
COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 1936/2001 of 27 September 2001 laying down control measures applicable to fishing for certain stocks of highly migratory fish 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 37 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,
Whereas:

(1) The Community has since 14 November 1997 been a Contracting Party to the International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (hereinafter referred to as the ICCAT Convention).

(2) The ICCAT Convention provides a framework for regional cooperation on the conservation and management of resources of tuna and tuna-like fish in the Atlantic ocean and adjacent seas through an International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (hereinafter referred to as ICCAT), and the adoption of recommendations on conservation and management in the Convention area that become obligatory for Contracting Parties.

(3) ICCAT has adopted a number of recommendations creating control and surveillance obligations, notably on the establishment and transmission of statistics, inspection in port, vessel surveillance by satellite, vessel observations and transhipments, and checks on non-contracting parties and on stateless vessels. These recommendations have become obligatory for the Community and should therefore be implemented.

(4) Certain obligations have been transposed by Council Regulation (EC) No 1351/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down certain control measures to ensure compliance with the measures adopted by ICCAT and into Article 22(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 2742/1999 of 17 December 1999 fixing for 2000 the fishing opportunities and associated conditions for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks applicable in Community waters and, for Community vessels, in waters where limitations in catch are required and amending Regulation (EC) No 66/98. For reasons of clarity these measures should be incorporated in a single Regulation, repealing and replacing former Regulations.

(5) For scientific research purposes masters of Community fishing vessels should be required to comply with the instructions of the ‘Operational manual for statistics and sampling of tuna and tuna-like fish in the Atlantic Ocean’ published by ICCAT.

(6) The Community has approved the Agreement for the establishment of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission, (hereinafter referred to as IOTC). The Agreement provides a useful framework for strengthening international cooperation for the purpose of conserving and rationally utilising Indian Ocean tuna and related species, through creation of the IOTC and the adoption of recommendations on conservation and management in its area of competence that become binding on Contracting Parties. The Community should apply the control measures adopted by the IOTC.

(7) The IOTC has adopted a recommendation on the recording and exchange of information on tropical tuna. This is binding on the Community, which should therefore implement it.

(8) The Community has fishing interests in the Eastern Pacific and has initiated the procedure for accession to the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, (hereinafter referred to as IATTC). Pending accession and in line with its cooperation requirement arising under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, it should apply the control measures adopted by the IATTC.

(9) The Community, which has signed the Agreement on the International Dolphin Conservation Programme, has decided by Decision 1999/386/EC to apply it provisionally pending its approval, and should therefore apply its control measures.

(10) In order to ensure the respect of the applicable control measures of the IOTC, IATTC and of the Agreement on the International Dolphin Conservation Programme, Member States should take the necessary action.

(11) Council Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 of 12 October 1993 establishing a control system applicable to the common fisheries policy applies to all fishing activities and all associated activities carried out on the territory and in the maritime waters subject to the sovereignty or jurisdiction of Member States, including those of Community fishing vessels operating in the waters of third countries or on the high seas, without prejudice to fishery agreements concluded between the Community and third countries or international conventions to which the Community is a Party.

(12) The measures necessary for implementation of this Regulation should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission,
HAS ADOPTED THISREGULATION:

Purpose
Article 1 
This Regulation lays down control and inspection measures relating to fishing for stocks of the highly migratory fish species listed in Annex I to this Regulation and shall apply to  United Kingdom fishing vessels  operating in one of the zones specified in Article 2. 
Zones
Article 2 
For the purposes of this Regulation the following marine zones are specified:

((a)) ...

((b)) Zone 2:
All Indian Ocean waters included in the area of competence specified in Article II of the Agreement for the establishment of the IOTC.
((c)) Zone 3:
All Eastern Pacific Ocean waters included in the area specified in Article III of the Agreement on the International Dolphin Conservation Programme.
Definitions
Article 3 
For the purposes of this Regulation the following definitions shall apply:

((a)) ‘boarding’: the boarding of a fishing vessel within an organisation's area of competence by one or more authorised inspectors in order to make an inspection;
((b)) ‘transhipment’: unloading of any quantity of highly migratory fish and/or products from such fish from on board a fishing vessel to another vessel either at sea or in port, without the products having been recorded by a port  state  as landed;
((c)) ‘landing’: unloading of any quantity of highly migratory fish and/or products from such fish from on board a fishing vessel to port or to land;
((d)) ‘infringement’: any presumed act committed or omitted by a fishing vessel that is recorded in an inspection report and gives serious reason for suspecting a breach of the provisions of this Regulation or any other Regulation transposing a recommendation adopted by a regional organisation for one of the zones indicated in Article 2;
((e)) ‘vessel of a non-Contracting Party’: vessel observed and identified as engaged in fishing activities in one of the zones specified in Article 2 that is flying the flag of a country that is not a Contracting Party to the relevant regional organisation;
((f)) ‘stateless vessel’: vessel for which there are reasonable grounds for suspecting it to be without nationality;
((g)) ‘fattening’: raising of individuals in cages to increase their weight or fat content with a view to marketing;
((h)) ‘caging’: placing of wild individuals of any size in closed structures (cages) for fattening;
((i)) ‘fattening farm’: enterprise which raises wild individuals in cages for fattening;
((j)) ‘transport vessel’: vessel receiving wild individuals and transporting them live to fattening farms.
CHAPTER I
CONTROL AND INSPECTION MEASURES APPLICABLE IN ZONE 1
Section 1
Control measures

                     Catch sampling
                  
Article 4 
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                     Activities of vessels participating in operations relating to bluefin tuna fattening
                  
Article 4a 
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                     Activities of bluefin tuna fattening farms
                  
Article 4b 
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                     Register of bluefin tuna fattening farms
                  
Article 4c 
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                     Catch notification
                  
Article 5 
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                     Information on shark catches
                  
Article 6 
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                     Information on catches of white and blue marlin
                  
Article 6a 
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                     Undeclared catches
                  
Article 7 
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                     Observation of vessels
                  
Article 8 
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                     Register of vessels authorised to fish in the Convention area
                  
Article 8a 
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                     Chartering of Community fishing vessels
                  
Article 8b 
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                     Transhipment
                  
Article 8c 
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                     Annual report
                  
Article 9 
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                     Annual statement on the application of the ICCAT management standards by large longliners
                  
Article 9a 
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Section 2
Port inspection procedures

                     General
                  
Article 10 
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                     Inspectors
                  
Article 11 
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                     Inspection procedures
                  
Article 12 
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                     Master's obligations during inspection
                  
Article 13 
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                     Procedure in event of infringement
                  
Article 14 
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                     Follow-up of infringements
                  
Article 15 
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                     Treatment of inspection reports
                  
Article 16 
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Section 3
Stateless and non-contracting parties' vessels

                     Transhipment
                  
Article 17 
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                     Control measures for fishing activities
                  
Article 18 
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                     Member States' nationals
                  
Article 19 
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                     Action to combat IUU fishing
                  
Article 19a 
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                     Information on vessels presumed to have carried out IUU fishing
                  
Article 19b 
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                     Action on vessels presumed to have carried out IUU fishing
                  
Article 19c 
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CHAPTER II
CONTROL AND SURVEILLANCE MEASURES APPLICABLE IN ZONE 2
SECTION 1
Control measures
General principles
                  
Article 20 
A fisheries administration must  act to ensure that vessels  within their fleet  respect the provisions applicable in the zone.
Register of vessels authorised to fish in the IOTC area
Article 20a 
Article 8a shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Transhipment
Article 20b 
Article 8c shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Marking of fishing gear
                  
Article 20c 

1. Gear used by  United Kingdom fishing  vessels authorised to fish in the zone shall be marked as follows: the ends of nets, lines and other gear in the sea shall be fitted with flag or radar reflector buoys and by night with light buoys indicating their position and extent.
2. Marker buoys and similar floating objects indicating the position of fixed fishing gear shall at all times clearly indicate the letter(s) and/or number(s) of the vessel(s) to which they belong.
3. Fish aggregating devices shall be clearly marked at all times with the letter(s) and/or number(s)of the vessel(s) to which they belong.
Statistical notification for scientific purposes
                  
Article 20 d 

1. A fisheries administration must  transmit the following statistical data in electronic form, with electronic access ... to the IOTC Secretariat, in accordance with the procedures for submission of statistics referred to in Annex V:
(a) fishing effort and catches of species referred to in Article 1 for the previous year;
(b) the sizes of the species referred to in Article 1 for the previous year;
(c) tuna fishing using floating objects, including fish aggregating devices.
2. A fisheries administration must
                          set up a computerised database containing the statistical data provided for in paragraph 1 ....
SECTION 2
Port inspection procedures
Article 20e 
Articles 10, 12, 13, 14 and 15 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
SECTION 3
Stateless vessels and vessels of non-contracting parties
Observation
Article 21 
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Control of fishing activities
Article 21a 
Article 18 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
IUU vessels
Article 21b 
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Measures concerning vessels presumed to have carried out IUU fishing
Article 21c 
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CHAPTER III
CONTROL AND SURVEILLANCE MEASURES APPLICABLE IN ZONE 3
General
Article 22 
A fisheries administration must  take the action necessary in order that vessels  in its fleet  respect the IATTC measures transposed into  law  and the International Dolphin Conservation Programme Agreement measures applicable.
CHAPTER IV
FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 23 
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Article 24 
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Article 25 

1. Regulation (EC) No 1351/1999 is hereby repealed.
2. Article 22(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2742/1999 is hereby repealed.
3. References made to the repealed Regulation (EC) No 1351/1999 shall be construed as being made to this Regulation, and should be read in accordance with the correlation table in Annex III.
Article 26 
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...
ANNEX I
LIST OF SPECIES REFERRED TO IN THIS REGULATION


— Albacore: Thunnus alalunga
— Bluefin tuna: Thunnus thynnus
— Bigeye tuna: Thunnus obesus
— Skipjack: Katsuwonus pelamis
— Atlantic bonito: Sarda sarda
— Yellowfin tuna: Thunnus albacares
— Blackfin tuna: Thunnus atlanticus
— Little tuna: Euthynnus spp.
— Southern bluefin tuna: Thunnus maccoyii
— Frigate tuna: Auxis spp.
— Oceanic sea bream: Bramidae
— Marlin: Tetrapturus spp.; Makaira spp.
— Sailfish: Istiophorus spp.
— Swordfish: Xiphias gladius
— Sauries: Scomberesox spp.; Cololabis spp
— Dolphinfish; common dolphinfish: Coryphaena hippurus; Coryphaena equiselis.
— Shark: Hexanchus griseus; Cetorhinus maximus; Alopiidae; Rhincodon typus; Carcharhinidae; Sphyrnidae; Isuridae; Lamnidae
— Cetaceans (whales and porpoises): Physeteridae; Belaenopteridae; Balenidae; Eschrichtiidae; Monodontidae; Ziphiidae; Delphinidae.

ANNEX Ia

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ANNEX II

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ANNEX III

CORRELATION TABLERegulation (EC) No 1351/1999 This Regulation
Articles 1, 2, 3 Article 8
Article 4 Article 18
Article 5 Article 17
ANNEX IV

ANNEX VCatch and effort data 

Surface fisheries: catch data in nominal catch weight and effort data in fishing days (purse seine, baitboat, troll, drift nets) should be provided to IOTC by 1° grid area and month strata. Purse seine fishery data should be stratified by type of school. Those data should preferably be extrapolated to the national monthly catches of each gear. The raising factors used, corresponding to the logbook coverage, should be given routinely to IOTC.

Longline fisheries: catch and effort data of the longline fisheries should be provided to the IOTC by 5° grid area and month strata, preferably in numbers and in weight. Fishing effort should be given in numbers of hooks. Those data should preferably be extrapolated to the national monthly catches. The raising factors used, corresponding to the logbook coverage, should be given routinely to IOTC.

The catches, efforts and sizes of the artisanal, small scale and sport fisheries should also be submitted on a monthly basis, but using the best geographical areas used to collect and process those data.
Size data 

Considering that size data are of key importance for most tuna stock assessment, length data, including the total number of fish measured, should be routinely submitted to the IOTC on a 5° grid area and month basis, by gear and fishing mode (e.g. free/log schools for the purse seiners). Size data should be provided for all gears and for all species covered by IOTC. Size data sampling should preferably be run under strict and well described random sampling schemes which are necessary to provide unbiased figures for the sizes taken. The exact recommended level of sampling could vary between species (as a function of various parameters), but the specific level of recommended sampling needs to be established by the working party on statistics. More detailed size data, for instance size by individual samples, should also be made available to IOTC when requested by specific working groups, but under strict rules of confidentiality.
Fishing for tunas using floating objects, including fish aggregating devices (FADs) 

For a better understanding by IOTC of changing patterns in effective fishing effort by fleets operating in its area of competence, more information has to be obtained. Since the activities of supply vessels and the use of fish aggregating devices (FAD) are an integral part of the fishing effort of the purse seine fleet, the following information should be routinely submitted to IOTC:

Number and characteristics of supply vessels: (i) operating under their flag, (ii) assisting purse seine vessels operating under their flag, or (iii) licensed to operate in their exclusive economic zones, and that have been present in the IOTC area of competence.

Levels of activity of supply vessels: including number of days at sea, on 1° grid area and month basis.

In addition, contracting parties and cooperating non-contracting parties shall do their best to provide data on the total number and type of fish aggregating devices (FADs) operated by the fleet, on a 5° grid area and month basis.
Timeliness of data submission to IOTC 

It is essential that all fishery data be available to the IOTC Secretariat in due time to allow monitoring of stocks and analysis of the data. Thus it is recommended that the following rules be applied as standard obligations:

Surface fleets and other fleets operating in coastal zones (including supply vessels) must provide their fishery data at the earliest possible date but no later than 30 June each year (previous year's data).

Longline fleets operating on the high seas must provide the provisional fishery data at the earliest date, but no later than 30 June (previous year's data). They must provide the final estimate of their fishery data before 30 December each year (previous year's data).

The time limits presently allowed for submitting statistics could be reduced in the future as communication and data processing technologies become ever more rapid, which should reduce the present data processing delays.
