Proposal for a Council Regulation amending Council Regulation (EU) No 43/2014 as regards certain catch limits

Council Regulation (EU) No 43/2014 fixes for 2014 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks, applicable in Union waters and, to Union vessels, in certain non-Union waters. Fishing opportunities are usually amended several times during the period in which they are in effect.

The proposed amendments seek to modify the Regulation mentioned above as outlined below.

On the basis of the allocation established by Greenland, and in accordance with the Fisheries Partnership Agreement (FPA) between the European Community on the one hand, and the Government of Denmark and the Home Rule Government of Greenland, on the other hand, and the Protocol thereto, the Union is to receive 7.7% of the TAC for capelin in Greenland waters of ICES subareas V and XIV. By the time the proposal below was sent for adoption, neither the offer from Greenland nor the opinion of Member States on that offer were available. Therefore, this TAC is shown in "pm" (pro memoria) in this proposal, and is to be completed after its adoption.

As regards redfish in international waters of I and II, Regulation (EU) No 43/2014 included an incorrect figure (19,300 tonnes) that did not reflect the TAC level established by the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC): 19,500 tonnes. This TAC is not to be fished prior to 1 July 2014, as stated in the footnote attached to the Union quota, which is not being modified. Another error was identified in the TAC for Greenland halibut in Greenland waters of V and XIV: the Union quota distributed between Norway, the Faroe Islands, and some Member States was 200 tonnes higher than the actual offer made by Greenland: 4,665 tonnes, instead of 4,465 tonnes.

Finally, certain errors are corrected in the TAC for mackerel in IIIa and IV; Union waters of IIa, IIIb, IIIc and Subdivisions 22-32: firstly, the Union quota can be fished in Faroese waters; secondly, the Faroe Islands should be able to fish part of their mackerel quota (46,850 tonnes) in certain EU areas and this should be reflected in the relevant table; in relation to this, the description of the Union waters area where Faroese vessels can be authorised to fish for mackerel must also be corrected (Annex VIII of Regulation (EU) No 43/2014).

Finally, this proposal contains amendments linked to the implementation of measures linked to Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs). At its 8th Regular Session in 2012, the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) adopted a conservation and management measure prohibiting certain fishing activities as regards oceanic whitetip sharks (Carcharhinus longimanus). At its 9th Regular Session, WCPFC adopted a similar prohibition for silky sharks (Carcharhinus falciformis). Both prohibitions should be implemented in Union law.

• Primary Source

EUR-Lex: COM(2014)378: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2014:378:FIN

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