Amen­dement Hazekamp: meer­ja­renplan voor de kabeljauw-, haring- en sprot­be­standen in de Oostzee (16)

Jarosław Wałęsa
Multiannual plan for the stocks of cod, herring and sprat in the Baltic Sea and the fisheries exploiting those stocks

Proposal for a regulation
COM(2014)0614 - C8-0174/2014 – 2014/0285(COD)

Committee on Fisheries

Amendment 16
Anja Hazekamp

Proposal for a regulation
Chapter 5 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

CHAPTER VI

FISHING EFFORT LIMITATION

Article 8

Procedure for setting periods when fishing with certain

types of gear is allowed

1. It shall be prohibited for fishing vessels to fish with trawls, Danish seines or similar gear of a mesh size equal to or larger than 90 mm, with gillnets, entangling nets or trammel nets of a mesh size equal to or larger than 90 mm, with bottom set lines, longlines except drifting lines, handlines and jigging equipment:
(a) from 1 to 30 April in Area A; and
(b) from 1 July to 31 August in Area B.

2. When fishing with drifting lines no cod shall be retained on board.

3. The Council shall decide each year by a qualified majority on the maximum number of days absent from port outside the periods specified in paragraph 1 in the following year when fishing with the gear referred to in paragraph 1 is allowed, in accordance with the rules set out in paragraphs 4 and 5.

4. Where the fishing mortality rate for one of the cod stocks concerned has been estimated by the STECF to be at least 10 % higher than the minimum fishing mortality rate defined in Article 4, the total number of days when fishing with the gear referred to in paragraph 1 is allowed shall be reduced by 10 % compared to the total number of days allowed in the current year.

5. Where the fishing mortality rate for one of the cod stocks concerned has been estimated by the STECF to be less than 10 % above the minimum fishing mortality rates defined in Article 4, the total number of days where fishing with the gear referred to in paragraph 1 is allowed shall be equal to the total number of days allowed in the current year, multiplied by the minimum fishing mortality rate defined in Article 4 divided by the fishing mortality rate estimated by STECF.

6. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, fishing vessels with an overall length of less than 12 metres shall be permitted to use up to five days per month divided into periods of at least two consecutive days from the maximum number of days absent from port resulting from the application of paragraphs 3 to 5 during the closed periods referred to in paragraph 1. During these days, fishing vessels may only immerse their nets and land fish from 06.00 on Monday to 18.00 on Friday of the same week. Article 16 shall apply to the fishing vessels referred to in the first subparagraph without holding a permit for fishing for cod.

7. At the request of the Commission or a Member State, Member States shall make available on their website or provide to the Commission and all Member States a description of the system applied to ensure compliance with paragraphs 3, 4 and 5.

(This amendment is an integral copy of the first half (article 8) of Chapter VII on Fishing Effort Limitation in Council Regulation 1098/2007, which the Commission proposal repeals. The second half (article 9) was already copied as amendment 11 in the Draft report by Jarosław Wałęsa.)

Justification

The Commission proposal repeals this regulation and does not set new limitations on fishing effort, claiming them to be unnecessary as long as catch limits are respected. Whether this will be te case is questionable. It is therefore much more precautionary to maintain existing policies on fishing effort, in addition to limiting catches.