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REPORT (COM(2022)0171 – C90151/2022 – 2022/0111(COD))

On the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2017/2107 laying down management, conservation and control measures applicable in the Convention area of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) and Regulation (EU) .../2022 establishing a multiannual management plan for bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean

A-9-2023-0301

Committee on Fisheries · Rapporteur: Clara Aguilera

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Parliament's amended version of a Commission proposal to update EU rules implementing International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) measures. It amends Regulation (EU) 2017/2107 on management, conservation and control in the ICCAT Convention area and Regulation (EU) 2023/2053 on the bluefin tuna management plan. It adds rules on tropical tunas, albacore, marlins, shortfin mako sharks, sea turtle by-catch, illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and observer duties, and on bluefin tuna quota transfers, caging, farming records, harvesting and control. It sets catch limits, reporting deadlines, tracking-device rules, cage marking and caging authorisation procedures, and adds new annexes with minimum standards and templates.

Committee position. The Committee on Fisheries proposes to adopt Parliament's first-reading position amending the Commission proposal, adding updated ICCAT recommendations from 2019 to 2022 and deleting provisions already covered by the April 2023 agreement on the bluefin tuna regulation.

Key points

  1. Updates recitals to cover ICCAT measures adopted at the 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022 annual meetings and to refer to Regulation (EU) 2023/2053.
  2. Adds definitions of fish-aggregating device (FAD), floating object, shallow-set longlines and circle hook.
  3. Requires member states to adopt annual capacity/fishing plans and to report tropical tuna catches every three months, by 15 April, 15 July, 15 October and 15 January.
  4. Bans marketing of Mediterranean albacore caught in recreational fisheries and limits recreational fishers to three specimens per vessel per day.
  5. Bans discarding tropical tuna by purse seiners once the net is closed and more than half retrieved, and caps active FADs at 300 per vessel.
  6. Requires FADs to be non-entangling and, where possible, made of biodegradable materials, and bans deploying drifting FADs 15 days before closure periods.
  7. Requires prompt release of live marlins and North Atlantic shortfin mako sharks, and sets safe handling and release standards for both North and South Atlantic shortfin mako.
  8. Requires shallow-set longline vessels to use large circle hooks, finfish bait or approved measures, and requires measures to reduce sea turtle interactions.
  9. Requires tracking devices to transmit position data at least hourly for purse seiners and every two hours for other vessels, and to be repaired or replaced within one month.
  10. Bans IUU-listed vessels from landing, transhipping, re-fuelling, re-supplying or engaging in other commercial transactions.
  11. Sets bluefin tuna rules: no automatic quota carry-over, transfers of up to 5% between years, a ban on retaining bluefin tuna on support vessels, and reporting and caging requirements.
  12. Sets caging, harvesting and control rules, including cage numbering, caging authorisations, video monitoring, sealing of cages and a 10% margin of error triggering investigation.

Who is affected

  • EU fishing vessels and their masters and crews in the ICCAT Convention area, who must follow catch, release, gear and reporting rules.
  • Member States, which must adopt plans, report data, ensure tracking and control, and enforce rules.
  • Bluefin tuna farms and traps, which must obtain authorisations, mark cages, record operations and allow observers and video monitoring.
  • Recreational fishers, who face limits on Mediterranean albacore and bluefin tuna and a marketing ban.
  • The Commission, which receives reports and forwards information to the ICCAT Secretariat.

Figures and deadlines

  • Three Mediterranean albacore specimens per vessel per day for recreational fisheries.
  • 15 days before activities: deadline for member states to provide the list of authorised recreational fishery vessels.
  • 300 FADs per vessel with operational buoys active at the same time.
  • 15 days prior to closure periods: ban on deploying drifting FADs.
  • At least once every hour for purse seiners and at least once every two hours for other vessels: tracking data transmission.
  • One month: deadline to repair or replace a faulty tracking device.
  • Maximum 5% of annual quota may be transferred from one year to the following year.
  • 10% difference in fish numbers triggers investigation and possible quota deduction.

Legal basis: Article 294(2) and Article 43(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.