This Commission staff working document accompanies the
proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the
Council concerning the establishment of a Union framework for the
collection, management and the use of data in the fisheries sector
and support for the scientific advice regarding the Common
Fisheries Policy (recast).
The revision of the Data Collection Framework (DCF) is
part of the Commission's Regulatory Fitness Programme (REFIT)
which seeks to cut red tape and remove regulatory burden. This
means simplifying the DCF at different levels.
More specifically, the document:
- explains the rationale behind the modifications and
simplification and the technical details necessary to understand
those modifications;
- describes the current data collection system and
improvements for change;
- describes the preparatory work consisting of the
publication of a roadmap discussing several legislative options,
further consultations;
- explains the options choices for improvement and
simplification of the system, including the modification of the
legal setup.
Overall, the current DCF has been criticised on
a number of levels by a broad range of stakeholders including the
Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF),
Member States and end-users, for not reflecting sufficiently the
needs of end-users in terms of deciding on what data should be
collected or how this should be done, and not being flexible enough
to address their evolving needs, e.g. new stocks being
exploited, changes to technical measures regulations, development
of scientific advice, move to statistically sound sampling schemes
etc. Currently, the DCF Regulation contains provisions for the
establishment of 3-year multiannual EU programmes but no
provisions are included regarding modifications of these three year
programmes, or how the needs of end-users should be taken into
account to draw them up or modify them.
Proposed solutions: in
an attempt to respond to criticisms and improve the DCF, the
Commission has examined the current system and has proposed a
number of solutions. It is proposed to:
- include criteria in the DCF Regulation to determine
what data should be included in the multiannual EU
programmes, including the end-user
need for the data;
- design the new multiannual EU programmes, and future
amendments to it, based on consultation of end-user;
- include, in the DCF regulation, provisions on the
amendment of the multiannual EU programmes;
- include, in the future data collection system, four
key areas in which end-users of DCF data should be better involved:
(i) end-user input (advice) in determining what should or should no
longer be collected; (ii) end-user involvement in designing the
sampling programmes that Member States must carry out to collect
those data that end-users will use; (iii) end-user access to DCF
data; (iv) end-user feedback on the data they have
accessed;
- provide regions with a greater range of tasks
concerning planning and implementing data collection. This would be
achieved through the establishment of Regional Coordination
Groups (RCGs), to deal with regional issues, as well as an EU
Coordination Group (EUCG), to deal with EU-wide issues. The RCGs
and EUCG would enable Member States to work on regional or EU
cooperation throughout the year, rather than just through an annual
meeting as is currently the case;
- in the context of governance structure, strengthen
the current Regional Coordination Meetings (RCM) mechanism,
without giving them a legal entity, but broadening the scope of
areas they may work on;
- extend the scope of the DCF to reflect the CFP's new
emphasis on ecosystem impacts of fisheries;
- include, in the revised DCF Regulation, an
obligation for Member States to carry out biological
sampling on all stocks targeted or by-caught by EU
vessels, including on the discarded fraction of the catches,
but without specifying the method for the data
collection;
- streamline the data transmission and storage for
fishing activity data;
- revise the scope of DCF Regulation so that obligations
to collect socio-economic data cover also freshwater
aquaculture;
- develop an improved impact assessment of
decisions on fisheries management;
- establish EU-wide clear and harmonised rules on access
to fishing activity data to progress towards exchange of data
between Member States and facilitate access to fisheries
data;
- define in DCF Regulation the basic rules and
principles for data availability, including rules on personal data
protection;
- develop an IT system for DCF data
availability;
- develop single entry point for accessing DCF
data;
- allow for a gradual shift from "a push" to "a pull
system", i.e. to move from a system of data calls initiated by
end-users, to a system of data availability ensured by the data
providers.