Fisheries control
The European Parliament adopted by 436 votes to 148, with 40 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009, and amending Council Regulations (EC) No 768/2005, (EC) No 1967/2006, (EC) No 1005/2008, and Regulation (EU) No 2016/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards fisheries control.
The European Parliament's position, adopted at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure, should amend the proposal as follows:
Fishing authorisation for Union fishing vessels other than catching vessels
According to the amended text, a Union catching vessel shall be authorised to carry out specific fishing activities only insofar as they are indicated in a valid fishing authorisation, when the fisheries or fishing zones where the fishing activities are authorised, or the vessel, are subject to: (i) a fishing effort regime; (ii) a multiannual plan; (iii) a fishing restricted area; (iv) fishing for scientific purposes; (v) the obligation to use a remote electronic monitoring (REM) system.
Union fishing vessels other than catching vessels may carry out fishing activities only if they have been authorised by their flag Member State.
A fishing authorisation should not be issued for a catching vessel if that vessel does not have a fishing licence, or if its fishing licence has been suspended or withdrawn.
Vessel monitoring systems
Each EU fishing vessel must be equipped with a fully operational vessel monitoring system enabling it to be automatically located and identified by a tracking device through the automatic transmission of vessel position data at regular intervals. EU fishing vessels of an overall length of less than 12 metres will be able to carry a device, which need not be installed on board, enabling the vessel to be automatically located and identified at sea by recording and transmitting the vessel's position data at regular intervals by means of a satellite connection or any other network.
A Member State may, under certain conditions, exempt, until 31 December 2029, fishing vessels of an overall length of less than 9 metres flying its flag from the obligation to be equipped with a monitoring system. All small-scale fishing fleets should have up to four years to adapt to the new requirements.
Automatic identification systems
Union fishing vessels exceeding 15 metres in length overall should be fitted with and maintain in continuous operation an automatic identification system (AIS) which meets the performance standards referred to in that Directive. By way of derogation, the master of a Union fishing vessel may switch off the AIS in exceptional circumstances when the master considers that the safety or security of the crew is imminently at risk of being compromised.
Remote electronic monitoring
Member States should ensure monitoring and control of fishing activities through remote electronic monitoring (REM) systems. Member States should ensure that Union catching vessels of 18 metres in length overall or more flying their flag which pose a high risk of non-compliance with the landing obligation have installed on board an operating REM system, including closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, no later than four years after the legislation comes into force.
Fishing logbook
The fishing logbook should contain estimated quantities of each species discarded in kilograms live weight or, where appropriate, in number of individuals. When compared with the quantities landed or with the result of an inspection, the permitted margin of tolerance in estimates recorded in the fishing logbook of the quantities in kilograms of fish retained on board should be 10 % per each species. For species retained on board the quantity of which does not exceed 100 kg of live-weight equivalent, the permitted margin of tolerance shall be 20 % per each species.
All EU vessels, without exception, should record and declare their catches electronically. This applies in particular to fishing registers, transhipment declarations and landing declarations. Masters of Union catching vessels of less than 12 metres in length overall should have the possibility to complete and submit the electronic fishing logbook by simplified means.
Recreative fishing
Coastal Member States should have in place an electronic system for the recording and reporting of catches from recreational fisheries. Coastal Member States should collect data on catches by natural persons engaged in recreational fisheries for species, stocks or groups of stocks for which fishing opportunities are set by the Union, which are covered by a multiannual plan, or which are subject to the landing obligation.
Measures and sanctions to ensure compliance
Member States should lay down rules on measures and sanctions against natural persons having infringed the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy or against legal persons found responsible for such infringement, and in a systematic way. Serious infringements should be subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive administrative or criminal penalties.
Member States should ensure that a serious infringement which has led to obtaining fishery or aquaculture products should be punishable by administrative financial penalties, the minimum of which should be at least the value of the fishery or aquaculture products obtained as a result of committing the serious infringement, and the maximum of which should be at least five times the value of the fishery or aquaculture products obtained as a result of committing the serious infringement.
Member States should apply a point system and allocate points to the fishing licence holders and masters of catching vessels concerned in case of confirmed serious infringements.
Traceability of fish and its derivatives
Fishing and aquaculture products must be divided into lots by operators and their traceability must be ensured at all stages of production, processing and distribution, from capture or harvest to retail.
Lots of fishery and aquaculture products made available on the market or likely to be made available on the market must be adequately marked to ensure the traceability of each lot. These lots will be accompanied by a minimum set of information.
Operators at all stages of production, processing and distribution, from catching or harvesting to retail stage, should ensure that in respect of each lot of fishery or aquaculture products, the information should be kept on record and made available in a digital way to the operator to whom the fishery or aquaculture product is supplied, and, upon request, to the competent authorities.