Considerations on COM(2022)171 - Amendment of management, conservation and control measures for Atlantic Tunas and bluefin tuna in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean

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dossier COM(2022)171 - Amendment of management, conservation and control measures for Atlantic Tunas and bluefin tuna in the Atlantic and the ...
document COM(2022)171 EN
date March 13, 2024
 
table>(1)The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) conservation and enforcement recommendations were last implemented into Union law through Regulations (EU) 2017/2107 (3), (EU) 2023/2053 (4) and (EU) 2023/2833 (5) of the European Parliament and of the Council. Since the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2017/2107, ICCAT adopted at its 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022 annual meetings a number of legally binding measures for the conservation of fishery resources under its purview. Those measures concern matters covered, inter alia, by Regulations (EU) 2017/2107 and (EU) 2023/2053.
(2)Regulation (EU) 2017/2107 should therefore be amended in order to implement into Union law ICCAT measures for tropical tunas, Mediterranean albacore, North and South Atlantic albacore, North and South Atlantic swordfish, North and South Atlantic shortfin mako sharks, blue marlin, white marlin, roundscale spearfish, and provisions related to data collection for sailfish, data collection and reporting for billfish, blue marlin, white marlin and roundscale spearfish, by-catch of turtles, the vessel monitoring system, ICCAT regional observers, responsibilities of scientific observers and illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, as well as an updated list of ICCAT species, updated safe handling and release practices for sea turtles, the introduction of minimum standards for safe handling and live release procedures for North and South Atlantic shortfin mako sharks, and guidelines for reducing the ecological impact of fish-aggregating devices (FADs).

(3)Regulation (EU) 2023/2053 should be amended in order to implement into Union law ICCAT measures for bluefin tuna management with provisions related to definitions, quota transfers, retention prohibition, recreational fisheries, vessel lists, lists of traps and farms, ICCAT record of farms, reporting, transfers, transfer authorisations, caging identifiers, caging authorisations, caging operations and their video monitoring, control of caging, harvesting operations, harvesting control activities in the farms after caging, and enforcement, as well as national observer programmes and ICCAT regional observer programme, rules on treatment of dead or lost fish, the procedure for sealing operations of transport cages, and the template for processing declaration and harvesting declaration.

(4)Union legal acts 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 can be accepted by all.

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

(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.

(7)The number, recorded in June 2023, of support vessels should not increase as set out in ICCAT Recommendation 22-01. Such retroactive application does not affect the principle of legal certainty and the protection of legitimate expectations.

(8)Regulations (EU) 2017/2107 and (EU) 2023/2053 should therefore be amended accordingly,