Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

BACKGROUND

The ICCAT Convention provides a framework for regional cooperation on the conservation and management of tunas and tuna-like species in the Atlantic Ocean and the adjoining seas through the setting up of an International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (the "ICCAT").

The objective of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), as set out in Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council is to ensure exploitation of marine biological resources that provides long-term environmental, economic and social sustainability. The European Union has been a Contracting Party to the International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas ("the ICCAT Convention") since 14 November 1997.

The ICCAT has the authority to adopt binding recommendations for the conservation and management of the fisheries under its purview. These acts are essentially addressed to the ICCAT Contracting Parties, but also contain obligations for private operators (e.g. vessel masters). The ICCAT Recommendations enter into force six months following their adoption and in respect of the EU, they must be enacted into European Union law.

CONTENT OF THE PROPOSAL

The proposal contains a number of provisions covering ICCAT Recommendations that modify Regulation (EU) 2017/2107 including the following:

 definitions of support vessels and fish-aggregating devices, fish-aggregating device (‘FAD’)-set, floating object, and operational buoy following ICCAT Recommendation 19-02;

 for tropical tuna capacity limitations, and prohibition of discards by purse seiners that need to be implemented into Union law following ICCAT Recommendation 17-01;

 new provisions for FAD deployment and observer coverage following ICCAT Recommendation 19-02;

 Northern and Southern Atlantic Albacore provisions following ICCAT Recommendations 16-06 and 16-07, including carryover provisions, as well as carry-over for North and South Atlantic swordfish following ICCAT Recommendations 17-02 and 17-03;

 data collection provisions for the sailfish, billfish and marlins following ICCAT Recommendations 16-11, 18-05, 19-05;

 bigeye tuna carryover provisions following ICCAT Recommendation 21-01;

 for sharks, the proposal contains updated provisions concerning shortfin mako shark and shark data collection following ICCAT Recommendations 19-06, 19-07 and 19-08. In addition, following ICCAT Recommendations (16-14, 16-15, 18-10, 19-10) the proposal contains provisions concerning data transmission frequency for purse seine vessels, new provisions concerning ICCAT Record of carrier vessels as well as Member States duties concerning carrying under ICCAT regional observer programme, including minimum observer coverage;

 ICCAT Recommendation 19-02 concerning responsibilities for scientific observers requires an update to Regulation 2017/2107, including observer coverage;

 duties concerning sighting of vessels following ICCAT Recommendation 19-09, and names of new species covered by ICCAT to amend Annex I to the Regulation (EU) 2017/2107 following ICCAT Recommendation 19-01;

In addition, the proposal proposes to amend the Regulation (EU) XX/2022 on the Multi-annual plan for the Bluefin Tuna with the Member States declaration on annual carry-over and certain caging provisions, following ICCAT Recommendation 06-07, as well as annual carry-over of bigeye tuna following ICCAT Recommendation 21-01.

The proposal also proposes to amend the Commission’s empowerment to amend the Regulation (EU) 2017/2107 following subsequent changes adopted by ICCAT regarding: (i) tropical tuna capacity limitations and its annual capacity fishing plan reporting; (ii) annual quota carryover for bigeye tuna, North and Southern Atlantic Albacore tuna and North and South Atlantic swordfish; (iii) management plans in respect of fish-aggregating devices; (iv) number of instrumental buoys; (v) FAD requirements; (vi) information to be submitted on FADs by vessels; (vii) prohibition of FAD periods; (viii) restrictions on the number of vessels fishing North Atlantic Albacore; (ix) the North Atlantic swordfish management plan; (x) conditions to authorise catch and retain shortfin mako sharks; (xi) requirements to maximise the sea turtle survival; (xii) minimum percent of observer coverage and percentage coverage measurement; and (xiii) the list of ICCAT species.

OPINION OF THE RAPPORTEUR

In order to have a balanced approach that ensures a sustainable exploitation of marine biological resources together with a level playing field in the ICCAT convention area, the transposition of the recommendations into EU law should be done in the most accurate possible manner. The EU fishing fleet should have the same conditions and measures as those applied by the fishing fleets of third countries operating in the area.

In addition to provisions included in proposal COM (2022) 171 final - 2022/0111 (COD), the rapporteur has included the most updated ICCAT recommendations and therefore, many other amendments were included in order to transpose recommendations adopted during 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 annual meetings that were not transposed yet.

Therefore, this draft report includes amendments to Regulation (EU) 2017/2107 in order to implement into Union law ICCAT measures for tropical tunas, Mediterranean albacore, North and Southern Atlantic albacore, sailfish, blue and white marlin, billfish data reporting, North and South Atlantic shortfin mako shark, by-catch of turtles, and provisions related to Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, as well as an observer programme which includes responsibilities for scientific observers, and an updated list of ICCAT species.

In addition, the draft report amends Regulation (EU) XX/2022 establishing a multiannual management plan for the bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean (COM (2019) 619 final - 2019/0272 (COD) in order to implement into Union law bluefin tuna management provisions related to definitions, quota transfers, retention prohibition, sport and recreational fisheries, farms record, reporting, transfer authorisations, caging identifiers, caging authorisations, caging operations and their video monitoring, control of caging, harvesting control activities in the farms after caging. The draft report deletes the initial proposals of articles 7 and 46 given that those provisions were included in the agreement reached by colegislators in April 2023 on Regulation (EU) XX/2022 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a multiannual management plan for bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean, that will be officially adopted possibly in September 2023 and published in the Official Journal of the EU afterwards.