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Consultation on Commission Proposal on the Review of the Fisheries Control Regulation

Fishing Industry Management
Area 2C Nobel House
17 Smith Square
London SW1P 3JR

Telephone: 020 7 238 4435   Fax: 238 4699
Email: julie.fitton@defra.gsi.gov.uk
Web: www.defra.gov.uk

Date:  5 May 2009

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

Consultation on Commission Proposal on the Review of the Fisheries Control Regulation

In December 2008 we circulated to interested organisations a stakeholder engagement paper on this proposal from the Commission for a new Fisheries Control Regulation. 

A copy of the proposal itself and an impact assessment of the costs and benefits of the proposal as currently drafted can be found at: www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/fisheries-control/index.htm

The assessment is at this stage is an initial one.  This is because a number of aspects of the proposal are at this stage difficult to assess accurately without further clarification from the Commission.  The assessment will be further refined as more information becomes available to us, including any information that you supply us with. 

We would welcome your views on the proposal and our assessment of its potential impact.  These will be help to inform our views on the proposal as it is negotiated in Brussels.  These are both very large documents, so to assist you in this we are attaching to this letter a summary of the main proposed changes to the existing rules that may affect you. Also attached to this letter is a list of the consultation documents to date, which can be viewed at: www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/fisheries-control/index.htm

Consultation documents

  • Impact Assessment
  • A summary of the main proposed changes
  • Consultation letter
  • List of consultees
  • Commission Proposal on the Review of the Control Regulation
  • The Commission Press Release

If you would like to comment, could you please reply to Rebecca Dominey, Fishing Industry Management, Marine Programme, Area 2c Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London SW1P 3JR by Friday 24 July 2009.
If you wish to send responses electronically: thereviewofthecontrolregulation@defra.gsi.gov.uk

Consultation Criteria

This consultation is in line with the Code of practice on Consultations. This can be found at:  www.berr.gov.uk/bre/. When this consultation ends, we intend to put a copy of the responses in the Defra library at Ergon House, London. This is so that the public can see them. Also, members of the public may ask for a copy of responses under freedom of information legislation.  If you do not want your response - including your name, contact details and any other personal information - to be publicly available, please say so clearly in writing when you send your response to the consultation.   Please note, if your computer automatically includes a confidentiality disclaimer, that won't count as a confidentiality request.  Please explain why you need to keep details confidential.  We will take your reasons into account if someone asks for this information under freedom of information legislation. But, because of the law, we cannot promise that we will always be able to keep those details confidential.

We will summarise all responses and place this summary on our website at www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/fisheries-legislation/.  This summary will include a list of names of organisations that responded but not people’s personal names, addresses or other contact details.

To see consultation responses and summaries, please contact the library at:

Defra
Information Resource Centre
Lower Ground Floor
Ergon House
17 Smith Square
London
SW1P 3JR
Telephone: 020 7238 6575
Email:  defra.library@defra.gsi.gov.uk

Please give the library 24 hours’ notice.  There is a charge for photocopying and postage.

If you have any comments or complaints about the consultation process, please address them to Marjorie Addo, Defra’s Consultation Co-ordinator, Area 7C Nobel House,17 Smith Square, London SW1P 3JR, or email consultation.coordinator@defra.gsi.gov.uk.

Thank you for your help in this matter. If you have any queries please contact me at the above address.

Yours faithfully

Julie Fitton
Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

Guide to Articles

Article Number

Subject

9

Requirement for all vessels over 10 metres to have vessel monitoring systems (VMS), with exemptions for vessels operating exclusively in the territorial sea or spending less than 24 hours at sea.

10

Requirement for all over 15metre vessels to have Automatic Information Systems (AIS)

13

Allows Council to decide on the use and further development of new technologies to improve compliance with the CFP, including traceability tools such as genetic analysis

14 – 16

Requirement for all vessels over 10 metres to have electronic logbooks.  A reduction in the permitted margin of tolerance to 5% and in the threshold for recording species in the logbook to 15kg.

17

Requirement for all vessels, including under 10 metre vessels, to give 4 hours prior notification of arrival in port.

18 - 20

Prohibition on transhipment of catch at sea in Community waters and rules for transhipments in port

21 - 22

Requirement for all landing declarations to be submitted electronically within 2 hours of completion of landing, with exemptions for vessels operating exclusively in the territorial sea or spending less than 24 hours at sea.

26 - 27

Rules on closure of fisheries, including a new provision allowing the Commission to close a fishery where the Member State has failed to send the necessary catch data to the Commission.  Also includes provisions on the correcting measures to be applied in the event of overfishes.

29 - 32

New provisions on the control of fleet capacity including the monitoring, certification and cross checking of engine power

33 – 36

Measures for monitoring multiannual plans including transfers in port, designated port arrangements and conditions which any designated port must meet, separate stowage of catch on vessels and national control programmes

37 – 38

Rules on carriage of fishing gear and catch composition – these repeat existing provisions

39 - 40

Monitoring of fishing vessels in and around marine protected areas.

41 – 42

Requirement for the compulsory recording in logbooks of all discards

43 – 46

Rule son real time closures of fishing areas for protection of juvenile stocks.

47

Monitoring of recreational fisheries

48 – 51

Marketing provisions, including a requirement for all lots of fishery products to carry labels to verify their provenance and provisions on consumer information

52  - 58

Provisions on post–landing activities.  These include:
the compulsory weighing of all fish before sorting, processing, storage, transport or sale.,
the compulsory electronic submission of sales notes within 2 hours of sale (with possible exemptions for sales from small vessels or for quantities of less than 50kg
rules on  take over declarations and  transport documents.

59 – 60

Rules for producer organisations and intervention arrangements (these largely replicate existing provisions).

61 – 64

Member State obligations for carrying out and following up surveillance at sea.

65 – 70

Provisions on conduct of inspections, production of inspection reports controls and the role of Community Inspectors.

71 – 73

Provisions on inspections outside the waters or territory of the inspecting Member State.

74 – 76

Procedures for dealing with infringements and follow up procedures.

77 – 80

Prosecution of infringements.

81 – 85

Measures to ensure compliance, including provisions on sanctions and a penalty point system for licences.

86 – 87

Community control programmes

95

Suspension or withdrawal of community aid for non-compliance by Member States with control provisions

96

Provision allowing the Commission to close a fishery where the Member State fails to meet its obligations under a multiannual plan.

97 – 100

Rules on deduction of quotas and suspension of quota exchanges following overfishing.

101 

Emergency measures available to the Commission for protection of marine eco systems and stocks.

102 – 103

Provisions on exchange of data and information between Member States and Commission.

104 – 108

Rules on security of data and requirements for Member States to have websites including public access areas

112

Extension of mandate of the Community Fisheries Control Agency.

Page published: 5 May 2009