Changes from plenary report to adopted text

Added(60) the following article is inserted:

Added‘Article 94a

AddedTraceability of turbot

Added1. Member States shall implement the paper-based turbot CDS along the entire supply chain in order to ensure the traceability of turbot caught in the Black Sea and to contribute to the fight against IUU fishing activities.

Added2. The paper-based turbot CDS referred to in paragraph 1 shall be without prejudice to other national traceability systems in force ensuring the same level of control over the traceability of turbot by Member States and shall include the information detailed in Annex XXIV.

Added3. The paper-based turbot CDS shall apply to first landings, exports and re-exports. Domestic trade is not included in the validation chain set out in paragraph 5. ▌

Added4. Each catch certificate shall have a unique document identification number. That number shall be specific to the flag Member States and be assigned to each fishing vessel. The catch certificates shall not be transferable to another fishing vessel. ▌

Added5. Member States shall validate catch certificates only when all of the information contained in the turbot CDS has been established to be accurate as a result of the verification of the supporting documents and corresponding consignment.

Added6. Member States shall report to the Commission or a body designated by it on their CDS, as well as possible tagging and identification requirements, and traceability and tracking requirements for turbot. The Commission or a body designated by it shall transmit that information to the GFCM Secretariat.

Added7. Member States shall report to the Commission or a body designated by it the competent authorities they designate as responsible for validating, checking and verifying the catch certificates and their validation seals, as well as CDS contact points and other information relevant to the implementation of the CDS. The Commission or a body designated by it shall notify the GFCM Secretariat, the competent authorities and contact points of the Member States of that other information relevant to the implementation of the CDS.

Added8. Member States shall store the validated paper-based turbot catch certificates for a period of five years.

Added9. Member States shall each year draw up a report on the implementation of the paper-based turbot CDS, providing detailed information and statistical data on, inter alia, annual quantities validated, annual quantities traded, number of catch certificates validated, and any relevant elements considered to provide information on the state of play of the CDS. The Member States shall submit their reports to the Commission or a body designated by it in view of notifying the CoC. The Commission or a body designated by it shall submit those reports to the GFCM Secretariat no later than 30 days before each year’s session of the CoC.’;

Added(61) the following articles are inserted:

Added‘Article 96a

AddedFleet capacity and fishing effort

AddedMember States shall maintain the fishing fleet capacity or fishing effort at the levels authorised and exerted during the period 2015 to 2021 for the exploitation of piked dogfish in the Black Sea. ▌

AddedArticle 96b

AddedScientific monitoring

Added1. Member States shall contribute to the implementation of the GFCM research programme on piked dogfish in the Black Sea and shall ensure annually an adequate scientific monitoring of the status of piked dogfish species.

Added2. Member States shall ensure that information on fishing activities, catch data, incidental catch, release or discarding events for piked dogfish is recorded by the ship-owner or vessel master in the logbook, and is reported to the Commission within their annual national reporting, in accordance with the data reporting requirements of relevant GFCM recommendations, in line with the GFCM Data Collection Reference Framework (DCRF). The Commission shall send this information to the GFCM Secretariat without delay.

Added3. Member States shall ensure that any additional measure necessary to improve data collection for the purpose of the scientific monitoring of piked dogfish species is taken.

Added4. Member States shall collect reliable information on the impacts of bottom-set gillnets targeting piked dogfish on cetacean populations in the Black Sea.

AddedArticle 96c

AddedFleet management measures

Added1. Member States shall communicate to the Commission by 15 January of each year the lists of the vessels flying their flag that are authorised to fish and actively fishing for piked dogfish in the Black Sea. This list shall include, for each vessel, the information referred to in Annex VIII.

AddedThe Commission shall transmit that list to the GFCM Secretariat by 31 January of each year. Fishing vessels targeting piked dogfish shall only be allowed to carry out fishing activities if those activities are indicated in a valid fishing authorisation issued by the competent authorities and specifying the technical conditions under which such fishing activities shall be carried out, as set out in Annex VIII.

Added2. Member States shall promptly notify the Commission of any addition to, deletion from or modification of the fishing fleets for piked dogfish at any time such changes may occur or at least on a monthly basis. The Commission shall notify the GFCM Secretariat of those changes, without delay.

Added3. Vessels not listed by the Member States shall not catch, retain on board, tranship, land, store or sell piked dogfish.

Added4. Member States shall communicate to the Commission, by 15 July and 15 January of each year, detailed reports on fishing activities of fishing vessels actively fishing for or that have caught as bycatch or as incidental catch piked dogfish.

AddedThose reports shall include at least the following:

Added(a) operating days;

Added(b) operating area;

Added(c) total catch of piked dogfish.

AddedThe Commission shall transmit those reports to the GFCM Secretariat by 30 July and 30 January of each year.

AddedArticle 96d

AddedSpecific measures to address IUU fishing

AddedMember States shall ensure that vessels fishing in GSA 29 declare all catches and bycatch of piked dogfish.

AddedWithout prejudice to Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009, fishers or masters of vessels shall declare in the logbook all catches and bycatch of piked dogfish, irrespective of the volume of the catch and gear used.

AddedArticle 96e

AddedLanding points

Added1. Member States shall designate the landing points at which landings by vessels actively fishing for piked dogfish in the Black Sea shall take place.

Added2. For each designated landing point referred to in paragraph 1, Member States shall specify permitted landing and transhipping times and places.

Added3. It shall be prohibited to land or tranship from fishing vessels any quantity of piked dogfish fished in the Black Sea at any place other than the designated landing points referred to in paragraph 1.

Added4. Member States shall transmit to the Commission by 15 November of each year any change to the list of designated landing points referred to in paragraph 1. The Commission shall transmit that information to the GFCM Secretariat by 30 November of each year.’;

Added(62) Article 98 is amended as follows:

Added(a) paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

Added‘1. Member States shall ensure a high protection from fishing activities for elasmobranch species listed in Annex II ▌ to the Protocol concerning specially protected areas and biological diversity in the Mediterranean ▌ . Member States shall encourage further actions to improve the conservation status of elasmobranch species listed in Annexes II and III to that Protocol and to mitigate or, where possible, eliminate, the risk of incidental catches in fishing operations or the associated mortality.’;

Added(b) the following paragraphs are added:

Added‘4. Member States shall report to the Commission, by 15 April 2026, on at least one activity per species/gender listed in Annex XVII and present in GSAs 1-27, or on at least five species-specific actions in total, to improve the conservation status of elasmobranchs, mitigate or, where possible, eliminate the risk of incidental catch of elasmobranch in fishing operations or the associated mortality. The Commission shall send that information to the GFCM Secretariat by 30 April 2026.

Added5. Member States shall be encouraged to take and adopt mitigation measures to minimise or, where possible, eliminate, the incidental catch of elasmobranchs during fishing operations and to increase post-release survival rates in fisheries with a high risk of bycatch identified by the SAC and, where possible, in fisheries with a low risk of bycatch. Such measures shall be accompanied by an appropriate scientific monitoring to establish the efficacy of the actions and may include, inter alia:

Added(a) fishing gear modifications and alternative fishing gear types;

Added(b) improvements in fishing gear marking and detection;

Added(c) time-area fishing restrictions or closures, if appropriate;

Added(d) implementation of maximum potential bycatch thresholds; and

Added(e) use of magnetic deterrent devices, when based on scientific studies and after a cost-benefit evaluation.

Added6. Member States may also consider, on a voluntary basis, other types of management such as incentive-based management, which rewards low impact operators while simultaneously driving poorly performing operators to adopt better practices or leave the industry, or market-based incentive management, which includes for example elasmobranch-safe and elasmobranch-friendly labelling in fisheries with medium to high-risk of interactions with elasmobranch.

Added7. Member States shall require fishing vessels catching shark species in GSAs 1 to 27 as bycatch or incidental catch to limit the bycatch of sharks listed in Annex III to the Protocol concerning specially protected areas and biological diversity in the Mediterranean to a maximum percentage of the total catch in weight per fishing trip or to no more than three specimens.’;

Added(63) in Article 102, the following paragraph is added:

Added‘3. In the geographical zones of the Mediterranean Sea (GSAs 1-27), where the incidental catches of the seabird species listed under Annex II to the Protocol concerning specially protected areas and biological diversity in the Mediterranean occur, the following measures shall apply according to the SAC advice:

Added(a) Member States shall collect data to fully characterise the incidental catches of seabirds in fisheries, including the incidental catch of the critically endangered Balearic shearwater (Puffinus mauretanicus);