This report is submitted in accordance with the provisions of Article 9.3 (3) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 concerning management measures for the sustainable exploitation of fishery resources in the Mediterranean Sea.

To recall, Article 9.3 lays down the minimum mesh size to be used at the cod-end of towed nets (i.e. trawl nets; boat seines and shore seines). The main objective of setting a minimum mesh size for towed gears was to avoid further increase in mortality rates of juveniles .

Article 9.3 stipulates in its sub-paragraph (3) that the Commission will submit by 30 June 2012 a report on the implementation of this provision to the European Parliament and the Council. This is the aim of this report.

Commission’s working basis : Article 9.3(3) specifies that the Commission should take into account information delivered by Member States before 31 December 2011. As no information was received by the Commission by that date, at the beginning of 2012 the Commission services asked all Mediterranean Member States to provide data on the degree of implementation of the minimum mesh size requirements, the cost incurred by operators and the possible impact on selectivity. Replies were received from Cyprus, France, Spain, Italy, Malta and Slovenia, and were used in the report. The Commission also used the information collected and observations made during verification missions carried out by Commission officials from July 2010 to April 2012.

Interpretation problems : inspections carried out by the Commission and contacts with national administrations revealed that Member States did not correctly interpret Article 9.3, in particular regarding the allowable mesh size in the parts of the net outside the cod-end . In order to ensure coherent and correct application of the Article, the Commission has provided the Member States with detailed guidance.

Information provided by Member States : Member States were requested to provide information on the way Article 9.3 was implemented. The Commission analysed the information provided by Member States, which gives an overview of the various aspects of implementation. This analysis excludes Greece who had not provided the information requested at the time of the drafting of this report.

Vessels overwhelmingly use a diamond shaped mesh. Only 95 out of 2 525 use a square mesh, while 2 430 use a diamond one. According to Article 9.3 the use of diamond meshes at the cod-end has to be duly justified by ship-owners. The Commission therefore sought to know what justifications ship-owners presented in this respect. The reason for the use of diamond meshes is that they come at a lower cost as they are more widely available on local markets.

The report states that most Member States declared that the changes in the nets had been completed by 31 May 2010, which was the end of the transitional period for compliance. The minimum mesh size is not always applied in the same way in the Mediterranean area and A rticle 9.3 cannot therefore be considered as fully implemented yet .

Impact on selectivity : the Commission asked Member States to provide information on catch composition by size and species before and after the replacement of the nets. Data on catch composition were provided by three Member States and data on size by two only. They indicate that the change of the nets affected the species composition to a small extent, but had a clearer impact on sizes, which increased over 10% after the change of the nets . This means that catch of juveniles has to some extent decreased, which is already a good indicator that the increase in mesh size can be efficient.

Inspections on the mesh sizes : the Commission carried out verification missions under Title X of the Control Regulation to check, inter alia , how Article 9.3 was being enforced by Member States. These verifications found in many instances that gear was not in conformity with minimum mesh requirements, even after the transitional period had expired on 31 May 2010. Although some progress could be seen in some Member States in 2011, many trawler nets with illegal mesh sizes could still be observed. This clearly indicates that, in order to properly enforce the minimum mesh size, Member States will have to strengthen their control efforts and/or apply stricter sanctions .

A further shortcoming in the controls carried out by Member States was the frequent absence of appropriate mesh measuring instruments. Since June 2008, in line with Council Regulation 517/2008, the determination of mesh size has to be performed with specific EC-gauges, for which this regulation sets the exact specifications. If the measurement is made with other types of instruments, it is not considered to be legal. Thus, even in the case where a mesh size is obviously less than the minimum allowed, no sanctions can be applied if the infringement is not established with the correct instruments.

In conclusion, there are still significant shortcomings in the implementation and enforcement of the minimum mesh size in towed nets in Member States. One of the reasons for the delay in implementation involves the problem of interpretation Member States had with the provisions of Article 9.3. These provisions have been clarified by the Commission and should now be understood and applied in the same way by all Member States.

In order to enforce minimum mesh size, the Commission expects Member States to apply more rigorous and targeted control, using the appropriate measuring instruments, and make sure sanctions are sufficiently deterrent.

In view of the explanations provided, the Commission has asked all Member States to take urgent measures to ensure full and correct application of these provisions and to closely monitor the state of play to ensure that full implementation is reached. Where appropriate, the Commission will not hesitate to make use of the means available to it under the Treaty to ensure compliance with the concerned provisions.

PURPOSE: to establish sustainable fisheries in the Mediterranean Sea region by improving the exploitation of aquatic living resources, and protecting sensitive habitats.

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Council Regulation 1967/2006/EC concerning management measures for the sustainable exploitation of fishery resources in the Mediterranean Sea, amending Regulation 847/93/EC and repealing Regulation 1626/94/EC.

CONTENT: the Council adopted by qualified majority this regulation concerning management measures for the sustainable exploitation of fishery resources in the Mediterranean Sea. The French delegation abstained.

The Regulation is aimed at establishing sustainable fisheries in the region by improving the exploitation of aquatic living resources, and protecting sensitive habitats whilst taking into account the specific nature of the small-scale Mediterranean coastal fisheries.

The main features of the Regulation are:

- the introduction of 40mm square mesh of bottom trawls and, under certain circumstances,

diamond meshed net of 50 mm by 1 July 2008 at the latest;

- the general rule still involves a ban on the use of trawl nets within 1.5 nautical miles. However, trawling activities within the coastal bands (between 0.7 and 1.5 nautical miles) could be authorised under certain conditions (article 12);

- purse seines may be temporarily used until 31 December 2007 at a distance from the coast of less than 300 metres or at a depth less than the 50 metres isobath, but not less than 30 metres isobath.

The Regulation also:

- introduces new technical measures to improve the selectivity of the current 40 mm mesh size for towed nets;

- strengthens the current ban on the use of towed gear in coastal areas;

- limits the overall sizes of certain fishing gear that affects fishing effort;

- introduces a procedure for establishing temporary or permanent closures of areas to specific fishing methods, either in Community or international waters;

- provides for the adoption of management plans combining the use of effort management with technical measures;

- allows EU Member States to regulate, in their territorial waters and under certain conditions, fishing activities that do not have any significant Community dimension or environmental impact, including certain local fisheries currently authorised under Community law.

It is recalled that discussions in the Council on this matter lasted nearly three years until it reached political agreement on the new management measures.

ENTRY INTO FORCE : 29/01/2007.

The European Parliament adopted a resolution drafted by Carmen FRAGA ESTEVEZ (PPE-ED, ES), which introduces a number of "fishermen-friendly" changes to the Commission proposal. These changes are part of a compromise agreement reached by the rapporteur and the Commission. (Please see the summary of 12/04/2005.)

In addition, certain deadlines were amended by Parliament:

- the Council will designate, before 31 December 2005 (rather than 2004), protected areas occurring, in particular, totally or partially beyond the territorial seas of Member States, including the types of fishing activities banned or authorised in such areas;

- Member States shall designate, before 31 December 2005 (rather than 2004), further protected areas within their territorial waters in which fishing activities may be banned or restricted;

Finally, there were several technical changes in the Annex, inter alia, dealing with the length of longline hooks for certain species, and the breadth of dredges.

The European Parliament adopted a resolution drafted by Carmen FRAGA ESTEVEZ (PPE-ED, ES), which introduces a number of "fishermen-friendly" changes to the Commission proposal. These changes are part of a compromise agreement reached by the rapporteur and the Commission. (Please see the summary of 12/04/2005.)

In addition, certain deadlines were amended by Parliament:

- the Council will designate, before 31 December 2005 (rather than 2004), protected areas occurring, in particular, totally or partially beyond the territorial seas of Member States, including the types of fishing activities banned or authorised in such areas;

- Member States shall designate, before 31 December 2005 (rather than 2004), further protected areas within their territorial waters in which fishing activities may be banned or restricted;

Finally, there were several technical changes in the Annex, inter alia, dealing with the length of longline hooks for certain species, and the breadth of dredges.

The committee adopted the report by Carmen FRAGA ESTEVEZ (EPP-ED, ES) amending the proposal under the consultation procedure. The amendments, which introduce a number of fishermen-friendly changes to the proposal, were part of a compromise agreement reached by the rapporteur and the Commission:

- the minimum mesh-size of towed nets should be 40 mm until 31 December 2006. Afterwards, they should be replaced by a square-meshed net of 40 mm at the cod-end or, at the duly justified request of the ship-owner, by a rhomboid-meshed net of 50 mm. The Commission will be required to report on the implementation of these provisions to Parliament and the Council by 30 June 2010;

- the use of towed nets at depths of over 1000 metres shall be prohibited;

- the minimum sizes below which fishing is not allowed should be reduced for certain species, including sardines, hake, lobster and sole;

- whereas the Commission stipulated that the use of trawl nets and hydraulic dredges should be prohibited within 1.5 nautical miles of the coast in order to protect coral beds and smaller-scale coastal fishing, MEPs said that this distance should be reduced to 0.5 nautical miles for hydraulic dredges precisely because of their local and artisanal nature;

- given the specific characteristics of highly migratory species, the committee said that measures relating to those species should be laid down within regional fisheries organizations (in this case, the GFCM and ICCAT) rather than by the Commission. It therefore deleted Articles 22 and 23. In this way, such measures will be binding on both EU Member States and the remaining coastal states, thereby avoiding discrimination among fishermen. However, to avoid a lengthy absence of technical measures for the protection of juvenile swordfish in case there is no agreement within the two relevant fishery organisations, the Council should adopt a proposal from the Commission on this subject before 31 March 2006;

- longlining should be regulated on the basis of the number of hooks rather than the length of the gear. On board there should be no more than 2,000 hooks for vessels catching blue fin tuna, 3,500 hooks for vessels catching swordfish and 5,000 hooks for those catching albacore.