For the purposes of this Regulation:

1. 1.

   ‘illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing’ or ‘IUU fishing’ means fishing activities which are illegal, unreported or unregulated;

2. 2.

   ‘illegal fishing’ means fishing activities:

   1. (a)

      conducted by national or foreign fishing vessels in maritime waters under the jurisdiction of a State, without the permission of that State, or in contravention of its laws and regulations;

   2. (b)

      conducted by fishing vessels flying the flag of States that are contracting parties to a relevant regional fisheries management organisation, but which operate in contravention of the conservation and management measures adopted by that organisation and by which those States are bound, or of relevant provisions of the applicable international law; or

   3. (c)

      conducted by fishing vessels in violation of national laws or international obligations, including those undertaken by cooperating States to a relevant regional fisheries management organisation;

3. 3.

   ‘unreported fishing’ means fishing activities:

   1. (a)

      which have not been reported, or have been misreported, to the relevant national authority, in contravention of national laws and regulations; or

   2. (b)

      which have been undertaken in the area of competence of a relevant regional fisheries management organisation and have not been reported, or have been misreported, in contravention of the reporting procedures of that organisation;

4. 4.

   ‘unregulated fishing’ means fishing activities:

   1. (a)

      conducted in the area of application of a relevant regional fisheries management organisation by fishing vessels without nationality, by fishing vessels flying the flag of a State not party to that organisation or by any other fishing entity, in a manner that is not consistent with or contravenes the conservation and management measures of that organisation; or

   2. (b)

      conducted in areas or for fish stocks in relation to which there are no applicable conservation or management measures by fishing vessels in a manner that is not consistent with State responsibilities for the conservation of living marine resources under international law;

5. 5.

   ‘fishing vessel’ means any vessel of any size used or intended for use for the purposes of commercial exploitation of fishery resources, including support ships, fish processing vessels, vessels engaged in transhipment and carrier vessels equipped for the transportation of fishery products, except container vessels;

6. 6.

   ‘Community fishing vessel’ means a fishing vessel flying the flag of a Member State and registered in the Community;

7. 7.

   ‘fishing authorisation’ means entitlement to engage in fishing activities during a specified period, in a given area or for a given fishery;

8. 8.

   ‘fishery products’ mean any products which fall under Chapter 03 and Tariff headings 1604 and 1605 of the Combined Nomenclature established by Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 of 23 July 1987 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff11, with the exception of the products listed in Annex I of this Regulation;

9. 9.

   ‘conservation and management measures’ mean measures to conserve and manage one or more species of living marine resources and that are adopted and in force in accordance with the relevant rules of international and/or Community law;

10. 10.

    ‘transhipment’ means the unloading of all or any fishery products on board a fishing vessel to another fishing vessel;

11. 11.

    ‘importation’ means the introduction of fishery products into the territory of the Community, including for transhipment purposes at ports in its territory;

12. 12.

    ‘indirect importation’ means the importation from the territory of a third country other than the flag State of the fishing vessel responsible for the catch;

13. 13.

    ‘exportation’ means any movement to a third country of fishery products harvested by fishing vessels flying the flag of a Member State, including from the territory of the Community, from third countries or from fishing grounds;

14. 14.

    ‘re-exportation’ means any movement from the territory of the Community of fishery products which had been previously imported into the territory of the Community;

15. 15.

    ‘regional fisheries management organisation’ means a subregional, regional or a similar organisation with competence, as recognised under international law, to establish conservation and management measures for living marine resources placed under its responsibility by virtue of the convention or agreement by which it was established;

16. 16.

    ‘contracting party’ means a contracting party to the international convention or agreement establishing a regional fisheries management organisation, as well as States, fishing entities or any other entities that cooperate with such an organisation and have been granted cooperating non-contracting party status with respect to such an organisation;

17. 17.

    ‘sighting’ means any observation by a Member State's competent authority responsible for inspection at sea, or by the master of a Community or third country fishing vessel of a fishing vessel that may fall under one or several of the criteria referred to in Article 3(1);

18. 18.

    ‘joint fishing operation’ means any operation between two or more fishing vessels where catch is transferred from the fishing gear of one fishing vessel to another or where the technique used by those fishing vessels requires one common fishing gear;

19. 19.

    ‘legal person’ means any legal entity having such status under the applicable national law, with the exception of States or public bodies in the exercise of State authority and public organisations;

20. 20.

    ‘risk’ means the likelihood of an event that may occur, with regard to fishery products imported into or exported from the territory of the Community, which prevents the correct application of this Regulation or of the conservation and management measures;

21. 21.

    ‘risk management’ means the systematic identification of risk and the implementation of all measures necessary for limiting exposure to risk. This includes activities such as collecting data and information, analysing and assessing risk, prescribing and taking action, and regular monitoring and review of the process and its outcomes, based on international, Community or national sources or strategies;

22. 22.

    ‘high seas’ means all the part of the sea as defined in Article 86 of the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea (Unclos);

23. 23.

    ‘consignment’ means products which are either sent simultaneously from one exporter to one consignee or covered by a single transport document covering their shipment from the exporter to the consignee.