The European Parliament adopted by 509 votes to 59, with 13 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down management, conservation and control measures applicable in the Convention Area of the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (SPRFMO).
The matter was referred back to the committee responsible for interinstitutional negotiations at the sitting of 16.1.2018.
The European Parliament’s position adopted at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure amended the Commission proposal as follows:
Definitions: Parliament:
- clarified the definition of 'SPRFMO Convention Area' as the geographical area marked out in Article 5 of the SPRFMO Convention;
- specified that 'Union fishing vessel' means a fishing vessel flying the flag of a Member State and registered in the Union;
- amended the definition of 'bottom fishing footprint' means the spatial extent of bottom fishing in the SPRFMO Convention Area during the period 1 January 2002 to 31 December 2006.
Jake mackerel: Member States shall inform the Commission without delay of the date of the closure of a fishery for jack mackerel that has reached 100 % of its catch limit.
The amended text also provides that Member States shall use transparent and objective criteria, including those of an environmental, social and economic nature. Member States shall endeavour to distribute national quotas fairly among the various fleet segments, and to provide incentives to Union fishing vessels deploying selective fishing gear or using fishing techniques with reduced environmental impact.
Large-scale pelagic driftnets and deepwater gillnets: the amended text provides for the prohibition of the use of large driftnets (exceeding 2.5 km in length), and all deep-water gillnets throughout the SPRFMO Convention Area.
Vessels wishing to transit through the Convention Area while carrying gillnets shall:
- notify the SPRFMO Secretariat at least 36 hours before entering the area;
- ensure that their vessels use a satellite-based vessel monitoring system (VMS) that sends a signal every two hours while in the area;
- present their VMS position within 30 days of the vessel leaving the Convention area;
- inform the SPRFMO Secretariat as soon as possible and in any event within 48 hours of the loss or fall overboard of the gear of the date, time, position and length (in metres) of lost gillnets.
Vessel monitoring system: the satellite-tracking device installed on board Union fishing vessels shall ensure the automatic transmission to the fisheries monitoring centre (FMC) of the flag Member State of VMS data with a position error which shall be less than 100 metres under normal satellite navigation operating conditions.
Member States shall ensure that their FMCs automatically and continuously report the VMS data of vessels flying their flag engaged in fishing in the SPRFMO Convention Area to the SPRFMO Secretariat at least once every hour and that satellite-tracking devices installed on board of vessels flying their flag are capable of reporting VMS data at least every 15 minutes.