Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1867
of 19 October 2015
amending Regulation (EC) No 494/2002 as regards the landing obligation
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 850/98 of 30 March 1998 for the conservation of the fishery resources through technical measures for the protection of juveniles of marine organisms(1), and in particular Article 48 thereof,
Whereas:
(1) According to Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council(2), the gradual elimination of discards through the introduction of a landing obligation for catches of species subject to catch limits is one of the objectives of the common fisheries policy.
(2) According to Article 15(1)(c) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013, the landing obligation applies from 1 January 2016 to hake in fisheries defined by that species.
(3) Certain provisions of Commission Regulation (EC) No 494/2002(3) conflict with the landing obligation by obliging fishermen to discard hake caught in excess of certain catch composition limits.
(4) Those provisions of Regulation (EC) No 494/2002 should therefore be amended by requiring that all unintended catches of hake be landed and counted against quotas.
(5) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee for Fisheries and Aquaculture,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on the Common Fisheries Policy, amending Council Regulations (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 (OJ L 354, 28.12.2013, p. 22).
Commission Regulation (EC) No 494/2002 of 19 March 2002 establishing additional technical measures for the recovery of the stock of hake in ICES sub-areas III, IV, V, VI and VII and ICES divisions VIII a, b, d, e (OJ L 77, 20.3.2002, p. 8).