The European Parliament adopted by 588 votes to 28, with 43 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 1343/2011 on certain provisions for fishing in the GFCM (General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean) Agreement Area.
The proposal aims to amend Regulation (EU) No 1343/2011 in order to transpose into EU law a number of measures adopted by the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) at its annual meetings in 2015, 2016 and 2017. These measures concern European hake and deepwater pink shrimp in the Strait of Sicily, turbot in the Black Sea, pink bream in the Alboran Sea and red coral. The proposal also establishes a restricted fishing area in the Adriatic (Jabuka Basin/Pomo area).
The position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure has amended the Commission's proposal. These amendments aim in particular to:
- provide that the regulations apply to all commercial fishing and aquaculture activities, as well as recreational fishing activities where the regulations expressly provide for it;
- introduce a Section Ia "Fisheries restricted areas to protect essential fish habitats and vulnerable marine ecosystems";
- specify that authorised fishing vessels shall not be authorised to fish for more than two fishing days per week and that authorised fishing vessels using twin otter trawls shall not be authorised to fish for more than one fishing day per week in certain demarcated areas of the Jabuka/Pomo pit area;
- prohibit fishing each year, from 1 July to 31 September, with bottom trawls between the coast and 200-metre deep isobaths in the geographical sub-region 14 (Gulf of Gabes) referred to in Annex I;
- specify that specimens of spiny dogfish in the Black Sea smaller than 90 cm may not be retained on board, transhipped, landed, stored, sold, displayed or offered for sale;
- prohibit the landing or transhipment from fishing vessels of any quantity of European hake and deepwater pink shrimp caught in the Strait of Sicily at any place other than the ports of landing designated by the Member States.