Regulation (EU) 2019/833 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

CHAPTER I U.K. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1 U.K. Scope

1. This Regulation, unless otherwise provided, applies to Union fishing vessels used or intended for use for the purposes of commercial fishing activities conducted on fishery resources in the NAFO Regulatory Area, as defined in Annex I to the Convention, as well as activities by third country vessels under the Convention in Union waters or territory.

2. This Regulation applies without prejudice to the obligations in existing regulations in the fisheries sector, in particular Regulation (EU) 2017/2403 of the European Parliament and of the Council(1) and Council Regulations (EC) No 1005/2008(2) and (EC) No 1224/2009(3).

3. Unless otherwise provided in this Regulation, Union research vessels shall not be restricted by conservation and management measures pertaining to the catching of fish, in particular concerning mesh size, size limits, closed areas and seasons.

Article 2 U.K. Subject matter

1. This Regulation lays down the rules for the application by the Union of the CEM for their uniform and effective implementation within the Union.

2. Furthermore, this Regulation amends certain provisions of Regulation (EU) 2016/1627.

Article 3 U.K. Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:

(1)

‘the Convention’ means the 1979 Convention on Cooperation in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries, as amended from time to time;

(2)

‘the Convention Area’ means the area to which the Convention applies as described in Article IV, paragraph 1 thereof. The Convention Area is divided into scientific and statistical Subareas, Divisions and Subdivisions listed in Annex I to the Convention;

(3)

‘the Regulatory Area’ means that part of the Convention Area which is beyond national jurisdiction;

(4)

‘fishery resources’ means all fish, molluscs and crustaceans within the Convention Area excluding:

(a)

sedentary species over which coastal States may exercise sovereign rights in accordance with Article 77 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea; and

(b)

in so far as they are managed under other international treaties, anadromous and catadromous stocks and highly migratory species listed in Annex I to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea;

(5)

‘fishing activities’ means harvesting or processing fishery resources, landing or transhipping of fishery resources or products derived from fishery resources, or any other activity in preparation for, in support of, or relating to the harvesting of fishery resources in the Regulatory Area, including:

(a)

the actual or attempted searching for or catching of fishery resources;

(b)

any activity that can reasonably be expected to result in locating, catching or harvesting of fishery resources for any purpose; and

(c)

any operation at sea in support of, or in preparation for, any activity described in this definition but not including any operations relating to emergencies involving the health and safety of the crew members or the safety of a vessel;

(6)

‘fishing vessel’ means any Union vessel that is or has been engaged in fishing activities, and includes fish processing vessels, and vessels engaged in transhipment or any other activity in preparation for or relating to fishing activities, or in experimental or exploratory fishing activities;

(7)

‘research vessel’ means a vessel permanently used for research or a vessel normally used for fishing activities or fisheries support activity that is temporarily used for fisheries research;

(8)

‘CEM’ means conservation and enforcement measures in force as adopted by the NAFO Commission;

(9)

‘fishing opportunities’ means fishing quotas allocated to a Member State by a Union act in force for the Regulatory Area;

(10)

‘EFCA’ means the European Fisheries Control Agency as established by Regulation (EU) 2019/473 of the European Parliament and of the Council(4);

(11)

‘fishing day’ means any calendar day or any fraction of a calendar day in which a fishing vessel is present in any Division in the Regulatory Area;

(12)

‘port’ means, inter alia, offshore terminals and other installations for landing, transhipping, packaging, processing, refuelling or resupplying;

(13)

‘non-Contracting Party vessel’ means a vessel flying the flag of a State that is not a Contracting Party to NAFO or is not a Member State, or a vessel suspected to be without nationality;

(14)

‘transhipment’ means transfer, over the side, from one fishing vessel to another, of fishery resources or products;

(15)

‘mid-water trawl’ means trawl gear that is designed to fish for pelagic species, no portion of which is designed to be or is operated in contact with the bottom at any time. The gear shall not include discs, bobbins or rollers on its footrope or any other attachments designed to make contact with the bottom, but it may have chafing gear attached;

(16)

‘vulnerable marine ecosystems’ or ‘VMEs’ means the VMEs referred to in paragraphs 42 and 43 of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) International Guidelines for the Management of Deep-Sea Fisheries in the High Seas;

(17)

‘footprint’, otherwise known as ‘existing bottom fishing areas’, means that portion of the Regulatory Area where bottom fishing has historically occurred, and is defined by the coordinates shown in Table 4 and illustrated in Figure 2 of the CEM referred to in points 1 and 2 of the Annex to this Regulation;

(18)

‘bottom fishing activities’ means any activity where the fishing gear is in contact with or is likely to be in contact with the seafloor during the normal course of fishing operations;

(19)

‘processed fish’ means any marine organism that has been physically altered since capture, including fish that has been filleted, gutted, packaged, canned, frozen, smoked, salted, cooked, pickled, dried or prepared for market in any other manner;

(20)

‘exploratory bottom fishing activities’ means bottom fishing activities conducted outside the footprint, or within the footprint with significant changes to the conduct or in the technology used in the fishery;

(21)

‘VME indicator species’ means the species that signal the occurrence of VMEs, as specified in Part VI of Annex I.E to the CEM referred to in point 3 of the Annex to this Regulation;

(22)

‘IMO number’ means a 7-digit number, which is assigned to a vessel under the authority of the International Maritime Organisation;

(23)

‘inspector’, unless otherwise specified, means an inspector of the fishery control services of a NAFO Contracting Party assigned to the Joint Inspection and Surveillance Scheme referred to in Chapter VII;

(24)

‘IUU fishing’ means the activities described in the International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter, and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing adopted by the FAO;

(25)

‘fishing trip’ for a fishing vessel includes the time from its entry into until its departure from the Regulatory Area and continues until all catch on board from the Regulatory Area has been landed or transhipped;

(26)

‘FMC’ means a land-based fisheries monitoring centre of the flag Member State;

(27)

‘IUU vessel list’ means the list established in accordance with Articles 52 and 53 of the CEM;

(28)

‘significant adverse impacts’ means the significant adverse impacts referred to in paragraphs 17 to 20 of the FAO International Guidelines for the Management of Deep Sea Fisheries in the High Seas;

(29)

‘VME indicator element’ means the VME indicator element referred to in topographical, hydrophysical or geological features which potentially support VMEs, as specified in Part VII of Annex I.E to the CEM referred to in point 4 of the Annex to this Regulation;

(30)

‘observer’ means a person who is authorised and certified by a Member State or a Contracting Party to observe, monitor and collect information on board fishing vessels.

(1)

Regulation (EU) 2017/2403 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2017 on the sustainable management of external fishing fleets, and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1006/2008 (OJ L 347, 28.12.2017, p. 81).

(2)

Council Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 of 29 September 2008 establishing a Community system to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, amending Regulations (EEC) No 2847/93, (EC) No 1936/2001 and (EC) No 601/2004 and repealing Regulations (EC) No 1093/94 and (EC) No 1447/1999 (OJ L 286, 29.10.2008, p. 1).

(3)

Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 of 20 November 2009 establishing a Union control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the common fisheries policy, amending Regulations (EC) No 847/96, (EC) No 2371/2002, (EC) No 811/2004, (EC) No 768/2005, (EC) No 2115/2005, (EC) No 2166/2005, (EC) No 388/2006, (EC) No 509/2007, (EC) No 676/2007, (EC) No 1098/2007, (EC) No 1300/2008, (EC) No 1342/2008 and repealing Regulations (EEC) No 2847/93, (EC) No 1627/94 and (EC) No 1966/2006 (OJ L 343, 22.12.2009, p. 1).

(4)

Regulation (EU) 2019/473 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 March 2019 on the European Fisheries Control Agency (OJ L 83, 25.3.2019, p. 18).