Changes from plenary report to adopted text

AddedInternational Joint Inspection and Surveillance Scheme

RemovedArticle 1 – paragraph 1 – point 49 – point b, Article 98 – paragraph 5: 5. Member States shall require fishing vessels catching sharks species 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 Sea to a maximum percentage of the total catch in weight per fishing trip or to no more than three specimens.

Added1. Member States may carry out inspection and surveillance activities within the scope of this section in the framework of an International Joint Inspection and Surveillance Scheme (“the Scheme”) covering the waters outside national jurisdiction in GFCM geographical subareas 19, 20 and 21 (Ionian Sea), as defined in Annex I (“the inspection and surveillance area”).

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Added2. Member States may assign inspectors and inspection means and carry out inspections under the Scheme. The Commission or a body designated by it may also assign Union inspectors to the Scheme.

RemovedArticle 1 – paragraph 1 – point 50, Article 102 – paragraph 3 – point b: (b) Member States shall evaluate the effectiveness of at least two transitional mitigation measures listed in Annex XVIII to improve the conservation status of seabird species, mitigate and, where possible, eliminate the risk of incidental catch of seabirds in fishing operations and associated mortality.

Added3. The Commission or a body designated by it shall coordinate the surveillance and inspection activities for the Union and may draw up, in coordination with the Member States concerned, a joint deployment plan to enable the Union to fulfil its obligation under the Scheme. Member States shall adopt the necessary measures to facilitate the implementation of those plans, in particular as regards the human and material resources required and the periods and geographical areas in which those resources are to be deployed.

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Added4. Each Member State shall, by 15 November of each year, notify to the Commission or a body designated by it the list of the names of its inspectors authorised to perform the inspection and surveillance activities in the area referred to in paragraph 1, as well as the names of the vessels and aircraft used for inspection and surveillance which they intend to assign to the Scheme for the following year. The Commission or a body designated by it shall send that information to the GFCM Secretariat by 1 December of each year or as soon as possible before the commencement of those inspection and surveillance activities.

RemovedArticle 1 – paragraph 1 – point 51, Article 103a – paragraph 3: 3. By 1 January 2026, Member States shall notify to the Commission at least two of the mitigation measures adopted pursuant to points 1 and 2. In this regard, the areas and fleets with higher risks of interactions should be taken into consideration.

Added5. Inspectors assigned to the Scheme shall carry a GFCM inspector card issued by the competent authorities, which shall be in the form set out in Annex IV.

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Added6. Vessels carrying out boarding and inspection duties in accordance with the Scheme shall fly a special flag or pennant, as described in Annex V.

RemovedArticle 1 – paragraph 1 – point 51, Article 103a – paragraph 4: 4. The Commission shall, without delay, notify the GFCM Secretariat of such measures.

Added7. Each Member State shall ensure that every inspection platform entitled to fly its flag operating in the area referred to in paragraph 1 maintains secure contact, daily where possible, with every other inspection platform operating in that area, to exchange information necessary to coordinate the activities.

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Added8. Each Member State with an inspection or surveillance presence in the area referred to in paragraph 1 shall provide each inspection platform, upon its entry into that area with a list of sightings established in accordance with Annex VII and of boardings and inspections it has conducted in the previous 10-day period, including dates, coordinates and any other relevant information.

RemovedArticle 1 – paragraph 1 – point 52, Article 105a – paragraph 1 – point d: (d) implementation of maximum potential bycatch thresholds;

AddedArticle 30c

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AddedConduct of inspections

RemovedArticle 1 – paragraph 1 – point 52, Article 105a – paragraph 1 – point e: (e) use of acoustic deterrent devices; and

Added1. Inspectors assigned to the Scheme shall:

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Added(a) prior to boarding, notify the fishing vessel of the name of the inspection vessel;

RemovedArticle 1 – paragraph 1 – point 52, Article 105a – paragraph 4: 4. The Commission or Member States may also consider, on a voluntary basis, other types of management such as incentive-based management, rewarding low-impact operators while simultaneously driving poorly performing operators to adopt better practices or leave the industry, or market-based incentive management employing, for example, dolphin-safe or dolphin-friendly labelling in fisheries with a medium to high risk of interactions with cetaceans.

Added(b) display, on the inspection vessel and boarding vessel, the pennant described in Annex V;

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Added(c) limit each inspection team to a maximum of three inspectors.

RemovedArticle 1 – paragraph 1 – point 52, Article 105a – paragraph 5: 5. Member States shall notify to the Commission at least two of the mitigation measures adopted pursuant to points 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Added2. Upon boarding the vessel, inspectors shall produce the identity card for GFCM inspectors described in Annex IV to the master of that vessel. Inspections shall be conducted in one of the official languages of the GFCM and, where possible, in the language spoken by the master of the fishing vessel.

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Added3. Inspectors shall draw up a report of the inspection in the format set out in Annex VI.

RemovedArticle 1 – paragraph 1 – point 54, Article 106a – paragraph 1: This subsection sets minimum standards to all Fisheries Restricted Areas (FRAs) established at GFCM level.

Added4. Inspectors shall sign the report in the presence of the master of the vessel, who shall be entitled to add to the report any observations which the master of the vessel considers suitable. The master of the vessel shall also sign the report.

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Added5. Copies of the report shall be given to the master of the vessel and to the authorities of the inspection party, which shall transmit copies to the authorities of the flag State of the inspected vessel and to the Commission or a body designated by it. The Commission shall forward the copy of the report to the GFCM Secretariat.

RemovedArticle 1 – paragraph 1 – point 54, Article 106d – paragraph 2: 2. Fishing vessels authorized to fish in part D(2) of Annex XI shall be equipped with remote electronic monitoring using increased data transmission frequency as well as an electronic logbook in correct working order or an equivalent document, and fishing gear on board or in use shall be duly identified, numbered and marked before the start of any fishing operation or navigation within the Fisheries Restricted Area. To the extent possible, the frequency of data transmissions of vessel monitoring systems (VMS or automated identification systems) shall be of at least once every 30 minutes when a fishing vessel enters any zone of a Fisheries Restricted Area.

Added6. The size of the inspection party and the duration of the inspection shall be determined by the commanding officer of the inspection vessel, taking into account all relevant circumstances.

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AddedArticle 30d

RemovedArticle 1 – paragraph 1 – point 54, Article 106d – paragraph 4: 4. Member States shall send to the Commission, by 15 May of each year, a report on management measures taken in the FRAs. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts supplementing this Regulation in accordance with Article 140 of this Regulation in respect of the content of the report as will be agreed at GFCM level.

AddedInfringements

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Added1. For the purposes of this Article, the following activities shall be considered to be infringements:

RemovedArticle 1 – paragraph 1 – point 54, Article 106d – paragraph 5 – introductory part: 5. The report provided for in paragraph 4 shall contain the following:

Added(a) the activities referred to in Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008;

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Added(b) interference with satellite monitoring system; and

RemovedArticle 1 – paragraph 1 – point 55, Article 107 – paragraph 1: 1. A fisheries restricted area (FRA) in the eastern Gulf of Lion (geographical subarea 7) is established with a view to reinforcing the protection of spawning aggregations and deep-sea sensitive habitats.

Added(c) operating without a VMS.

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Added2. In the case of any boarding and inspection of a fishing vessel during which the inspectors detect an infringement, the authorities of the flag Member State of the inspection vessel shall immediately inform the Commission or a body designated by it, which shall notify the flag State of the inspected fishing vessel both directly and through the GFCM Secretariat. They shall also inform any inspection ship of the flag State of the fishing vessel known to be in the vicinity.

RemovedArticle 1 – paragraph 1 – point 55, Article 107 – paragraph 2: 2. The FRA under paragraph 1 shall be divided into Zone A and Zone B and bounded by the lines joining the geographical coordinates defined in Annex XI, Part A.

Added3. The flag Member State of the fishing vessel shall ensure that, following an inspection in which an infringement has been detected, the fishing vessel concerned ceases all fishing activities. The flag Member State shall require the fishing vessel to proceed within 72 hours to a port designated by it, where an investigation shall be initiated.

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Added4. In the event that an infringement has been detected during an inspection, the actions and follow-up taken by the flag Member State shall be notified to the Commission or a body designated by it. The Commission or a body designated by it shall forward the action and follow-up taken to the GFCM Secretariat.

RemovedArticle 1 – paragraph 1 – point 55, Article 107 – paragraph 3: deleted

Added5. Member States’ authorities shall act on inspection reports, as referred to in Article 30c(3), sighting information sheet, as provided for in Annex VII, and statements resulting from documentary inspections by inspectors on a similar basis as they act on reports and statements of national inspectors.’;

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