The Committee on Fisheries adopted the report Francisco GUERREIRO (Greens/EFA, PT) on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down conservation, management and control measures applicable in the area covered by the Convention on future multilateral cooperation in the North-East Atlantic fisheries, amending Regulation (EU) 2019/1241 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009, and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 1899/85 and Regulation (EU) No 1236/2010.
The committee responsible recommended that the European Parliament's position adopted at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure should amend the proposal as follows:
Subject matter
The proposed regulation lays down conservation and management measures and implements the amendments to the Scheme of control and enforcement adopted by the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (the NEAFC Scheme). It applies notwithstanding the obligations set out in existing regulations in the fisheries sector, in particular Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council (EU) 2017/2403, Council Regulations (EC) No 1005/2008 and (EC) No 1224/2009.
Marking of gear
It should be prohibited to deploy fishing gear that is not marked, if marking is required, or if the marking contravenes the relevant requirements. NEAFC fisheries inspectors may remove and dispose of a fishing gear with non-compliant marking. According to Members, the fish that are found in the gear should be donated to charitable organisations or organisations that benefit public interest and, if not fit for human consumption, disposed of in accordance with national law consistent with Union law.
Waste from fishing vessels and retrieval of lost gear
Masters of Union fishing vessels should be legally responsible for ensuring that they do not deliberately abandon or discard fishing gear or discharge any kind of waste from their ships into the sea. Member States should undertake to retrieve on a regular basis lost fixed gears belonging to vessels flying their flag. If gear is retrieved that has not been reported as lost, the Member State or other Contracting Party that retrieved the gear may recover the cost from the master of the vessel that has lost the gear.
Control of notified and authorised Union fishing vessels
The amended text stated that Member States should send by electronic means to the Commission the information of all fishing vessels flying their flag and registered in the Union which they intend to authorise to conduct fishing activities in the Regulatory Area. This information should be sent by 15 December each year for the following year or in any case not later than 15 days before the vessel’s entry into the Regulatory Area.
NEAFC port inspectors and officials
Member States should notify, 15 days prior to be effective, any changes in the lists referred to the European Fisheries Control Agency, which in turn should forward them without delay to the NEAFC Secretariat with the Commission in copy.
Remote surveillance
Port Member States should ensure surveillance by camera and sensor technologies at landing and processing facilities for landings exceeding 10 tonnes and where more than 3 000 tonnes per year, in total, of herring, mackerel, horse mackerel and blue whiting are weighed. For that purpose, Member States should make publicly available a list of their ports that meet those thresholds and where those requirements are to apply.
New Annex
Members added a new Annex (Annex VI a) which includes a list of codes of production from or presentation, preservation state of the resources, type of packing or container to be used in the production logbook. The Commission should be empowered to adopt delegated acts concerning measures adopted by NEAFC regarding this list of codes.