Article 43(3) of the Treaty provides that the Council, on a proposal from the Commission, is to adopt measures on the fixing and allocation of fishing opportunities.

Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council1 requires that conservation measures be adopted taking into account available scientific, technical and economic advice, including, where relevant, reports drawn up by the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF).

It is incumbent upon the Council to adopt measures on the fixing and allocation of fishing opportunities, including certain conditions functionally linked thereto, as appropriate. Fishing opportunities should be distributed among Member States in such a way as to assure each Member State relative stability of fishing activities for each stock or fishery and having due regard to the objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy established by Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013.

The total allowable catches (TACs) should be established on the basis of available scientific advice, taking into account biological and socioeconomic aspects whilst ensuring fair treatment between fishing sectors, as well as in the light of the opinions expressed during the consultation of stakeholders, and in particular the Regional Advisory Councils concerned.

Fishing opportunities should be in accordance with international agreements and principles, such as the 1995 United Nations agreement concerning the conservation and management of straddling stocks and highly migratory fish stocks2, and the detailed management principles laid down in the 2008 International Guidelines for the Management of Deep-sea Fisheries in the High Seas of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, according to which, in particular, a regulator should be more cautious when information is uncertain, unreliable or inadequate. The absence of adequate scientific information should not be used as a reason for postponing or failing to take conservation and management measures.

The latest scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) and from STECF indicates that most deep-sea stocks are still harvested unsustainably and that fishing opportunities for those stocks, in order to assure their sustainability, should be further reduced until the evolution of the stocks shows a positive trend. The ICES has further advised that no directed fishery should be allowed for orange roughy in all areas and for certain stocks of red seabream and roundnose grenadier.

As regards the four stocks of roundnose grenadier, scientific advice and recent discussions in the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) indicate that catches of this species may be misreported as catches of roughhead grenadier. In this context, it is appropriate to establish a TAC covering both species while enabling a separate reporting for each of them.

Concerning deep sea sharks, the main commercial species are considered depleted and, therefore, no directed fishing should take place. Furthermore, in view of the migratory nature of deep-sea sharks and their wide distribution throughout the North East Atlantic, STECF has recommended that management measures for these species be extended to Union waters of Committee for Eastern and Central Atlantic Fisheries (CECAF) around Madeira.

The fishing opportunities for deep-sea species as defined in Article 2(a) of Council Regulation (EC) No 2347/20023 are decided on a bi-annual basis. Nevertheless, an exception is made for the stocks of greater silver smelt and the stocks of blue ling. As regards the latter, the main fishery of blue ling is linked to the annual negotiations with Norway; in the interest of simplification, all blue ling TACs should be established along that one and within the same legal act. Therefore, fishing opportunities for the stocks of greater silver smelt and of blue ling should be set in another relevant annual regulation fixing fishing opportunities.

In accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 847/964 the stocks that are subject to various measures referred to therein should be identified. Precautionary TACs should apply for stocks for which no scientifically-based evaluation of fishing opportunities is available specifically for the year in which the TACs are to be set; analytical TACs should apply otherwise. In view of ICES and STECF advice for deep-sea stocks, those for which a science-based evaluation of the relevant fishing opportunities is not available should be subject to precautionary TACs in this Regulation.

In order to avoid the interruption of fishing activities and to ensure the livelihood of the fishermen of the Union, this Regulation should apply from 1 January 2015. For reasons of urgency, this Regulation should enter into force immediately after its publication,