Regulation 2019/2236 - Fixing for 2020 of the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks applicable in the Mediterranean and Black Seas - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 336/14

Article 43(3) of the Treaty provides that the Council, on a proposal from the Commission, is to adopt measures on the fixing and allocation of fishing opportunities.

Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1) requires that conservation measures be adopted taking into account available scientific, technical and economic advice, including, where relevant, reports drawn up by the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries.

It is incumbent upon the Council to adopt measures on the fixing and allocation of fishing opportunities, including, where appropriate, certain conditions functionally linked thereto. In accordance with Article 16(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013, fishing opportunities are to be fixed in accordance with the objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) established in Article 2(2) of that Regulation. Article 16(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 provides that fishing opportunities be allocated to Member States in such a way as to ensure the relative stability of fishing activities of each Member State for each fish stock or fishery.

Article 16(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 provides that for stocks subject to specific multiannual plans, the fishing opportunities should be established in accordance with the rules laid down in those plans.

The Multiannual plan for the fisheries exploiting demersal stocks in the western Mediterranean Sea was established by Regulation (EU) 2019/1022 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2) and entered into force on 16 July 2019. In accordance with Article 4(1) of that Regulation, fishing opportunities for stocks listed in Article 1 of that Regulation should be fixed to achieve fishing mortality at maximum sustainable yield on a progressive, incremental basis by 2020 where possible, and by 1 January 2025 at the latest. Fishing opportunities should be expressed as maximum allowable fishing effort and fixed in accordance with the fishing effort regime laid down in Article 7 of that Regulation. For 2020, the maximum allowable fishing effort should therefore be reduced by 10 % compared to the baseline calculated in accordance with Article 7(4) of that Regulation.

At its 42nd annual meeting in 2018, the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) adopted recommendation GFCM/42/2018/1 on a multiannual management plan for European eel in the Mediterranean Sea, which established management measures for European eel (Anguilla anguilla) in the Mediterranean Sea (GFCM geographical subareas 1 to 27). Those measures include an annual closure period of three consecutive months to be defined by each Member State in accordance with the conservation objectives of Council Regulation (EC) No 1100/2007 (3), the national management plan(s) for eel and the temporal migration patterns of eel in the Member State. The closure shall apply to all marine waters of the Mediterranean Sea and to brackish waters such as estuaries, coastal lagoons and transitional waters, in accordance with that recommendation. That measure should be implemented in Union law.

At its 42nd annual meeting in 2018, the GFCM also adopted recommendation GFCM/42/2018/8 on further emergency measures in 2019-2021 for small pelagic stocks in the Adriatic Sea...