Activites

• 2008/12/20 Final act published in Official Journal
  • Regulation 2008/1300
  • OJ L 344 20.12.2008, p. 0006
• #2917
• 2008/12/18 Council Meeting
• 2008/12/18 End of procedure in Parliament
• 2008/12/18 Act adopted by Council after consultation of Parliament
• 2008/12/04 Results of vote in Parliament
  • Results of vote in Parliament
  • T6-0573/2008 summary

    The European Parliament adopted, by 529 votes to 49 with 9 abstentions, a legislative resolution amending the proposal for a Council regulation establishing a multi-annual plan for the stock of herring distributed to the West of Scotland and the fisheries exploiting that stock. The report had been tabled for consideration in plenary by Struan STEVENSON (EPP-ED, UK) on behalf of the Committee on Fisheries.The main amendments – adopted in the framework of the consultation procedure – are as follows:- Members want to provide for a strict recovery plan based on advice from ICES and STECF in the event that the spawning stock should fall below 50 000 tonnes, rather than the closure of the fishery, as the Commission had proposed. They state that, when the spawning of biomass of the stock will be less than 50 000 tonnes in the year for which the TAC is to be fixed, the TAC shall be subject to a strict recovery plan based on advice from ICES and STECF. The Commission had provided that, under these circumstances, the TAC shall be set to 0 tonnes;- there should be a maximum variation in TAC of 15% per year in any given year when the spawning stock is above 75 000 tonnes and within a maximum variation in TAC of 20% in any given year when the spawning stock is below 75 000 tonnes but above 50 000 tonnes. The Commission had provided for a maximum variation in TAC of 15% per year when the spawning stock is above 75 000 tonnes.- when the spawning biomass of the stock will be less than 75 000 tonnes but greater than 50 000 tonnes in the year for which the TAC is to be fixed, the TAC shall be set at a level which will result in a fishing mortality rate of 0.2 per year. However, Parliament provided that the TAC shall not deviate from the preceding year's TAC by more than 20% in any given year. If appropriate, that level shall be adjusted in accordance with comitology provisions;- a new clause provides that, in any year when ICES and STECF are unable to provide estimates of spawning stock size or fishing mortalities, the TAC should remain unchanged from the previous year. However, in the second and each subsequent year during which no scientific forecast is available, the TAC should be reduced by 10% compared with the previous year;- the proposal provides that when the spawning biomass of the stock will be less than 75 000 tonnes but greater than 50 000 tonnes in the year for which the TAC is to be fixed, the TAC shall be set at a level which will result in a fishing mortality rate of 0,2 per year. Members said that where this would result in a TAC level that exceeds the TAC for the preceding year by more than 20%, the Council shall adopt a TAC level which is only 20% greater than the TAC of that year;- Parliament agreed that vessels with the Single Area Licence should not be permitted to fish outside the area of the West of Scotland during the same fishing trip, but large pelagic vessels, such as those used for fishing herring in the area West of Scotland, are able to transmit information on catch statistics electronically and without the need to return to port. Ensuring that vessels transmit the relevant catch report to the Fisheries Monitoring Centre before they leave the area West of Scotland prevents the misreporting of catch statistics;- revision of minimum fishing mortality rates and associated spawning stock biomass levels are essential elements of the plan and shall be adopted under the normal current legislative procedure, following consultation of the European Parliament. The proposal had provided for a plan to be adopted by Council by qualified majority;- the Commission shall consider a second and independent recruitment index for West of Scotland herring stocks. Where the advice indicates that the targets are not being met, the Council shall decide, in accordance with the consultation procedure, on either or both additional and alternative measures to ensure that the targets are met;- if appropriate the Council shall decide, in accordance with the consultation procedure (rather than by qualified majority, on appropriate adaptations to the multi-annual plan.- lastly, for the purpose of Article 21(a)(i) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006 on the European Fisheries Fund, measures for the implementation of Article 3(2)(c) of this Regulation shall be deemed to be a recovery plan within the meaning of Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002.

• 2008/11/10 Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading
  • A6-0433/2008
• 2008/11/05 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
• 2008/06/04 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
• 2008/05/06 Legislative proposal published
  • COM(2008)0240 summary

    PURPOSE: establishing a multi-annual plan for the stock of herring distributed to the West of Scotland and the fisheries exploiting that stock.PROPOSED ACT: Council Regulation.CONTENT: recent scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) and the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) indicates that the stock of herring (Clupea harengus) in the seas to the West of Scotland is slightly overexploited with respect to maximum sustainable yield. Advice from scientific agencies, supported by advice from stakeholders, indicates that better management would result from setting total allowable catches in the framework of a multi-annual plan.The Commission therefore proposes the creation of a multi-annual plan with the objective of ensuring that the stock will be exploited on the basis of maximum sustainable yield and under sustainable economic, environmental and social conditions.This objective will be attained by:maintaining the fishing mortality rate at 0.25 per year on appropriate age-groups when the spawning stock is above 75 000 tonnes;maintaining the fishing mortality rate at no more than 0.2 per year on appropriate age-groups when the spawning stock is below 75 000 tonnes but above 50 000 tonnes;providing for the closure of the fishery in the event that the spawning stock should fall below 50 000 tonnes.To ensure stability in the fishing possibilities, it is appropriate to limit the variation in the TACs from one year to the next when the size of the stock is above 75 000 tonnes.A revision clause is included in the proposal to ensure that the target fishing mortality rates can be amended if appropriate in the light of new scientific information and advice.The multi-annual plan contains provisions for a review every four years to verify the performance and appropriateness of the management arrangements.

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

Documents

• Legislative proposal published: COM(2008)0240
• Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading: A6-0433/2008
• Results of vote in Parliament: Results of vote in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T6-0573/2008
• : Regulation 2008/1300
• : OJ L 344 20.12.2008, p. 0006

History

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