Article 38U.K.Authorisation to land or tranship
1.Landings or transhipments may only be authorised by the competent authorities of the port Member State if the flag State of the fishing vessel intending to land or tranship, or where the vessel has engaged in transhipment operations outside a port, the flag State or States of donor vessels, have confirmed by returning a copy of the form transmitted pursuant to Article 37(3) with Part B duly completed, that:
(a)the fishing vessels declared to have caught the fish had sufficient quota for the species declared;
(b)the quantities of fish on board have been duly reported and taken into account for the calculation of any catch or effort limitations that may be applicable;
(c)the fishing vessels declared to have caught the fish had authorisation to fish in the areas declared;
(d)the presence of the vessel in the area of catch declared has been verified according to VMS data.
Landing or transhipment operations may only commence after authorisation has been given by the competent authorities of the port Member State.
2.By way of derogation from paragraph 1 the competent authorities of the port Member State may authorise all or part of a landing in the absence of the confirmation referred to in paragraph 1 but shall in such cases keep the fish concerned in storage under the control of the competent authorities. The fish shall only be released to be sold, taken over or transported once the confirmation referred to in paragraph 1 has been received. If the confirmation has not been received within 14 days of the landing the competent authorities of the port Member State may confiscate and dispose of the fish in accordance with national rules.
3.The competent authorities of the port Member State shall notify without delay its decision whether or not to authorise the landing or transhipment by transmitting a copy of the form provided for in Part I of Annex VIII with Part C duly completed to the Commission and to the Secretary of NEAFC when the fish landed or transhipped is caught in the NEAFC Convention area.