# Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/218 of 6 February 2017 on the Union fishing fleet register EU Regulation 2017/218 · adopted 6 February 2017 Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/218 of 6 February 2017 on the Union fishing fleet register ## Introductory text Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/218 of 6 February 2017 on the Union fishing fleet register THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on the Common Fisheries Policy, amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1954/2003 and (EC) No 1224/2009 and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 2371/2002 and (EC) No 639/2004 and Council Decision 2004/585/EC, and in particular Article 24(4) thereof, Whereas: (1) The Union fishing fleet register is a necessary tool for implementing the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy. That register should contain all Union fishing vessels. (2) Currently the rules governing the national fishing fleet registers and the Union fishing fleet register are laid down in Commission Regulation (EC) No 26/2004. (3) Member States should record the information on ownership, on vessel and gear characteristics and on the activity of Union fishing vessels flying their flag and submit to the Commission such information in accordance with Article 24(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013. The Commission should maintain a Union fishing fleet register containing the information received from the Member States. (4) The Member States are responsible for the accuracy of the information contained in the national fishing fleet register. To this end the Members States should constantly monitor the quality of such information and ensure that it is regularly updated and can be checked at any time by the Commission through specific queries. (5) The processing by the Member States' competent authorities of personal data included in the national fishing fleet registers is subject to Union law rules on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, in particular Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, and to the relevant national implementing legislation. The characteristics and external marking recorded in the register kept by each Member State should be specified in accordance with Council Regulation (EEC) No 2930/86 and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 404/2011. (6) In order to monitor the activities of vessels between Member States and to ensure an unequivocal link between the information contained in the Union fishing fleet register and the data from other information systems relating to fishing activities, a unique identification number should be allocated to each Union fishing vessel, which under no circumstances may be reassigned or altered. (7) To ensure the effective application of this Regulation it is appropriate to introduce new tools and procedures in order to simplify further data management between Member States and the European Commission and to guarantee access to updated data more frequently. (8) For the management of the capacity of fishing fleets and their activity, the Union fishing fleet register should be made available to Member States in its entirety and to the public in a limited version. This limited version should exclude personal data in order to protect such data but include fishing vessels identifiers for the purposes of strengthening access to and transparency of information for the public. (9) Processing of personal data in the framework of this Regulation by the Union institutions and bodies and access by the Member States to the information in the Union fishing fleet register is subject to Union law on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, in particular Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council in particular as regards the requirements of confidentiality and security of processing, the transfer of personal data from the national systems of Member States to the Commission, the lawfulness of processing, and the rights of data subjects to information, access to and rectification of their personal data. (10) The new tool for data exchanges developed by the Commission should be used for all electronic data exchanges. (11) As Article 24(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 provides that Member States send to the Commission the information on ownership and on vessel and gear characteristics of Union fishing vessels flying their flag, those data should also be included in this Regulation. (12) Regulation (EC) No 26/2004 should be repealed. (13) Sufficient time should be given to Member States to adapt their national registers to the new data requirements laid down in this Regulation. (14) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee for Fisheries and Aquaculture, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: ## 1 Subject matter This Regulation determines the minimum information on vessel characteristics and activity which must appear in the United Kingdom fishing fleet register. ## 2 Definitions For the purposes of this Regulation the following definitions shall apply: (a)‘fishing vessel’ means any vessel as defined in the Article 4 paragraph 1(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013; (b)... (c)... (d)‘aquaculture vessel’ means a vessel equipped exclusively for harvesting, transport, handling and/or landing of aquaculture products; (e)‘event’ means any entry to or exit from the fleet of a vessel or change in one of its characteristics as listed in Annex I; (f)... (g)... (h)... (i)... (j)‘legal owner’ means any natural or legal person that appears on the vessel's registration documents as having the legal title of ownership of the vessel; (k)‘operator’ means a natural or legal person as defined in Article 4(19) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009; (l)‘United Kingdom fleet register (UKFR) number’ means the unique identification number of the vessel in the United Kingdom fleet; (m)‘personal data’ means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person as defined in Article 2(a) of Regulation (EC) No 45/2001; (n)... (o)‘United Kingdom fishing fleet register’ means the register, kept by the Secretary of State, containing information on all United Kingdom fishing vessels. ## 3 Scope This Regulation shall apply to all United Kingdom fishing vessels except aquaculture vessels and blue fin tuna traps. ## 4 Use of the United Kingdom fishing fleet register The data from the United Kingdom fishing register shall be used for the application of Fisheries Rules. ## 5 Data collection for the United Kingdom fishing fleet register A fisheries administration must, jointly with the other fisheries administrations, collect and validate without delay the data referred to in Annex I to enable the Secretary of State to record the same data in the United Kingdom fishing fleet register. ## 6 Data submission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ## 7 Snapshots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ## 8 United Kingdom fleet register number 1. The Secretary of State must assign a United Kingdom fleet register (UKFR) number to any fishing vessel which enters in the United Kingdom fleet for the first time. 2. The UKFR number must not be altered during the period in which the fishing vessel belongs to the United Kingdom fleet. 3. The UKFR number must not be reassigned to another vessel. If a fishing vessel is exported outside the United Kingdom and re-imported back into the United Kingdom, the fishing vessel must be reassigned the same UKFR number. ## 9 Standards for data exchange between the Commission and the Member States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ## 10 Access to vessel data 1. The Secretary of State must publish, in such manner as the Secretary of State sees fit, a limited version of the United Kingdom fishing fleet register which does not contain personal data. 2. The limited version of the register published under paragraph 1 must be updated at least once a month to update any event of which the Secretary of State is aware. ## 11 Personal data The processing, management and use of data collected under this Regulation which contain personal data shall comply with data protection legislation. ## 12 Repeal Regulation (EC) No 26/2004 is repealed. ## 13 Entry into force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ## Signature ... Done at Brussels, 6 February 2017. For the Commission The President Jean-Claude Juncker ## Annex I Definition of data and description of a registration In the case of a fleet census, this is 1.1.1989. For all other types of event, the date of the official document recording the event must be notified. Fishing gear considered to be the one most frequently used on board the vessel for a fishing period of a year or for a fishing campaign. Up to five gears may be declared. Up to five contacts may be registered. The address based on the street, PO box, city, post code and country must be sufficiently clear for the fleet contact to be contacted. Codes (or appropriate references) are listed on the Master Data Register (MDR) of the Commission Fisheries website: http://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/cfp/control/codes/index_en.htm Detailed rules are available in the Vessel Implementation Document on the Master Data Register (MDR) of the Commission Fisheries website: http://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/cfp/control/codes/index_en.htm Name of data Definition and comments Compulsory (C)/Compulsory if (CIF)/Optional (O) . . . . . . . . . UKFR Unique identification number of a fishing vessel in the United Kingdom fishing fleet register C UVI Unique Vessel Identifier (IMO number) pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 404/2011 CIF Event Code identifying the type of event reported C Date of event Date on which event occurred C Registration number The registration number ... O External marking Pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 404/2011 CIF Name of vessel The registered name of the fishing vessel C Place of registration Code identifying the place (mainly a port) where the vessel is registered CIF IRCS International radio call sign CIF IRCS indicator Vessel with an international radio on board — code C Licence indicator Vessel with a fishing licence according to Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 and Article 3 of Regulation (EU) No 404/2011 — code CIF VMS indicator Vessel Monitoring System — code. Vessel with a satellite monitoring system in accordance with Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 and Articles 18-28 of Regulation (EU) No 404/2011 CIF ERS indicator Vessel with an Electronic Reporting (logbook) System in in accordance with Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 and Articles 29 and following of Regulation (EU) No 404/2011 — code CIF AIS indicator Vessel with an Automatic Identification System in accordance with Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 — code CIF MMSI Maritime Mobile Service Identity O Vessel Type In accordance with the International Standard Statistical Classification of Fishery Vessels (ISSCFV) — code CIF Main fishing gear In accordance with the International Standard Statistical Classification of Fishing Gear (ISSCFCG) — code C Subsidiary fishing gear In accordance with the International Standard Statistical Classification of Fishing Gear (ISSCFCG) — code C LOA Length Over All in metres, defined in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2017/1130 CIF LBP Length Between Perpendiculars in metres, defined in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2017/1130 CIF Tonnage GT In GT, defined in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2017/1130 CIF Other tonnage In tonnes according to the Oslo Convention ... CIF GTs In GT, an increase in tonnage permitted on ground of safety (historical data). CIF Power of main engine In kW, in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2017/1130 C Power of auxiliary engine In kW. Includes all installed engine power not included under the heading ‘Power of main engine’ C Hull material Material of the hull — code C Date of entry into service In accordance with Regulation (EU) 2017/1130 C Segment Code C Country of importation/exportation Code CIF Type of export Code CIF Public aid Code CIF Date of construction Date when the construction has started. CIF For contacts/legal owner Name Natural person: name, first name Legal person: name CIF Legal Person Indicator ‘Y’ for a legal person, ‘N’ for a natural person — code O Street Street name and box CIF PO box Post-office box O City City name O Post code Post code O Country Country — code O Phone number International phone number O Fax number International fax number O Email address Email address O Nationality Nationality of the contact — code O IMO company identifier IMO unique company and registered legal owner Identification number O For contacts/operator Name Natural person: name, first name Legal person: name CIF Legal Person Indicator ‘Y’ for a legal person, ‘N’ for a natural person — code O Street Street name and box CIF PO box Post-office box O City City name O Post code Post code O Country Country — code O Phone number International phone number O Fax number International fax number O Email address Email address O Nationality Nationality of the contact — code O IMO company identifier IMO unique company and registered legal owner Identification number O ## Annex II Date of census fixed by country . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . --- Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2017/218 (the official version) Page: https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2017-218 Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.