Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Regulation (EC) No 302/2009 concerning a multiannual recovery plan for bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean

The Union is a Contracting Party to the International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (hereinafter "the Convention"). Bluefin tuna is the most important species in the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (hereinafter "ICCAT") and is currently the only one under a multi-annual recovery plan. This transposition relates to critical provisions in the recovery plan that were extensively discussed and adopted at the ICCAT Annual Meeting in November 2012 under Recommendation 12-03.

At its Special Meeting in 2012, ICCAT adopted Recommendation 12-03 amending the multiannual recovery plan for bluefin tuna. In order to better adapt the fishing seasons to the activity of the fleet, Recommendation 12-03 provides for a modification of "open" fishing seasons which differs from the "closed' fishing seasons set out in Article 7 of Council Regulation 302/2009 as amended by Article 1(6) of Regulation (EU) 500/2012. In addition, the actual dates when fishing is permitted by purse seiners, bait boats and trolling boats have been modified. Finally, to avoid any uncertainty for those gears which are not subject to any specific rules on fishing season, it was necessary to include a provision explicitly allowing all other gears the possibility to fish all year round.

There were however a number of objections from ICCAT Contracting Parties to this recommendation, which have delayed its entry into force until, most probably, August 2013. However, these objections were related to the allocation of the TACs and did not concern the fishing seasons. Moreover, during a recent inter-sessional meeting held in Seville (18-20 February 2013), ICCAT Contracting Parties indicated their intention to implement the provisions of Recommendation 12-03, including the new fishing season for purse seiners (26 May to 24 June), as laid down in paragraph 22 of the Recommendation.

Pending a comprehensive implementation of Recommendation 12-03 and its entry into force, in order to ensure effective conservation of the bluefin tuna stock by ensuring compliance with these new fishing seasons and facilitating enforcement activities, and to provide legal certainty as to the fishing seasons concerned, it is therefore necessary to modify the provision concerning fishing seasons in Council Regulation 302/2009.

EUR-Lex: COM(2013)250: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2013:250:FIN

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