| (6) | Certain provisions of ICCAT recommendations are likely to be amended at forthcoming ICCAT annual meetings due to the introduction of new technical and management measures for fisheries governed under the ICCAT Convention. Therefore, in order to swiftly implement into Union law future amendments to ICCAT recommendations before the start of the fishing season, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be delegated to the Commission in respect of the following aspects:
| — | tropical tuna capacity limitations related to annual fishing and capacity management plan reporting, the number of support vessels engaged in tropical tuna fisheries, the annual carry-over for bigeye tuna, North and South Atlantic Albacore and North and South Atlantic swordfish, requirements for fish-aggregating devices (FADs), restrictions on the number of Union catching vessels targeting North Atlantic Albacore, requirements to maximise sea turtle survival, the percentage measurement of scientific observer coverage and references to ICCAT recommendations, |
| — | as regards bluefin tuna management: annual carry-over, reporting time limits, time periods for fishing seasons, content of carry-over declarations and provisions for caging, derogations for designation of fishing areas, fishing vessels and gear, and derogation for fishing bluefin tuna for farming purposes and conditions for assigning regional observers for farms, and |
| — | the list of ICCAT species, safe handling and release practices for sea turtles, minimum standards for safe handling and live release procedures for North and South Atlantic shortfin mako sharks, guidelines for reducing the ecological impact of FADs, observer programmes, requirements regarding treatment of dead or lost fish, the procedure for sealing operations of transport cages, the processing declaration and the harvesting declaration. |
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 Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making (6). 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.
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