
CHAPTER I
Article 1 
This Regulation fixes fishing opportunities for 2010 for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks in the Baltic Sea and the associated conditions under which such fishing opportunities may be used.
Article 2 

1. This Regulation shall apply to Community fishing vessels (‘Community vessels’) operating in the Baltic Sea.
2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, this Regulation shall not apply to fishing operations conducted solely for the purpose of scientific investigations which are carried out with the permission and under the authority of the Member State whose flag the vessel concerned is flying and of which the Commission and the Member States in whose waters the research is carried out have been informed in advance. Member States conducting fishing operations for the purpose of scientific investigations shall inform the Commission, the Member States in whose waters the research is carried out, ICES and STECF of all catches from such fishing operations.
3. Paragraph 2 shall not apply to fishing operations by vessels participating in initiatives regarding fully documented fisheries where such fisheries benefit from additional quotas.
Article 3 
In addition to the definitions laid down in Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002, for the purposes of this Regulation the following definitions shall apply:

((a)) the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) zones are the geographical areas specified in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 2187/2005;
((b)) ‘Baltic Sea’ means ICES Subdivisions 22-32;
((c)) ‘total allowable catch’ (TAC) means the quantity that can be taken from each stock each year;
((d)) ‘quota’ means a proportion of the TAC allocated to the Community, a Member State or a third country;
((e)) ‘day absent from port’ means any continuous period of 24 hours or part thereof during which the vessel is absent from port.
CHAPTER II
Article 4 
The catch limits, the allocation of such limits among Member States, and associated conditions set out in accordance with Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 are set out in Annex I to this Regulation.
Article 5 

1. The allocation of catch limits among Member States as set out in Annex I shall be without prejudice to:
(a) exchanges made pursuant to Article 20(5) of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002;
(b) reallocations made pursuant to Articles 21(4), 23(1) and 32(2) of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93;
(c) additional landings allowed under Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96;
(d) quantities withheld in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96;
(e) deductions made pursuant to Article 23(4) of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 and Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 338/2008.
2. For the purpose of withholding quotas to be transferred to 2011, Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 may apply, by way of derogation from that Regulation, to all stocks subject to analytical TAC.
Article 6 

1. Fish from stocks for which catch limits are fixed shall only be retained on board or landed if:
(a) the catches have been taken by vessels of a Member State with a quota and that quota has not been exhausted; or
(b) species other than herring and sprat are mixed with other species, and are not sorted either on board or on landing and the catches have been taken with trawls, Danish seines or similar gears of a mesh size less than 32 mm.
2. All landings shall count against the quota or, if the Community share has not been allocated among Member States by quotas, against the Community share, except for catches made under paragraph 1(b).
3. Where the quota for herring allocated to a Member State is exhausted, vessels flying the flag of that Member State, registered in the Community, and operating in the fisheries to which the relevant quota applies shall not land catches that are unsorted and that contain herring.
4. Where the quota for sprat allocated to a Member State is exhausted, vessels flying the flag of that Member State, registered in the Community, and operating in the fisheries to which the relevant quota applies shall not land catches that are unsorted and that contain sprat.
Article 7 
Any species subject to quota which is caught during fishing operations shall be brought aboard the vessel and subsequently landed unless this would be contrary to obligations laid down in Community fisheries legislation establishing technical, control, and conservation measures, and in particular in this Regulation and in Regulation (EC) No 2187/2005, Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93, and Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002.
Article 8 

1. Fishing effort limits are set out in Annex II.
2. The limits referred to in paragraph 1 shall apply to ICES Subdivisions 27, and 28,2 in so far as the Commission has not taken a decision in accordance with Article 29(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1098/2007 to exclude those Subdivisions from the restrictions provided for in Article 8(1)(b), (3), (4) and (5) and Article 13 of that Regulation.
3. The limits referred to in paragraph 1 shall not apply to ICES Subdivision 28,1 in so far as the Commission has not taken a decision in accordance with Article 29(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1098/2007 that the restrictions provided for in Article 8(1)(b), (3), (4) and (5) of Regulation (EC) No 1098/2007 shall apply to that Subdivision.
Article 9 
Transitional technical measures are set out in Annex III.
CHAPTER III
Article 10 
When Member States send data to the Commission relating to landings of quantities of stocks caught, pursuant to Article 15(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93, they shall use the stock codes set out in Annex I to this Regulation.
Article 11 
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
It shall apply from 1 January 2010.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
ANNEX I
The following tables set out the TACs and quotas (in tonnes live weight, except where otherwise specified) by stock, the allocation to the Member States and associated conditions for year-to-year management of the quotas.Within each area, fish stocks are referred to following the alphabetical order of the Latin names of the species. For the purposes of these tables the codes used for the different species are as follows:Scientific name Alpha-3 code Common name
Clupea harengus HER Herring
Gadus morhua COD Cod
Platichthys flesus FLX Flounder
Pleuronectes platessa PLE Plaice
Psetta maxima TUR Turbot
Salmo salar SAL Atlantic salmon
Sprattus sprattus SPR SpratSpeciesHerringClupea harengus ZoneSubdivisions 30-31HER/3D30.; HER/3D31.
Finland 84 721 Analytical TAC.Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 applies.Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 applies.Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 applies.
Sweden 18 615
EC 103 336
TAC 103 336SpeciesHerringClupea harengus ZoneSubdivisions 22-24HER/3B23.; HER/3C22.; HER/3D24.
Denmark 3 181 Analytical TAC.Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 does not apply.Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 does not apply.Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 applies.
Germany 12 519
Finland 2
Poland 2 953
Schweden 4 037
EC 22 692
TAC 22 692SpeciesHerringClupea harengus ZoneSubdivisions 25-27, 28.2, 29 and 32HER/3B23.; HER/3C22.; HER/3D24.HER/3D25.; HER/3D26.; HER/3D27.; HER/3D28.; HER/3D29.; HER/3D32.
Denmark 2 780 Analytical TAC.Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 does not apply.Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 does not apply.Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 applies.
Germany 737
Estonia 14 198
Finland 27 714
Latvia 3 504
Lithuania 3 689
Poland 31 486
Sweden 42 268
EC 126 376
TAC Not relevantSpeciesHerringClupea harengus ZoneSubdivision 28,1HER/03D.RG
Estonia 16 809 Analytical TAC.Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 applies.Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 applies.Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 applies.
Latvia 19 591
EC 36 400
TAC 36 400SpeciesCodGadus morhua ZoneEC waters of Subdivisions 25-32COD/3D25.; COD/3D26.; COD/3D27.; COD/3D28.; COD/3D29.; COD/3D30.; COD/3D31.; COD/3D32.
Denmark 11 777 Analytical TAC.Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 does not apply.Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 does not apply.Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 applies.
Germany 4 685
Estonia 1 148
Finland 901
Latvia 4 379
Lithuania 2 885
Poland 13 561
Sweden 11 932
EC 51 267
TAC Not relevantSpeciesCodGadus morhua ZoneEC waters of Subdivisions 22 –24COD/3B23.; COD/3C22.; COD/3D24.
Denmark 7 726 Analytical TAC.Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 does not apply.Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 does not apply.Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 applies.
Germany 3 777
Estonia 171
Finland 152
Latvia 639
Lithuania 415
Poland 2 067
Sweden 2 753
EC 17 700
TAC 17 700SpeciesPlaicePleuronectes platessa ZoneEC waters of Subdivisions 22-32PLE/3B23.; PLE/3C22.; PLE/3D24.; PLE/3D25.; PLE/3D26.; PLE/3D27.; PLE/3D28.; PLE/3D29.; PLE/3D30.; PLE/3D31.; PLE/3D32.
Denmark 2 179 Precautionary TAC.Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 applies.Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 does not apply.Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 applies.
Germany 242
Poland 456
Sweden 164
EC 3 041
TAC 3 041SpeciesAtlantic salmonSalmo salar ZoneEC waters of Subdivisions 22-31SAL/3B23.; SAL/3C22.; SAL/3D24.; SAL/3D25.; SAL/3D26.; SAL/3D27.; SAL/3D28.; SAL/3D29.; SAL/3D30.; SAL/3D31.
Denmark 60 975 Analytical TAC.Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 does not apply.Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 does not apply.Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 applies.
Germany 6 784
Estonia 6 197
Finland 76 031
Latvia 38 783
Lithuania 4 559
Poland 18 497
Sweden 82 420
EC 294 246
TAC Not relevant
SpeciesAtlantic salmonSalmo salar ZoneEC waters of Subdivision 32SAL/3D32.
Estonia 1 581 Analytical TAC.Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 does not apply.Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 does not apply.Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 applies.
Finland 13 838
EC 15 419
TAC Not relevant
SpeciesSpratSprattus sprattus ZoneEC waters of Subdivisions 22-32SPR/3B23.; SPR/3C22.; SPR/3D24.; SPR/3D25.; SPR/3D26.; SPR/3D27.; SPR/3D28.; SPR/3D29.; SPR/3D30.; SPR/3D31.; SPR/3D32.
Denmark 37 480 Analytical TAC.Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 does not apply.Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 does not apply.Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 applies.
Germany 23 745
Estonia 43 522
Finland 19 620
Latvia 52 565
Lithuania 19 015
Poland 111 552
Sweden 72 456
EC 379 955
TAC Not relevant
ANNEX II
1. 

((a)) 181 days absent from port in subdivisions 22-24 with the exception of the period from 1 to 30 April when Article 8(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1098/2007 applies; and
((b)) 160 days absent from port in subdivisions 25-28 with the exception of the period from 1 July to 31 August when Article 8(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 1098/2007 applies.

2. The maximum number of days absent from port per year for which a vessel may be present within the two areas defined in point 1(a) and (b) fishing with the gears referred to in point 1 may not exceed the maximum number of days allocated for one of the two areas.

ANNEX III
A.  1. 

Species Geographical area Period
Flounder (Platichthys flesus) Subdivisions 26, 27, 28 and 29 south of 59°30′NSubdivision 32 15 February to 15 May15 February to 31 May
Turbot (Psetta maxima) Subdivisions 25, 26 and 28 south of 56°50′N 1 June to 31 July
 2. By way of derogation from point 1, when fishing with trawls, Danish seines or similar gears with a mesh size equal to or greater then 105 mm or with gillnets, entangling nets or trammel nets with a mesh size equal to or greater than 100 mm, by-catches of flounder and turbot may be retained on board and landed within a limit of 10 % by live weight of the total catch retained on board and landed during the periods of prohibition referred to in point 1.

B.  1. By way of derogation from point 1(e)(i) of Appendix 1 to Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 2187/2005, the meshes shall have a minimum mesh opening of 120 mm from 1 January in subdivisions 22-24 and from 1 March in subdivisions 25-32.
 2. By way of derogation from point 1(d)(ii) of Appendix 1 to Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 2187/2005, the length of the window shall be at least 5,5 m from 1 January in subdivisions 22-24 and from 1 March in subdivisions 25-32.
 3. By way of derogation from point 2 the length of the window shall be at least 6 m, if a sensor dedicated to the measurement of the volume of the catches is attached to the window from 1 January in subdivisions 22-24 and from 1 March in subdivisions 25-32.

C. 
By way of derogation from point (b) of Appendix 2 to Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 2187/2005, the mesh size for meshes shall be at least 120 mm from 1 January in subdivisions 22-24 and from 1 March in subdivisions 25-32.
