
Article 1 
Implementing Decision 2014/156/EU is amended as follows:

1.. The title is replaced by the following:
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2.. Article 1 is replaced by the following:
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Article 1 

1. This Decision establishes a specific control and inspection programme applicable to fisheries exploiting stocks of:
(a) bluefin tuna in the Eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean;
(b) swordfish in the Mediterranean;
(c) albacore in the Mediterranean;
(d) sardine and anchovy in the Northern and Southern Adriatic Sea; and
(e) European hake and deep-water rose shrimp in the Strait of Sicily.
2. The Eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean, the Northern and Southern Adriatic Sea and the Strait of Sicily are referred to hereinafter as ‘the areas concerned’.
3. For the purpose of this Decision, the following definitions shall apply:
(a) ‘Northern Adriatic’ and ‘Southern Adriatic’ means the geographical subareas (GSAs) 17 and 18 as defined in Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 1343/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council;
(b) ‘Strait of Sicily’ means the GSAs 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16, as defined in Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 1343/2011;
(c) ‘Mediterranean’ means Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) subareas 37.1, 37.2 and 37.3;
(d) ‘Eastern Atlantic’ means International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) subareas VII, VIII, IX, X as defined in Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 218/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council and FAO division 34.1.2.';
3.. in Article 2, paragraph 2 is deleted;
4.. in Article 5, paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:
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3. In case where a fishing vessel flying the flag of a Member State which is not a Member State concerned, or a third country fishing vessel, operates in the area(s) referred to in Article 1, it shall be attributed a level of risk in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article. In the absence of information and unless its flag authorities provide, in the framework of Article 9, the results of their own risk assessment performed according to Article 4(2) and to paragraph 2 of this Article leading to a different risk level, it shall be considered as a ‘very high’ risk level fishing vessel.';
5.. Article 12 is amended as follows:

((a)) paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:
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3. The information referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be transmitted by electronic means to the Commission and to the EFCA on 15 September and shall be updated on 31 January of the following year.';
((b)) paragraph 4 is deleted;
6.. Annexes I and II are replaced by the text in the Annex to this Decision.
Article 2 
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels, 5 January 2018.
For the Commission
Karmenu VELLA
Member of the Commission
ANNEX

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ANNEX I 
Each fishing vessel, group of fishing vessels, fishing gear category, operator, and/or fishing related activity, for the stocks and area(s) referred to in Article 1, shall be subject to control and inspections according to the level of priority attributed. The level of priority shall be attributed depending on the results of the risk assessment carried out by each Member State concerned, or by any other Member State for the sole purposes of application of Article 5(3), on the basis of the following procedure:

Risk description[depending on the risk/fishery/area and data available] Indicator[depending on the risk/fishery/area and data available] Step in the fishery/marketing chain (When and where does the risk appear) Points to be considered [depending on the risk/fishery/area and data available] Occurrence in the fishery Potential consequence(s) Level of risk
[Note: risks identified by Member States should be in line with objectives defined in Article 3]   Levels of catches/landings distributed by fishing vessels, stocks, and gears,Availability of quota to fishing vessels, distributed by fishing vessels, stocks and gears,Use of standardized boxes,Level and fluctuation of market price for the landed fisheries products (first sale),Number of inspections previously carried out and number of detected infringements for the fishing vessel and/or other operator concerned,Obligation to land as from 1 January 2015 in accordance with Regulation (EU) of the European Parliament and of the Council No 1380/2013 of 11 December 2013,Background, and/or potential danger, of fraud linked to port/location/area, and metier, including Sport and Recreational vesselsFishing or fishing related activities during spatio-temporal closures,Any other relevant information or intelligence. Frequent/Medium/Seldom cases/orNot significant Serious/Significant/Acceptable/or Marginal very low/low/medium/high/or very high

ANNEX II  1. 
On a yearly basis, the following target benchmarks and objectives shall be reached for the inspections at sea of fishing vessels engaged in the fisheries exploiting stocks referred to in Article 1:


Benchmarks per year
Fishery Level of estimated risk for fishing vessels in accordance with Article 5(2)
high very high
Fishery No 1 bluefin tuna Inspection at sea of at least 2,5 % of fishing trips by ‘high risk’ level fishing vessels targeting the stock in question Inspection at sea of at least 5 % of fishing trips by ‘very high risk’ level fishing vessels targeting the stock in question
Fishery No 2 swordfish Inspection at sea of at least 2,5 % of fishing trips by ‘high risk’ level fishing vessels targeting the stock in question Inspection at sea of at least 5 % of fishing trips by ‘very high risk’ level fishing vessels targeting the stock in question
 Any risk level
Fishery No 4 sardine and anchovy Inspection at sea of at least 20 % of fishing vessels targeting the stocks in question during the respective fishing season
Fishery No 5 European hake and deep-water rose shrimp Inspection at sea of at least 30 % of fishing vessels targeting the stocks in question during the respective fishing season
Objectives
Fishery Any risk level
Fishery No 1 bluefin tuna Without prejudice to the benchmarks set above, for transfers operations the objective shall be to inspect a maximum
Fishery No 3 albacore For inspections at sea, priority shall be given to compliance with technical measures and closure periods
Fishery No 1 bluefin tunaFishery No 2 swordfishFishery No 5 European hake and deep-water rose shrimp Without prejudice to the benchmarks set above, for inspections at sea, priority shall be given to compliance with technical measures and spatio-closure periods, including fisheries restricted areas

 2. 
On a yearly basis, the following target benchmarks and objectives shall be reached for the inspections ashore (including document based controls and inspections in ports or at first sale) of fishing vessels and other operators engaged in the fisheries exploiting stocks referred to in Article 1:


Benchmarks per year
Fishery Level of risk for fishing vessels and/or other operators (first buyer)
high very high
Fishery No 1 bluefin tuna Inspection in port of at least 10 % of overall landed quantities by ‘high risk’ level fishing vessels Inspection in port of at least 15 % of overall landed quantities by ‘very high risk’ level fishing vessels
Fishery No 2 swordfish Inspection in port of at least 10 % of overall landed quantities by ‘high risk’ level fishing vessels Inspection in port of at least 15 % of overall landed quantities by ‘very high risk’ level fishing vessels
Fishery No 4 sardine and anchovy Inspection in port of at least 10 % of overall landed quantities by ‘high risk’ level fishing vessels Inspection in port of at least 15 % overall landed quantities by ‘very high risk’ level fishing vessels
 Any risk level
Fishery No 5 European hake and deep-water rose shrimp Inspection in port of at least 20 % of overall landed quantities by fishing vessels targeting the stocks in question
Objectives
Fishery Any risk level
Fishery No 3 albacore For inspections ashore, priority shall be given to compliance with technical measures and closure periods
Fishery No 1 bluefin tunaFishery No 2 swordfishFishery No 4 sardine and anchovy Without prejudice to the benchmark set above, priority shall be given to compliance with technical measures and closure periods


Inspections made after landing or transhipment shall in particular be used as a complementary cross-checking mechanism to verify the reliability of the information recorded and reported on catches and landings.
 3. 
On a yearly basis, the following target benchmarks shall be reached for the inspections on traps and farming installations related to bluefin tuna in the areas referred to in Article 1.


Benchmarks per year Level of risk for traps and/or other operators (farm operator or first buyer)
Any risk level
Fishery No 1 bluefin tuna Inspection of 100 % of caging and transfer operations at traps and farm installations, including release of fish.

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