THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 of 20 December 2002 on the conservation and sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources under the common fisheries policy(1), and in particular Article 20 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal of the Commission,
Whereas:
(1) Under Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 the Council is to adopt the measures necessary to ensure access to waters and resources and the sustainable pursuit of fishing activities taking into account available scientific advice and any advice received from Regional Advisory Councils established under Article 31 of that Regulation.
(2) Under Article 20 of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002, it is incumbent upon the Council to establish fishing opportunities by fishery or group of fisheries and to allocate them in accordance with prescribed criteria.
(3) The latest scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) concerning certain stocks of fish found in the deep sea indicates that those stocks are harvested unsustainably, and that fishing opportunities for those stocks should be reduced in order to assure their sustainability.
(4) The ICES has further advised that the exploitation rate of orange roughy in ICES subarea VII is much too high. Scientific advice further indicates that orange roughy in subarea VI is heavily depleted, and areas of vulnerable aggregations of that species have been identified. It is therefore appropriate to prohibit fishing for orange roughy in those areas.
(5) In accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 2347/2002 of 16 December 2002 establishing specific access requirements and associated conditions applicable to fishing for deep-sea stocks(2), the fishing opportunities for deep-sea species, as defined in Annex I to that Regulation, are decided on a bi-annual basis. Nevertheless, an exception is made for the stocks of greater silver smelt and blue ling for which the fishing opportunities depend on the outcome of the annual negotiations with Norway. The fishing possibilities for those stocks therefore remain to be established in the annual fishing opportunities regulation decided by the Council in December.
(6) In order to ensure effective management of quotas, the specific conditions under which fishing operations occur should be established.
(7) In accordance with Article 2 of Council Regulation (EC) No 847/96 of 6 May 1996 introducing additional conditions for year-to-year management of TACs and quotas(3), it is necessary to indicate which stocks are subject to the various measures fixed therein.
(8) The measures provided for in this Regulation should be fixed by reference to ICES zones as defined in Council Regulation (EEC) No 3880/91 of 17 December 1991 on the submission of nominal catch statistics by Member States fishing in the north-east Atlantic(4) and to CECAF zones (Committee for Eastern Central Atlantic Fisheries) as defined in Council Regulation (EC) No 2597/95 of 23 October 1995 on the submission of nominal catch statistics by Member States fishing in certain areas other than those of the North Atlantic(5).
(9) The fishing opportunities should be used in accordance with the Community legislation on the matter, and in particular with Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2807/83 of 22 September 1983 laying down detailed rules for recording information on Member States’ catches of fish(6), Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1381/87 of 20 May 1987 establishing detailed rules concerning the marking and documentation of fishing vessels(7), Council Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 of 12 October 1993 establishing a control system applicable to the common fisheries policy(8), Council Regulation (EC) No 1627/94 of 27 June 1994 laying down general provisions concerning special fishing permits(9), Council Regulation (EC) No 850/98 of 30 March 1998 for the conservation of fishery resources through technical measures for the protection of juveniles of marine organisms(10), Regulation (EC) No 2347/2002 and Council Regulation (EC) No 2187/2005 of 21 December 2005 for the conservation of fishery resources through technical measures in the Baltic Sea, the Belts and the Sound(11).
(10) In order to ensure the livelihood of Community fishermen, it is important to open these fisheries on 1 January 2009. Given the urgency of the matter, it is imperative to grant an exception to the six-week period referred to in point I(3) of the Protocol on the role of national parliaments in the European Union, annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaties establishing the European Communities,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: