Fisheries and animal health: amending certain Regulations by reason of the change of status of Mayotte with regard to the Union

2013/0191(COD)

PURPOSE: to amend certain Regulations in the fields of fisheries and animal health by reason of the change of status of Mayotte with regard to the Union.

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Council Regulation (EU) n° 1385/2013 amending Council Regulations (EC) No 850/98 and (EC) No 1224/2009, and Regulations (EC) No 1069/2009, (EU) No 1379/2013 and (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council, following the amendment of the status of Mayotte with regard to the European Union.

CONTENT: on 11 July 2012, the European Council decided to grant Mayotte the status of an outermost region of the Union with effect from 1 January 2014. From that date, Union law will apply to Mayotte.

Specific measures provided in this Directive aim to take account of the particular structural social and economic situation of Mayotte, which is compounded by its remoteness, insularity, small size, difficult topography and climate.

The amendments aim to:

·         include in the scope of Council Regulation (EC) No 850/98 the waters around Mayotte as a new outermost region and to prohibit the use of purse-seines on tuna and tuna-like schools of fish inside the area within 24 miles from the baselines of the island in order to preserve the shoals of large migratory fish in the vicinity of the island of Mayotte;

·         provide for a temporary derogation (until 31 December 2021) from the rules concerning the labelling of fishery products offered for retail sale to the final consumer in Mayotte;

·         ensure that France does not have to comply with the obligation to include in the register of Union fishing vessels, the ships of less than 10 metres which are dispersed around the island. France should, however, keep a provisional fleet register until 31 December 2021;

·         allow France a period of five years in order to establish the infrastructure necessary for the identification, handling, transport, treatment and disposal of animal by-products in Mayotte in full compliance with Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009;

·         provide for a temporary derogation for France (until 31 December 2021) from certain rules concerning the control of fishing vessels to the extent that such vessels are dispersed around the island, have no specific landing sites and still need to be identified. By 30 September 2014, France shall establish a simplified and provisional scheme of control applicable to such fishing vessels;

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 01/01/2014.