Introductory text

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 of 20 December 2002 on the conservation and sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources under the common fisheries policy^f1, and in particular Articles 8(3) and 9(2) thereof,

Whereas:

Article 3(2) of Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora^f2 requires Member States to contribute to the creation of the network of special areas of conservation called ‘Natura 2000’, hosting the natural habitat types and species listed in the Annexes to that Directive.

Article 6(1) of Directive 92/43/EEC requires Member States to establish, for special areas of conservation, the necessary conservation measures.

On 28 February 2008 the Netherlands designated the area called Voordelta as a special area of conservation within the meaning of Article 3(2) of Directive 92/43/EEC and informed the Commission about its intention to take measures to restrict fishery activities in that area.

Article 6(4) of Directive 92/43/EEC requires Member States to take all compensatory measures necessary to protect the overall coherence of the Natura 2000 network when a plan or project is carried out with significant negative effects on a Natura 2000 site. In this context, following the construction of harbour facilities ‘Maasvlakte 2’ in the Voordelta area, the Netherlands needs to take appropriate compensatory measures. This project was subject to a favourable Commission opinion (Commission opinion C(2003) 1308 of 24 April 2003).

Measures concerning the conservation, management and exploitation of living aquatic resources are subject to the rules of the common fisheries policy.

Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 enables Member States to take non-discriminatory measures to minimise the effect of fishing on the conservation of marine eco-systems within 12 nautical miles, provided that the Community has not adopted measures addressing conservation and management specifically for that area. The Member States' measures must be compatible with the objectives of the common fisheries policy as set out in Article 2 Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 and no less stringent than the existing Community legislation. If the measures affect fishing vessels from other Member States, they must be notified to the Commission, to the Member States and to the Regional Advisory Councils concerned and must subsequently be confirmed by the Commission.

On 13 May 2008 the Netherlands notified the measures it intends to take to the Commission, Belgium, Denmark, Germany and France, which are the Member States concerned by the measures, as well as to the North Sea Regional Advisory Council.

The fisheries measures proposed by the Netherlands are the creation of a seabed protection area with restricted access for beam trawlers with tickler chains with an engine capacity greater than 260 hP (191 kW) and the creation of five rest zones located within the seabed conservation area within which most fishing is to be prohibited.

Belgium and the North Sea Regional Advisory Council have submitted to the Commission their written comments on the notification.

The measures proposed by the Netherlands are not discriminatory as they apply equally to all vessels operating within the area. They are intended to minimise the effect of fishing on the conservation of marine eco-systems and are to be applied within 12 nautical miles of the baselines. The Community has not adopted any measure addressing conservation or management specifically for that area.

Those measures are compatible with the objectives set out in Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002, in particular with the precautionary approach to be followed in taking measures designed to protect and conserve living aquatic resources, and are no less stringent than the existing Community legislation,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: