Council Regulation (EC) No 538/2008 of 29 May 2008 amending Regulation (EC) No 1386/2007 laying down conservation and enforcement measures applicable in the Regulatory Area of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation

EUROPEISKA UNIONENS RÅD HAR ANTAGIT DENNA FÖRORDNING

med beaktande av fördraget om upprättandet av Europeiska gemenskapen,

med beaktande av förordning (EG) nr 1386/2007 av den 22 oktober 2007 om inrättande av bevarande- och tillämpningsföreskrifter som ska tillämpas i regleringsområdet för Fiskeriorganisationen för Nordatlantens västra del, särskilt artikel 70,

med beaktande av kommissionens förslag, och

(1) Genom förordning (EG) nr 1386/2007 genomförs ett antal bevarande- och tillämpningsföreskrifter som antagits av Nordvästatlantiska fiskeriorganisationen (nedan kallad Nafo).

(2) Vid sitt 29:e årsmöte i september 2007 antog Nafo ett antal ändringar av sina bevarande- och tillämpningsföreskrifter. Ändringarna gäller bestämmelserna om maskstorlek, omlastning, stängda områden för att skydda koraller, fångstrapporter, definitionen av begreppet allvarlig överträdelse, produktkoder, form för hamnkontrollen, samt om de tekniska kraven för lejdare.

(3) Dessutom har det upptäckts fel i förordning (EG) nr 1386/2007 som behöver rättas till: det finns ett antal felaktiga hänvisningar och vissa delar i punkt 3 i bilaga VII fattas.

(4) Förordning (EG) nr 1386/2007 bör därför ändras i enlighet med detta.

HÄRIGENOM FÖRESKRIVS FÖLJANDE.

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1386/2007 of 22 October 2007 laying down conservation and enforcement measures applicable in the Regulatory Area of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation, and in particular Article 70 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

(1) Regulation (EC) No 1386/2007 implements certain conservation and enforcement measures adopted by the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (hereinafter referred to as ‘the NAFO’).

(2) At its 29th annual meeting held in September 2007, NAFO adopted a number of amendments to its conservation and enforcement measures. Those amendments relate to the provisions on mesh size, transhipments, closed areas to ensure coral protection, catch reports, definition of serious infringement, product codes, the port inspection format as well as technical requirements for boarding ladders.

(3) Furthermore, mistakes have been found in Regulation (EC) No 1386/2007 that need to be corrected: there are a number of errors in cross references and certain elements are missing in point 3 of Annex VII.

(4) Regulation (EC) No 1386/2007 should therefore be amended accordingly,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article1¶Fisheries restricted areas

Regulation (EC) No 1386/2007 is hereby amended as follows:

1. the following point shall be added to Article 3:

‘20) “Transhipment” means the transfer, over the side, of any quantity of fisheries resources or products thereof retained on board, from one fishing vessel to another.’;

2. the following paragraph shall be added to Article 7:

‘4. Vessels fishing for redfish in Division 3O using midwater trawls shall use nets with a minimum mesh size of 90 mm.’;

3. Article 12 shall be replaced by the following:

‘Article 12 Fisheries restricted areas

1. The conduct of fishing activities involving demersal fishing gears shall be prohibited in the following areas: Area Coordinate 1 Coordinate 2 Coordinate 3 Coordinate 4 Orphan Knoll 50.00.30 N 45.00.30 W 51.00.30 N 45.00.30 W 51.00.30 N 47.00.30 W 50.00.30 N 45.00.30 W Corner Seamounts 35.00.00 N 48.00.00 W 36.00.00 N 48.00.00 W 36.00.00 N 52.00.00 W 35.00.00 N 52.00.00 W Newfoundland Seamounts 43.29.00 N 43.20.00 W 44.00.00 N 43.20.00 W 44.00.00 N 46.40.00 W 43.29.00 N 46.40.00 W New England Seamounts 35.00.00 N 57.00.00 W 39.00.00 N 57.00.00 W 39.00.00 N 64.00.00 W 35.00.00 N 64.00.00 W

2. The following area in Division 3O shall be closed to all fishing activity involving bottom contact gear. The closed area is defined by connecting the following coordinates (in numerical order and back to coordinate 1): Point No Latitude Longitude 1 42°53′00″N 51°00′00″W 2 42°52′04″N 51°31′44″W 3 43°24′13″N 51°58′12″W 4 43°24′20″N 51°58′18″W 5 43°39′38″N 52°13′10″W 6 43°40′59″N 52°27′52″W 7 43°56′19″N 52°39′48″W 8 44°04′53″N 52°58′12″W 9 44°18′38″N 53°06′00″W 10 44°18′36″N 53°24′07″W 11 44°49′59″N 54°30′00″W 12 44°29′55″N 54°30′00″W 13 43°26′59″N 52°55′59″W 14 42°48′00″N 51°41′06″W 15 42°33′02″N 51°00′00″W’

4. in Article 19, paragraph 5 shall be replaced by the following:

‘5. Member States shall every two years certify the correctness of the capacity plans for all vessels authorised to fish pursuant to Article 14. The master shall ensure that a copy of this certification remains onboard to be shown to an inspector upon request.’;

5. the following point shall be added to Article 21(2):

‘(f) the catch prior to entry and exit from Division 3L. These reports shall be made by vessels that fish shrimp in Division 3L and shall be sent one hour prior to crossing the boundary of that Division. The report shall indicate the catches taken onboard since the previous catch report, by Division and species (3 alpha code) in kg, rounded to the nearest 100 kg.’;

6. in Article 30, paragraph 5 shall be replaced by the following:

‘5. The master of the vessel observed may, on his own request, be provided with a copy of the observer's report referred to in Article 28(1).’;

7. in Article 32, paragraph 1 shall be replaced by the following:

‘1. The competent authorities of the Member States receiving the report of the observer in accordance with Article 28 shall evaluate the contents and conclusions of that report.’;

8. Article 47 shall be amended as follows:

a) point (b) shall be replaced by the following:

‘(b) provide a boarding ladder constructed and used as described in the conservation and enforcement measures of NAFO;’;

b) the following point shall be inserted:

‘(b)a) if a mechanical hoist is provided, ensure that its ancillary equipment is of a type approved by the national administration. It shall be of such design and construction as to ensure that the inspector can embark and disembark in a safe manner including a safe access from the hoist to the deck and vice versa. A boarding ladder complying with point (b) shall be kept on deck adjacent to the hoist and available for immediate use;’;

9. Annex II shall be replaced by the text in Annex I to this Regulation;

10. Annex VII shall be amended in accordance with Annex II to this Regulation;

11. Annex XII shall be replaced by the text in Annex III to this Regulation;

12. Annex XIII shall be deleted;

13. Annex XIV(b) shall be replaced by the text in Annex IV to this Regulation.

Article2¶

This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

ANNEX I

‘ANNEX II

The list that follows is a list of stocks that need to be reported in accordance with Article 22.

ANNEX II

Point 3 of Annex VII to Regulation (EC) No 1386/2007 shall be replaced by the following:

ANNEX III

‘ANNEX XII

Port inspection report

A. “PORT INSPECTION REPORT” FORM

Page No

of

1. INSPECTION REFERENCE

Inspection authority

Date of the report

Port of inspection

Vessel name

2. TRIP INFORMATION (1)

Date trip started

Trip number (2)

Activity in the NAFO RA:

Date entry in the RA

Date exit from the RA

Other areas visited

Date trip ended

3. VESSEL IDENTIFICATION (3)

External identification

International radio call sign

Flag state

NAFO Contracting Party

Home port

Vessel owner

Vessel operator

Master name

4. RESULT OF INSPECTION OF DISCHARGE (4)

4.1. General information

Starting of discharge:

Date

Time

Ending of discharge:

Date

Time

Has vessel discharged all catches on board?

YES

If YES, complete table 4.2

NO

If NO, complete table 4.3

Comments

4.2. Quantity discharged

Species

(FAO code)

Presentation

Live weight

(logbook, kg)

Conversion factor

Landing processed Wt

(kg)

Equivalent live weight

(kg)

Diff.

(kg)

Diff.

(%)

Comments

4.3. Quantity staying on board the vessel

To be completed where part of the catches stay on board after completion of discharge

Species

Presentation

Conversion factor

Process weight

(kg)

Equivalent live weight

(kg)

Comments

5. GEAR INSPECTION IN PORT (5)

5.1. General data

Number of gear inspected

Date gear inspection

Has the vessel been cited?

If yes, complete the full “verification of inspection in port” form

If no, complete the form with the exception of the NAFO seal details

Yes

No

5.2. Otter trawl details

NAFO seal number

Is seal undamaged?

Yes

No

Gear type:

Attachments:

Grate bar spacing (mm)

Mesh type:

Average mesh sizes (mm)

Trawl part

Wings:

Body:

Lengthening piece:

Codend:

6. INFRINGEMENTS AND FOLLOW-UP

6.1. Sea inspection

Infringements resulting from inspections inside NAFO RA

Inspection party

Date of inspection

Division

NAFO CEM infringement legal reference

6.2. Port inspection infringements results

(a) Confirmation of infringements found at sea inspection

NAFO CEM infringement legal reference

National infringement legal reference

(b) Infringements found at sea inspection and not possible to be confirmed during the port inspection

Comments:

(c) Additional infringements found during the port inspection

NAFO CEM infringement legal reference

National infringement legal reference

Follow-up comments:

B. INFORMATION TO BE INSERTED IN THE REPORT

1. INSPECTION REFERENCES

2. TRIP INFORMATION

3. VESSEL IDENTIFICATION

Data element

M/O

Category; definition

External identification number

M

Vessel registration details: Side number of the vessel

International radio call sign

M

Vessel registration details: International radio call sign of the vessel

Flag state

M

Vessel registration details: State where the vessel is registered, ISO-3 country code

NAFO Contracting Party

O (1)

Vessel registration detail: NAFO Contracting Party of the vessel, as ISO code of the country, EUR for European Community, NCP for Non-Contracting Party

Home port

O

Vessel registration details: Port of registration of the vessel or homeport

Vessel owner

M

Vessel registration details: Name and address of the vessel owner

Vessel operator

M (2)

Vessel registration details: Responsible for using the vessel

Master name

O

Vessel activity details: Name of the master

(1) If different from the flag state.

(2) If different from the flag state.If different from the vessel owner.

4. RESULT OF INSPECTION ON DISCHARGE

4.1. General information

4.2. Quantity discharged

4.3. Quantities staying on board the vessel

5. RESULT OF GEAR INSPECTION (6)

5.1. General information

5.2. Otter trawl details

6. INFRINGEMENTS AND FOLLOW-UP

6.1. Sea inspection

6.2. Port inspection infringements results

(a) Confirmation of infringements found at sea inspection

(b) Additional infringements found during the port inspection

(1) To be completed by the inspection authority or any alternate body nominated by the authorities as soon as the vessel land to port, based on logbook records.

(2) Where applicable.

(3) To be completed based on the licence information.

(4) To be completed after completion of discharge.

(5) Verification shall be done when non-compliance has been cited/observed during inspection at sea. To be completed when port inspection also concerns inspection of gears on board. A detail form shall be completed for every gear having been subject to port inspection.

(6) Verification shall be done when non-compliance has been cited/observed during inspection at sea. To be completed when port inspection also concerns inspection of gear on board. A detail form shall be completed for every gear having been subject to port inspection.’

ANNEX IV

‘ANNEX XIV(b)

1 OJ L 318, 5.12.2007, p. 1.

2 Optional if a vessel is subject to satellite tracking.’