PURPOSE: to lay down technical measures for the conservation of certain stocks of highly migratory species.
PROPOSED ACT: Council Regulation.
CONTENT: the purpose of this Regulation is to repeal Regulation 973/2001/EC, which currently governs the technical measures for the conservation of highly migratory species and to present a new Regulation in which new measures are specified. The technical measures apply, in this case, to tuna. They have been agreed in order to ensure the sustainable exploitation of tuna and in particular to reduce catches of juveniles. The technical measures apply to Community fishermen fishing for tuna species in the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.
The measures themselves are formulated by a number of regional fisheries organisations such as the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission, the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission and the Western and Central Pacific Ocean Fisheries Commission. The provisions set out in the technical measures refer, inter alia, to the fixing of minimum sizes for fish, closed fishing areas and seasons as well as restrictions on the fishing effort. In cases where a Contracting Party has no objections to the technical measures they become binding.
Since 2001 a number of new technical measures have been adopted, which need to be incorporated into EU law. In presenting a new Regulation to govern updated technical specifications the Commission is also looking to simplify the legislative framework. For example, the new Regulation will make it possible to combine into a single Regulation all the technical measures adopted by the tuna regional fisheries organisations to which the European Community is a contracting party. Finally, the proposal has no financial implications on the Community’s budget.