On 14 August 2019 a new Regulation (EU) 2019/1241 on the conservation measures of fisheries resources and the protection of marine ecosystems through technical measures came into force. It establishes in Annex V specific provisions regarding technical measures established at regional level for the North Sea, Skagerrak and Kattegat, which also include rules on mesh sizes, associated conditions and by-catches. Article 15 of that Regulation empowers the Commission to adopt delegated acts in order to amend, supplement, repeal or derogate from the technical measures set out in the Annexes to Regulation (EU) 2019/1241, including for the purpose of real-time closures and moving-on proivsions.

Where Member States having a direct management interest in a fishery consider that measures are needed to ensure the protection of aggregations of juveniles through real time closures of fishing areas, the Commission is empowered to adopt according to Article 15(2) Regulation (EU) 2019/1241 such measures by means of delegated acts upon a joint recommendation submitted by those Member States.

Article 19 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1241 sets out specific elements to be included in a joint recommendation in relation to the creation of real-time closures.

According to paragraph (1)(d) of Article 19 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1241, a joint recommendation submitted in relation to the creation of real-time closures shall include control and monitoring arrangements. The Agreed Record of the Conclusions between the European Union and Norway of 6 September 2018 lays down the procedures and sampling methodology for the adoption of real-time closures for Northern prawn (Pandalus borealis) in the Skagerrak.

Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom have a direct fisheries management interest in the Skagerrak fisheries. After consulting the North Sea Advisory Council, those Member States submitted on 7 March 2019 a joint recommendation to the Commission for a delegated act implementing the measures set out in that Agreed Record into Union law. The joint recommendation was amended on 26 August 2019.

The Fisheries Expert Group was consulted on the joint recommendation on 31 July 2019.

The joint recommendation suggests that vessels fishing for Northern prawn using demersal trawls within a mesh size range 35-69 mm equipped with Nordmøre sorting grids with a maximum bar spacing of 19mm should be allowed to continue fishing for that species in areas subject to real time closures.

Regulation (EU) No 724/2010 lays down detailed rules for the implementation of real-time closures of certain fisheries in the North Sea and Skagerrak. Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 724/2010 provides that, when the percentage of juveniles in a catch reaches a certain trigger level, the coastal Member State concerned is to prohibit fishing in the area concerned with any fishing gear other than:pelagic trawls, purse seines, driftnets and jiggers targeting herring, mackerel, and horse mackerel; pots; scallop dredges; and gillnets.

While STECF confirms the effectiveness of Nordmøre grids in reducing by-catches of juvenile fish specimens, it further notes that in terms of minimising catches of juvenile Northern prawn, the effectiveness of gear fitted with a combination Nordmøre grid needs to be ascertained. Based on the STECF opinion, it is appropriate to provide for specific monitoring programmes in order to verify that this gear consistently maintains the proportion of catches of juvenile Northern prawn at a low level.

STECF confirms the conservation benefits of using gears fitted with Nordmøre grids when used to target Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus). In light of that advice, and recognising its proven ability to minimise by-catches of cod, it is appropriate to add the use of that fishing gear in the Norway lobster fishery to the list of exempted gears in Article 7(1) of Regulation (EU) No 724/2010.

STECF notes however, that the effectiveness of such devices in the Norway lobster fishery is dependent on the length structure of the by-catch species encountered during fishing operations and that this structure will determine whether trigger catch levels are reached. To ensure that this gear consistently maintains by-catches of juvenile specimens below the trigger level, and to permit Member States to collect additional data as indicated by STECF, fishing operations using such gears in closed areas should be subject to a dedicated monitoring programme.

On the substance, in the light of all the above findings, the Commission considers it to be a pragmatic but at the same time prudent approach to fisheries management to add this gear to the list of gears exempted in Article 7(1) of Regulation (EU) No 724/2010 to allow exemptions on a temporary basis, on the understanding that not to do so, would prevent the collection of data. Further, Nordmøre grids used in Nephrops fisheries have a proven ability to minimise cod by-catches to very low levels. Given the current status of the North Sea cod stock, the Commission considers therefore the use of such gears as appropriate to reduce unwanted catches of cod as far as possible.