COUNCIL REGULATION

(EC) No 1322/2008

of 28 November 2008

fixing the fishing opportunities and associated conditions for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks applicable in the Baltic Sea for 2009

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 of 20 December 2002 on the conservation and sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources under the common fisheries policy(1), and in particular Article 20 thereof,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 847/96 of 6 May 1996 introducing additional conditions for year-to-year management of TACs and quotas(2), and in particular Article 2 thereof,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1098/2007 of 18 September 2007 establishing a multiannual plan for the cod stocks in the Baltic Sea and the fisheries exploiting those stocks(3), and in particular Articles 5 and 8(3) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Whereas:

(1) Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 requires the Council to adopt the measures necessary to ensure access to waters and resources and the sustainable pursuit of fishing activities taking account of available scientific advice and, in particular, the report prepared by the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries, as well as in the light of any advice received from the Baltic Sea Regional Advisory Council.

(2) Under Article 20 of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002, it is incumbent upon the Council to establish fishing opportunity limits by fishery or group of fisheries and the allocation of these opportunities to Member States.

(3) In order to ensure effective management of fishing opportunities, the specific conditions under which fishing operations are carried out should be established.

(4) The principles and certain procedures for fishery management need to be laid down at Community level, so that Member States can ensure the management of the vessels flying their flag.

(5) Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 lays down definitions of relevance for the allocation of fishing opportunities.

(6) In accordance with Article 2 of Council Regulation (EC) No 847/96, the stocks that are subject to the various measures referred to therein are to be identified.

(7) Fishing opportunities should be used in accordance with Community legislation, and in particular with Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2807/83 of 22 September 1983 laying down detailed rules for recording information on Member States’ catches of fish(4), Council Regulation (EEC) No 2930/86 of 22 September 1986 defining characteristics for fishing vessels(5), Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1381/87 of 20 May 1987 establishing detailed rules concerning the marking and documentation of fishing vessels(6), Council Regulation (EEC) No 3880/91 of 17 December 1991 on the submission of nominal catch statistics by Member States fishing in the North-East Atlantic(7), Council Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 of 12 October 1993 establishing a control system applicable to the common fisheries policy(8), Commission Regulation (EC) No 2244/2003 of 18 December 2003 laying down detailed provisions regarding satellite-based Vessel Monitoring Systems(9), and Council Regulation (EC) No 2187/2005 of 21 December 2005 for the conservation of fishery resources through technical measures in the Baltic Sea, the Belts and the Sound(10) and Regulation (EC) No 1098/2007.

(8) To ensure that annual fishing opportunities are set at a level commensurate with the sustainable exploitation of resources in environmental, economic and social terms, account has been taken of the guiding principles for fixing total allowable catches (TACs) as described in the Communication from the Commission to the Council on fishing opportunities for 2009: Policy Statement from the European Commission.

(9) To help conserve fish stocks, certain supplementary measures on technical conditions of fishing should be implemented in 2009.

(10) To ensure the livelihood of Community fishermen, it is important to open these fisheries on 1 January 2009. Given the urgency of the matter, it is imperative to grant an exception to the six-week period referred to in point I(3) of the Protocol on the role of national parliaments in the European Union, annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaties establishing the European Communities,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

CHAPTER I

SCOPE AND DEFINITIONS

Article 1

Subject matter

This Regulation fixes fishing opportunities for 2009 for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks in the Baltic Sea and the associated conditions under which such fishing opportunities may be used.

Article 2

Scope

1. This Regulation shall apply to Community fishing vessels (Community vessels) operating in the Baltic Sea.

2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, this Regulation shall not apply to fishing operations conducted solely for the purpose of scientific investigations which are carried out with the permission and under the authority of the Member State concerned and of which the Commission and the Member State in whose waters the research is carried out have been informed in advance.

Article 3

Definitions

In addition to the definitions laid down in Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002, for the purposes of this Regulation the following definitions shall apply:

(a) the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) zones are as defined in Regulation (EEC) No 3880/91;

(b) ‘Baltic Sea’ means ICES subdivisions 22-32;

(d) ‘quota’ means a proportion of the TAC allocated to the Community, a Member State or a third country;

(e) ‘day absent from port’ means any continuous period of 24 hours or part thereof during which the vessel is absent from port.

CHAPTER II

FISHING OPPORTUNITIES AND ASSOCIATED CONDITIONS

Article 4

Catch limits and allocations

The catch limits, the allocation of such limits among Member States, and additional conditions in accordance with Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 are set out in Annex I to this Regulation.

Article 5

Special provisions on allocations

1. The allocation of catch limits among Member States, as set out in Annex I, shall be without prejudice to:

(a) exchanges made pursuant to Article 20(5) of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002;

(b) reallocations made pursuant to Articles 21(4), 23(1) and 32(2) of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93;

(d) quantities withheld in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96;

(e) deductions made pursuant to Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96.

2. For the purpose of withholding quotas to be transferred to 2010, Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 may apply, by way of derogation from that Regulation, to all stocks subject to analytical TAC.

Article 6

Conditions for catches and by-catches

1. Fish from stocks for which catch limits are fixed shall only be retained on board or landed if:

(a) the catches have been taken by vessels of a Member State with a quota and that quota has not been exhausted; or

(b) species other than herring and sprat are mixed with other species, and are not sorted either on board or on landing and the catches have been taken with trawls, Danish seines or similar gears of a mesh size less than 32 mm.

2. All landings shall count against the quota or, if the Community share has not been allocated among Member States by quotas, against the Community share, except for catches made under paragraph 1(b).

3. Where the quota for herring allocated to a Member State is exhausted, vessels flying the flag of that Member State, registered in the Community, and operating in the fisheries to which the relevant quota applies shall not land catches that are unsorted and that contain herring.

4. Where the quota for sprat allocated to a Member State is exhausted, vessels flying the flag of that Member State, registered in the Community, and operating in the fisheries to which the relevant quota applies shall not land catches that are unsorted and that contain sprat.

Article 7

Fishing effort limits

1. Fishing effort limits are set out in Annex II.

2. The limits referred to in paragraph 1 shall apply to ICES subdivisions 27 and 28.2, in so far as the Commission has not taken a decision in accordance with Article 29(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1098/2007 to exclude those subdivisions from the restrictions provided for in Article 8(1)(b), (3), (4) and (5) and Article 13 of that Regulation.

3. The limits referred to in paragraph 1 shall not apply to ICES subdivision 28.1, in so far as the Commission has not taken a decision in accordance with Article 29(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1098/2007 that the restrictions provided for in Article 8(1)(b), (3), (4) and (5) of Regulation (EC) No 1098/2007 shall apply to that subdivision.

Article 8

Transitional technical measures

Transitional technical measures are set out in Annex III.

CHAPTER III

FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 9

Data transmission

When Member States send data to the Commission relating to landings of quantities of stocks caught, pursuant to Article 15(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93, they shall use the stock codes set out in Annex I to this Regulation.

Article 10

Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the

Official Journal of the European Union

It shall apply from 1 January 2009.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 28 November 2008.

For the Council

The President

BARNIER

(1)

OJ L 358, 31.12.2002, p. 59

(2)

OJ L 115, 9.5.1996, p. 3

(3)

OJ L 248, 22.9.2007, p. 1

(4)

OJ L 276, 10.10.1983, p. 1

(5)

OJ L 274, 25.9.1986, p. 1

(6)

OJ L 132, 21.5.1987, p. 9

(7)

OJ L 365, 31.12.1991, p. 1

(8)

OJ L 261, 20.10.1993, p. 1

(9)

OJ L 333, 20.12.2003, p. 17

(10)

OJ L 349, 31.12.2005, p. 1

ANNEX I

Catch limits and associated conditions for year-to-year management of catch limits applicable to Community vessels in areas where catch limits exist by species and by area

The following tables set out the TACs and quotas (in tonnes live weight, except where otherwise specified) by stock, the allocation to the Member States and associated conditions for year-to-year management of the quotas.

Within each area, fish stocks are referred to following the alphabetical order of the Latin names of the species. For the purposes of these tables the codes used for the different species are as follows:

Scientific name	Alpha-3 code	Common name
Clupea harengus	HER	Herring
Gadus morhua	COD	Cod
Platichthys flesus	FLX	Flounder
Pleuronectes platessa	PLE	Plaice
Psetta maxima	TUR	Turbot
Salmo salar	SAL	Atlantic salmon
Sprattus sprattus	SPR	Sprat

Species

Herring

Clupea harengus

Zone

Subdivisions 30-31

HER/3D30.; HER/3D31.

Finland

67 777

Sweden

14 892

82 669

TAC

82 669

Analytical TAC.

Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 applies.

Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 applies.

Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 applies.

Species

Herring

Clupea harengus

Zone

Subdivisions 22-24

HER/3B23.; HER/3C22.; HER/3D24.

Denmark

3 809

Germany

14 994

Poland

3 536

Finland

Sweden

4 835

27 176

TAC

27 176

Analytical TAC.

Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 does not apply.

Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 does not apply.

Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 applies.

Species

Herring

Clupea harengus

Zone

EC waters of subdivisions 25-27, 28.2, 29 and 32

HER/3D25.; HER/3D26.; HER/3D27.; HER/3D28.; HER/3D29.; HER/3D32.

Denmark

3 159

Germany

838

Estonia

16 134

Latvia

3 982

Lithuania

4 192

Poland

35 779

Finland

31 493

Sweden

48 032

143 609

TAC

Not relevant

Analytical TAC.

Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 does not apply.

Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 does not apply.

Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 applies.

Species

Herring

Clupea harengus

Zone

Subdivision 28.1

HER/03D.RG

Estonia

16 113

Latvia

18 779

34 892

TAC

34 892

Analytical TAC.

Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 applies.

Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 applies.

Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 applies.

Species

Cod

Gadus morhua

Zone

EC waters of subdivisions 25-32

COD/3D25.; COD/3D26.; COD/3D27.; COD/3D28.; COD/3D29.; COD/3D30.; COD/3D31.; COD/3D32.

Denmark

10 241

Germany

4 074

Estonia

998

Latvia

3 808

Lithuania

2 509

Poland

11 791

Finland

784

Sweden

10 375

44 580

TAC

Not relevant

Analytical TAC.

Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 does not apply.

Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 does not apply.

Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 applies.

Species

Cod

Gadus morhua

Zone

EC waters of subdivisions 22-24

COD/3B23.; COD/3C22.; COD/3D24.

Denmark

7 130

Germany

3 487

Estonia

158

Latvia

590

Lithuania

383

Poland

1 908

Finland

140

Sweden

2 541

16 337

TAC

16 337

Analytical TAC.

Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 does not apply.

Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 does not apply.

Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 applies.

Species

Plaice

Pleuronectes platessa

Zone

EC waters of subdivisions 22-32

PLE/3B23.; PLE/3C22.; PLE/3D24.; PLE/3D25.; PLE/3D26.; PLE/3D27.; PLE/3D28.; PLE/3D29.; PLE/3D30.; PLE/3D31.; PLE/3D32.

Denmark

2 179

Germany

242

Poland

456

Sweden

164

3 041

TAC

3 041

Precautionary TAC.

Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 applies.

Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 does not apply.

Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 applies.

Species

Atlantic salmon

Salmo salar

Zone

EC waters of subdivisions 22-31

SAL/3B23.; SAL/3C22.; SAL/3D24.; SAL/3D25.; SAL/3D26.; SAL/3D27.; SAL/3D28.; SAL/3D29.; SAL/3D30.; SAL/3D31.

Denmark

64 184(1)

Germany

7 141(1)

Estonia

6 523(1)

Latvia

40 824(1)

Lithuania

4 799(1)

Poland

19 471(1)

Finland

80 033(1)

Sweden

86 758(1)

309 733(1)

TAC

Not relevant

Analytical TAC.

Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 does not apply.

Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 does not apply.

Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 applies.

Species

Atlantic salmon

Salmo salar

Zone

Subdivision 32

SAL/3D32.

Estonia

1 581(2)

Finland

13 838(2)

15 419(2)

TAC

Not relevant

Analytical TAC.

Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 does not apply.

Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 does not apply.

Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 applies.

Species

Sprat

Sprattus sprattus

Zone

EC waters of subdivisions 22-32

SPR/3B23.; SPR/3C22.; SPR/3D24.; SPR/3D25.; SPR/3D26.; SPR/3D27.; SPR/3D28.; SPR/3D29.; SPR/3D30.; SPR/3D31.; SPR/3D32.

Denmark

39 453

Germany

24 994

Estonia

45 813

Latvia

55 332

Lithuania

20 015

Poland

117 424

Finland

20 652

Sweden

76 270

399 953

TAC

Not relevant

Analytical TAC.

Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 does not apply.

Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 applies.

Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 applies.

(1) Expressed by number of individual fish.

(2) Expressed by number of individual fish.

ANNEX II

Fishing effort limits

For vessels flying their flag, Member States shall ensure that fishing 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 shall be permitted for a maximum number of:

(a) 201 days absent from port in subdivisions 22-24 with the exception of the period from 1 to 30 April when Article 8(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1098/2007 applies; and

(b) 160 days absent from port in subdivisions 25-28 with the exception of the period from 1 July to 31 August when Article 8(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 1098/2007 applies.

The maximum number of days absent from port per year for which a vessel may be present within the two areas defined in point 1(a) and (b) fishing with the gears referred to in point 1 may not exceed the maximum number of days allocated for one of the two areas.

ANNEX III

Transitional technical measures

Restrictions on fishing for flounder and turbot

The retention on board of the following species of fish which are caught within the geographical areas and during the periods mentioned below shall be prohibited:

Species	Geographical area	Period
Flounder (Platichthys flesus)	Subdivisions 26 to 28, 29 south of 59°30′N	15 February to 15 May
Flounder (Platichthys flesus)	Subdivision 32	15 February to 31 May
Turbot (Psetta maxima)	Subdivisions 25 to 26, 28 south of 56°50′N	1 June to 31 July

By way of derogation from point 1, when fishing with trawls, Danish seines and similar gears with a mesh size equal to or greater than 105 mm or with gillnets, entangling nets or trammel nets with a mesh size equal to or greater than 100 mm, by-catches of flounder and turbot may be retained on board and landed within a limit of 10 % by live weight of the total catch retained on board and landed during the periods of prohibition referred to in point 1.