Regulation (EU) 2019/833 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2019 laying down conservation and enforcement measures applicable in the Regulatory Area of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation, amending Regulation (EU) 2016/1627 and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 2115/2005 and (EC) No 1386/2007

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 43(2) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee^f1,

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure^f2,

Whereas:

One of the objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy, as set out in Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council^f3, is to ensure exploitation of marine biological resources that provides sustainable economic, environmental and social conditions.

By means of Council Decision 98/392/EC^f4, the Union approved the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, which contain principles and rules with regard to the conservation and management of the living resources of the sea. In the framework of its wider international obligations, the Union takes part in efforts made in international waters to conserve fish stocks.

The Union is party to the Convention on Future Multilateral Cooperation in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries (‘the Convention’), approved by Council Regulation (EEC) No 3179/78^f5. An amendment to the Convention was adopted on 28 September 2007 and approved by Council Decision 2010/717/EU^f6.

The Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO) has the authority to adopt legally binding decisions for the conservation of fishery resources under its purview. Those decisions are essentially addressed to the NAFO Contracting Parties, but also contain obligations for the operators (for example the master of the vessel). Upon their entry into force, the NAFO conservation and enforcement measures (CEM) are binding on all NAFO Contracting Parties and, in the case of the Union, are to be incorporated into Union law to the extent to which they are not already covered by Union law.

Council Regulation (EC) No 1386/2007^f7 transposed the CEM into Union law.

Council Regulation (EC) No 2115/2005^f8 established a recovery plan for the Greenland halibut stock in NAFO Subarea 2 and Divisions 3KLMNO.

The CEM have been amended by every annual meeting of NAFO Contracting Parties since 2008. The new provisions need to be incorporated into Union law, including conservation measures for certain species, protection of vulnerable marine ecosystems, inspection procedures at sea and in port, vessel requirements, monitoring of fishing activities and additional port State measures.

Taking into consideration that certain provisions of the CEM are being amended more frequently by NAFO Contracting Parties and are likely to be amended further in the future, in order to swiftly incorporate into Union law future amendments to the CEM, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) should be delegated to the Commission in respect of the following aspects: list of activities of research vessels; measures relating to Northern prawn fishing; change of fishery depths and references to restricted or closed areas; procedures concerning authorised vessels with more than 50 tonnes live weight total catch on board taken outside the Regulatory Area entering the area to fish for Greenland halibut and preconditions for beginning to fish for Greenland halibut; content of the electronic transmission, list of valid documents to be carried on board the vessels and the content of capacity plans; documentation to be carried on board vessels on chartering arrangements; the vessel monitoring system (VMS) data; provisions on electronic reporting and on the content of notifications; and obligations of the master of the vessel during inspection. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making^f9. In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council receive all documents at the same time as Member States' experts, and their experts systematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts.

The Commission, representing the Union at NAFO meetings, agrees annually to a number of purely technical provisions of the CEM, in particular concerning format and content of information exchange, scientific terminology or closures of vulnerable areas. The Commission should also adopt a delegated act supplementing this Regulation with those provisions of, and Annexes to, the CEM, and should be empowered to amend it.

Regulations (EC) No 2115/2005 and (EC) No 1386/2007 should therefore be repealed.

In November 2018, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) adopted Recommendation 18-02 establishing a management plan for bluefin tuna that will enter into force on 21 June 2019. Recommendation 18-02 repeals Recommendation 17-07, which amended Recommendation 14-04 establishing a recovery plan for bluefin tuna that was implemented in Union law by means of Regulation (EU) 2016/1627 of the European Parliament and of the Council^f10. Recommendation 18-02 contains more flexible provisions than those implemented in Regulation (EU) 2016/1627.

The Commission plans to adopt a proposal for a Regulation for the purpose of implementing Recommendation 18-02 during the first quarter of 2019. It is unlikely that the co-legislators will adopt that Regulation before the entry into of force of Recommendation 18-02.

During a technical meeting on ICCAT issues on 11 December 2018, Member States expressed their wish to implement at least certain provisions of Recommendation 18-02 relating to by-catches, farming and fishing capacity and open seasons from 21 June 2019, to ensure a level playing field between all operators catching bluefin tuna. In addition, there are new reinforced control provisions, including for intra-farming random controls, live trade and farming practices, that Member States are also to implement from 21 June 2019, on the basis of shared competence on that policy.

In order to ensure a level playing field between Union fishing vessels and other fleets fishing for bluefin tuna, the ICCAT measures laid down in Recommendation 18-02 relating to by-catches, farming and fishing capacity and open seasons should be included in Regulation (EU) 2016/1627.

Regulation (EU) 2016/1627 should therefore be amended accordingly,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: