS OF EX-POST EVALUATIONS, STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS
• Ex-post evaluations/fitness checks of existing legislation
Contents
• Stakeholder consultations
Member States administrations have been consulted during the working party at the Council on the 25-26 October 2018, and the COREPER endorsed on the 31 October 2018 the position of the EU to be taken at the annual meeting of the ICCAT on 12-19 November 2018 when Recommendation 18-02 was adopted under the lead of the Union.
• Collection and use of expertise
This is a transposition of a recommendation adopted by ICCAT in accordance with the scientific advice provided by its Standing Committee on Research and Statistics.
• Impact assessment
Not relevant. This is a transposition of a recommendation directly applicable to Member States.
• Regulatory fitness and simplification
This proposal is not linked to REFIT.
• Fundamental rights
This proposal has no consequences on the protection of fundamental rights of the citizens.
4. BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS
There are no budgetary implications.
5. OTHER ELEMENTS
• Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements
Not relevant.
• Explanatory documents (for directives)
Not applicable.
• Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal
The allocation of fishing opportunities for bluefin tuna for 2018, 2019 and 2020 were agreed at the ICCAT 25th Regular Meeting. A table gathering that information was inserted as paragraph 5 of ICCAT Recommendation 17-07 13 . However, several CPCs expressed dissatisfaction with their quota and requested to have access to and use ICCAT unallocated reserves (i.e. unallocated quotas). To this end, during the Inter-sessional meeting of ICCAT Panel 2 held in Madrid in March 2018, it was discussed the possible adjustment of bluefin tuna quota for 2019 and 2020 by use of the unallocated reserves. CPCs generally agreed that the adjustment of quotas should primarily address the needs of artisanal fleets from specific archipelagos in Greece (Ionian Islands), Spain (Canary Islands) and Portugal (Azores and Madeira). As the main outcome of that meeting, the EU’s share for 2019 originally set at 17 536 tons was increased by 87 tons of reserve to be used in artisanal fisheries, giving a total EU quota of 17 623 tons for 2019. This quota is recognised in Recommendation 18-02, and implemented in Union law by way of Council Regulation (EU) 2019/124 14 fixing fishing opportunities between Member States.
ICCAT rules governing the fishery of live bluefin tuna (operations related to catching, transfer, transport, caging, farming, harvesting and carrying-over) is highly dynamic. There is a constant new development of technologies to control and manage the fishery (i.e. the use of stereoscopical cameras or alternative methods) that need to be uniformly applied by Member States. Similarly, operational procedures also need to be developed where necessary, to help Member States complying with ICCAT rules enshrined in this Regulation.
Implementing acts are therefore needed for Article 7 on ‘carry-over’ and sections 6 and 7 dealing with ‘transfer operations’ and ‘caging operations’.
Article 65 of this Regulation establishes a detailed list of cases where delegated powers are requested in order to address frequent changes on the recommendations adopted by ICCAT. The main factors that could explain the list of situations where delegated powers are requested could be summarised as follows:
–the SCRS is developing a management strategy evaluation (MSE) process, with the aim to evaluate different fisheries management procedures that are robust to the main sources of uncertainty in the bluefin tuna stock. The MSE process is expected to deliver optional management procedures in the short term (i.e. 2020-2021). In this view, as the management plan for bluefin tuna has an interim management objective that should be revised by ICCAT as from 2020, delegated powers are introduced to swiftly transpose the plan into Union law;
–Regulation (EU) 2016/1627 for the recovery plan of eastern Atlantic bluefin tuna does not provide for delegated powers to amend the plan in line with annual decisions of ICCAT. This was the cause of a critical situation in 2018 when Recommendation 18-02 could not be transposed under delegated powers, and some Member States asked the Commission to implement via co-legislative act for the fishing season in June 2019. This Regulation introduces delegated powers to implement timely future changes to the bluefin tuna recovery plan, putting the EU fleet in a situation of even level playing field vis-a-vis third country fleets.