Considerations on COM(2020)670 - Catch documentation programme for bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus)

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dossier COM(2020)670 - Catch documentation programme for bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus).
document COM(2020)670 EN
date December 13, 2023
 
table>(1)One of the objectives of the common fisheries policy, as set out in Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3), is to ensure that the exploitation of marine biological resources provides sustainable economic, environmental and social benefits.
(2)The Union is a Contracting Party to the United Nations Convention of 10 December 1982 on the Law of the Sea, approved by Council Decision 98/392/EC (4), to the Agreement on the implementation of the provisions of that Convention relating to the conservation and management of straddling stocks and highly migratory fish stocks, ratified by Council Decision 98/414/EC (5), and to the Agreement to promote compliance with international conservation and management measures by fishing vessels on the high seas, accepted by Council Decision 96/428/EC (6). In the framework of those international obligations, the Union participates in efforts made to ensure sustainable management of highly migratory fish stocks.

(3)The Union is a Contracting Party to the International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (the ‘Convention’) pursuant to Council Decision 86/238/EEC (7). The Convention provides for a framework for regional cooperation on the conservation and management of tuna and tuna-like species in the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas through an International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (‘ICCAT’), and for the adoption of recommendations applicable in the Convention area which become binding on the Contracting Parties to the Convention, cooperating non-contracting Parties, entities and fishing entities (‘CPCs’).

(4)Regulation (EU) No 640/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council (8) implemented into Union law ICCAT Recommendation 09-11 amending Recommendation 08-12 introducing a catch documentation programme for bluefin tuna.

(5)As part of the measures to regulate stocks of bluefin tuna, to improve the quality and reliability of statistical data and in order to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal fishing, ICCAT adopted Recommendations 18-13 and 21-19 on an ICCAT bluefin documentation programme, introducing the implementation of the bluefin tuna catch documentation scheme, Recommendations 10-11 on an electronic bluefin tuna catch document programme (eBCD) and 22-16 on the application of the eBCD system, developing and strengthening the implementation of the bluefin tuna catch documentation scheme by introducing a mandatory eBCD system, and Recommendation 22-08 establishing a multi-annual management plan for bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. CPCs and Member States commenced the partial implementation of the eBCD system in June 2016. It is fully implemented since January 2017 and is being used by Member States.

(6)The Convention establishes English, French and Spanish as the official languages of ICCAT. In order to permit operators to carry out their activities falling within the scope of this Regulation effectively and to avoid obstacles in communication with the competent authorities, the bluefin tuna catch document (‘BCD’) and the bluefin tuna re-export certificate (‘BFTRC’) should be submitted in one of the official languages of ICCAT.

(7)Certain provisions of the ICCAT Recommendations are amended frequently by the CPCs and are likely to be amended further in the future. Therefore, in order to implement future amendments to the ICCAT Recommendations into Union law swiftly, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) should be delegated to the Commission to amend this Regulation concerning: the mandatory use of eBCDs and BCDs; rules on the grouped BCDs; validation of the BCD and eBCD; the derogation deadline for tagging information in relation to minimum conservation reference size under Regulation (EU) 2023/2053 of the European Parliament and of the Council (9); recording and validation of catch and subsequent trades in the eBCD system; information concerning validation and points of contact; the use of paper BCDs and printed eBCDs; reporting dates; references to the annexes to ICCAT Recommendations and to the corresponding Annexes to this Regulation; and the Annexes to this Regulation. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Inter-institutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making (10). In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council receive all documents at the same time as Member States’ experts, and their experts systematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts.

(8)Union legislation should merely implement the ICCAT Recommendations into Union law in order to place Union and third country fishers on an equal footing and to ensure that the rules are fully accepted and implemented by all.

(9)The delegated acts provided for in this Regulation are without prejudice to the implementation of future changes to ICCAT Recommendations into Union law through the ordinary legislative procedure.

(10)Regulation (EU) No 640/2010 should therefore be repealed, as this Regulation implements into Union law new ICCAT measures for the bluefin tuna catch documentation programme.

(11)The European Data Protection Supervisor was consulted in accordance with Article 42(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council (11) and delivered formal comments on 17 May 2022.

(12)When personal data are processed in the context of the application of this Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council (12) and Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 are applicable, and it should be ensured that the obligations relating to the protection of personal data are respected at all times and at all levels. The authorities of the Member States are to be regarded as a controller as defined in Article 4, point (7), of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 in relation to the processing of personal data which they collect pursuant to this Regulation. The Commission is to be regarded as a controller as defined in Article 3, point (8), of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 in relation to the processing of personal data which it collects pursuant to this Regulation,