Regulation (EU) 2019/1154 on a multiannual recovery plan for Mediterranean swordfish

Summary:

Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 laying down rules for the conservation, management and control of Mediterranean swordfish.

Further information:

The purpose of this Regulation is to transpose ICCAT Recommendation 16-05 into EU law to allow the Union to comply with its international obligations.

The Mediterranean swordfish was previously regulated through technical measures under Regulation (EC) 1967/2006 concerning management measures for the sustainable exploitation of fishery resources in the Mediterranean Sea, and later on by Regulation (EU) 2017/2107 laying down management, conservation and control measures applicable in the ICCAT Convention area.

Background:

The International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas provides for a framework of regional cooperation on the conservation and management of tunas and tuna-like species in the Atlantic Ocean and the adjoining seas through the setting up of an International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). The European Union has been a Contracting Party to the ICCAT Convention since 14 November 1997.

During the 2016 ICCAT Annual Meeting the Contracting Parties took a decisive step to address the alarming situation of Mediterranean swordfish (Xiphias gladius) by adopting a 15-year recovery plan (ICCAT Recommendation 16-05). The recommendation lays down rules for the conservation, management and control of the Mediterranean stock of swordfish as to achieve a biomass corresponding to a maximum sustainable yield by 2031 with at least 60% probability of achieving that objective.

EUR-Lex: COM(2018)229: Proposal for a Regulation on a multiannual recovery plan for Mediterranean swordfish https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2018:229:FIN

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