CHAPTER X SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR COMMUNITY VESSELS FISHING IN THE SEAFO AREA

SECTION 2 Transhipments

Article 59 In-port Transhipments
1. Community vessels which catch species covered by the SEAFO Convention in the SEAFO Convention Area shall only tranship in the port of a SEAFO Contracting Party if they have prior authorisation from the Contracting Party in whose port the operation will take place. Community vessels shall be permitted to carry out transhipments only if they have obtained such a prior authorisation to tranship from the flag Member State and the port State.
2. Each Member State shall ensure that its authorised fishing vessels obtain a prior authorisation to engage in in-port transhipments. Member States shall also ensure that the transhipments are consistent with the reported catch amount of each vessel and require the reporting of transhipments.
3. The master of a Community fishing vessel who transships to another vessel, hereinafter referred to as ‘the receiving vessel’, any quantity of catches of species covered by the SEAFO Convention fished in the SEAFO Convention Area shall at the time of the transshipment inform the flag State of the receiving vessel of the species and quantities involved, of the date of the transshipment and the location of catches and shall submit to his flag Member State a SEAFO transshipment declaration in accordance with the format set out in Part I of Annex XIV.
4. The master of the Community fishing vessel shall notify, at least 24 hours in advance, the following information to the SEAFO Contracting Party in whose port the transshipment will take place:
the names of the transshipping fishing vessels,
the names of the receiving vessels,
the tonnage by species to be transshipped,
the day and port of transshipment.
5. Not later than 24 hours before the beginning, and at the end of a transshipment when this takes place in a port of a SEAFO Contracting Party, the master of the Community flagged receiving vessel shall inform the competent authorities of the port State of the quantities of catches of species covered by the SEAFO Convention on board his vessel and transmit the SEAFO transshipment declaration to these competent authorities within 24 hours.
6. The master of the receiving Community vessel shall, 48 hours before landing, submit a SEAFO transshipment declaration to the competent authorities of the port State where the landing takes place.
7. Each Member State shall take the appropriate measures to verify the accuracy of the information received and shall cooperate with the flag State to ensure that landings are consistent with the reported catches amount of each vessel.
8. Each Member State with vessels authorised to fish in the SEAFO Convention Area for species covered by the SEAFO Convention, shall notify by 1 June 2009 to the Commission the details of the transshipments by its flag vessels.