COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) 2017/86

of 20 October 2016

establishing a discard plan for certain demersal fisheries in the Mediterranean Sea

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on the Common Fisheries Policy, amending Council Regulations (EC) No 1954/2003 and (EC) No 1224/2009 and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 2371/2002 and (EC) No 639/2004 and Council Decision 2004/585/EC (1), and in particular Article 15(6) thereof,

Whereas:

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Implementation of the landing obligation

The landing obligation provided for in Article 15(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 shall apply in the Mediterranean Sea to the fisheries as set out in the Annex to this Regulation.

That landing obligation shall apply to the species referred to in that Annex when caught during fishing activities in Union waters or by Union fishing vessels outside the Union waters in waters not subject to third countries' sovereignty or jurisdiction.

Article 2

Definitions

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

Article 3

Survivability exemption

1.   The exemption from the landing obligation pursuant to Article 15(4)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 for species for which scientific evidence demonstrates high survival rates shall apply in 2017 to:

2.   Common sole (Solea solea), scallop (Pecten jacobeus), carpet clams (Venerupis spp.) and Venus shells (Venus spp.) caught in the circumstances referred to in paragraph 1 shall be released immediately in the area where they have been caught.

3.   By 1 May 2017, Member States having a direct management interest in the fisheries in the Mediterranean Sea shall submit to the Commission additional discard data to those provided for in the Joint Recommendations of 4 and 7 July 2016 and any other relevant scientific information supporting the exemption laid down in paragraph 1. The Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) shall assess those data and that information by July 2017 at the latest.

Article 4

De minimis exemption

By way of derogation from Article 15(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013, the following quantities of species which define the fisheries as set out in the Annex to this Regulation may be discarded pursuant to Article 15(4)(c) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013:

Article 5

List of vessels

1.   The Member States concerned shall determine, in accordance with the criteria laid down in the Annex, the vessels subject to the landing obligation for each particular fishery.

2.   By 31 December 2016, the Member States concerned shall submit to the Commission and to the other Member States, using the secure Union control website, the lists of all vessels targeting hake, red mullet, common sole and deep-water rose shrimp. They shall keep those lists updated.

Article 6

Entry into force and application

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2019.

(1)  OJ L 354, 28.12.2013, p. 22.

(2)  (i) Discard Plan for Demersal Fisheries in the Adriatic Sea (GSAs 17 and 18) — Joint Recommendation by the Adriatica High-Level Group (Croatia, Italia and Slovenia); (ii) Discard Plan for Demersal Fisheries in the South-Eastern Mediterranean Sea (GSAs 15, 16, 19, 20, 22, 23 and 25) — Joint Recommendation by the Sudestmed High-Level Group (Cyprus, Greece, Italy and Malta); and (iii) Discard Plan for Demersal Fisheries in the Western Mediterranean Sea (GSAs 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11) — Joint Recommendation by the Pescamed High-Level Group (France, Italy and Spain).

(3)  Council Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 of 21 December 2006 concerning management measures for the sustainable exploitation of fishery resources in the Mediterranean Sea, amending Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1626/94 (OJ L 409, 30.12.2006, p. 11).

(4)  Reports of the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) — Evaluation of the landing obligation joint recommendations (STECF-16-10). 2016. Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, EUR 27758 EN, JRC Scientific and Policy Report, 104 pp. Available at https://bookshop.europa.eu/en/reports-of-the-scientific-technical-and-economic-committee-for-fisheries-stecf--pbLBAX16010/?CatalogCategoryID=0A4KABsty0gAAAEjqJEY4e5L

(5)  Regulation (EU) No 1343/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on certain provisions for fishing in the GFCM (General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean) Agreement area and amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 concerning management measures for the sustainable exploitation of fishery resources in the Mediterranean Sea (OJ L 347, 30.12.2011, p. 44).

(6)  Gear codes used in this Regulation refer to those codes in Annex XI to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 404/2011 of 8 April 2011 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 establishing a Community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy (OJ L 112, 30.4.2011, p. 1). For the vessels whose LOA is less than 10 metres, gear codes used in this table refer to the codes from the FAO gear classification.