Activites

• 2004/04/30 Final act published in Official Journal
  • Regulation 2004/812
  • OJ L 185 27.05.2004, p. 0004-0013
• #2578
• 2004/04/26 Council Meeting
• 2004/04/26 End of procedure in Parliament
• 2004/04/26 Act adopted by Council after consultation of Parliament
• #2573
• 2004/03/22 Council Meeting
• 2004/02/10 Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
  • T5-0069/2004 summary

    The European Parliament adopted a resolution drafted by Heinz KINDERMANN (PES, D), making several amendments to the proposal. (Please see the summary of 20/01/04.) Parliament stated that, in the long term, alternative methods to prevent the incidental killing of small cetaceans have to be developed, taking into consideration the outcomes of the monitoring and assessment. Research is already under way into alternative fishing gear aimed at reducing the incidental catches of cetaceans, such as separator grids. The Commission must encourage and react expediently to the outcome of such research. EU research projects should be commissioned as soon as possible to provide scientific support for the measures laid down in the Regulation. They should investigate the impact of the acoustic deterrent devices on the cetacean population and the marine ecosystem, the development of alternative fishing gear and fishing methods and any other reasons for the decline in the cetacean population. Lastly, the minimum percentage of the fishing effort covered by on-board observers must be 10 % (at least 3 vessels) from April to November and 15 % (at least 3 vessels) from December to March. These figures are increased from the Commission's figures of 5% and 10% respectively.�

• 2004/01/20 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
  • A5-0020/2004
• 2003/09/01 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
• 2003/07/24 Legislative proposal published
  • COM(2003)0451 summary

    PURPOSE : to lay down measures concerning incidental catches of cetaceans in fisheries and amending Regulation 88/98/EC. CONTENT : the proposed Regulation aims to curb the accidental capture of cetaceans such as dolphins and harbour porpoises in fishing gear, as this is threatening the conservation of these species. The measures taken by Member States under Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (the so-called "Habitats" Directive), has been insufficient to adequately protect these animals. There are insufficient data to allow a precise estimation of the number of accidental catches of cetaceans in fishing gear, their distribution and their impact on populations. However, available scientific advice shows that most of the fishing gears commonly used in European fisheries are responsible for some cetacean by-catch. The most serious problems appear to be caused by gillnets and pelagic (mid-water) trawls. An overall reduction of fishing pressure is expected as a result of other Community measures aimed at ensuring the sustainability of fisheries. This proposal for a Regulation completes the response to scientific advice by providing additional measures to address the incidental catches of cetaceans in fisheries. More specifically, the proposed measures aim at : a) for the Baltic sea, restricting and further phasing out the use of drift-nets. Comparable measures are already established by Community law in all other waters. The proposed restrictions in the Baltic consist in limiting immediately the length of drift-nets to maximum 2.5 km, associated with a phasing out process with a view to a total ban on this gear in the Baltic Sea as from 1 January 2007. b) requiring the use of acoustic deterrent devices, better know as 'pingers', in fisheries where the effectiveness of such devices has been confirmed in reducing incidental catches of cetaceans. c) establishing monitoring programmes, using independent observers, for gathering extended information on by-catch of cetaceans for numerous fisheries with a potentially high risk of incidental catches of cetaceans. �

  • DG [{'url': 'http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/maritimeaffairs_fisheries/', 'title': 'Maritime Affairs and Fisheries'}],

Documents

• Legislative proposal published: COM(2003)0451
• Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading: A5-0020/2004
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T5-0069/2004
• : Regulation 2004/812
• : OJ L 185 27.05.2004, p. 0004-0013

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)