Article 31 Principles and objectives of Sustainable fisheries partnership agreements

Sustainable fisheries partnership agreements with third countries shall establish a legal, environmental, economic and social governance framework for fishing activities carried out by F1United Kingdom fishing vessels in third country waters.

Such frameworks may include:

For the purpose of ensuring the sustainable exploitation of surpluses of marine biological resources, F2a fisheries administration must endeavour to ensure that the Sustainable fisheries partnership agreements with third countries are of mutual benefit to the F3United Kingdom and to the third country concerned, including its local population and fishing industry and that they contribute to continuing the activity of F4the United Kingdom fleet and seek to obtain an appropriate share of the available surplus, commensurate with the F5United Kingdom fleet's interest.

For the purpose of ensuring that F6United Kingdom fishing vessels fishing under Sustainable fisheries partnership agreements operate, where appropriate, under similar standards to those applicable to F7United Kingdom fishing vessels fishing in United Kingdom waters, F8a fisheries administration must endeavour to include in Sustainable fisheries partnership agreements appropriate provisions on obligations to land fish and fishery products.

F9United Kingdom fishing vessels shall only catch surplus of the allowable catch as referred to in Article 62(2) and (3) of the UNCLOS, and identified, in a clear and transparent manner, on the basis of the best available scientific advice and of the relevant information exchanged between the United Kingdom and the third country about the total fishing effort on the affected stocks by all fleets. Concerning straddling or highly migratory fish stocks, the determination of the resources available for access should take due account of scientific assessments conducted at the regional level as well as conservation and management measures adopted by relevant RFMOs.

F10United Kingdom fishing vessels shall not operate in the waters of the third country with which a Sustainable fisheries partnership agreement is in force unless they are in possession of a fishing authorisation which has been issued in accordance with that agreement.

F11A fisheries administration must ensure that Sustainable fisheries partnership agreements include a clause concerning respect for democratic principles and human rights, which constitutes an essential element of such agreements.

Those agreements shall also, to the extent possible, include:

Efforts shall be made F13... to monitor the activities of F14United Kingdom fishing vessels that operate in F15non-United Kingdom waters outside the framework of Sustainable fisheries partnership agreements.

F16A fisheries administration must ensure that F17United Kingdom fishing vessels operating outside F18United Kingdom waters are in a position to provide detailed and accurate documentation of all fishing and processing activities.

A fishing authorisation, as referred to in paragraph 5, shall be granted to a vessel which has left the F19United Kingdom fishing fleet register and which has subsequently returned to it within 24 months, only if the owner of that vessel has provided to F20a fisheries administration all data required to establish that, during that period, the vessel was operating in a manner fully consistent with the standards applicable to a F21United Kingdom fishing vessel.

Where the state granting the flag during the period that the vessel was off the United Kingdom fishing fleet register became recognised under F22relevant law as a non-cooperating state with regard to combating, deterring and eliminating IUU fishing, or as a state allowing for non-sustainable exploitation of living marine resources, such fishing authorisation shall only be granted if it is established that the vessel's fishing operations ceased and the owner took immediate action to remove the vessel from the register of that state.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .