The European Commission adopted a proposal on Monday 3 July updating the 2017 regulation on total allowable catches (TACs).
On Wednesday 5 July, the Commission will adopt its proposals on TACs and quotas for 2018. On Monday, it adopted a technical proposal amending the 2017 TACs.
Sea bass. It is currently forbidden to catch sea bass, except for a small number of fishing vessels equipped with specific gear which have a derogation. Since the derogation allowing catches of sea bass with certain gear categories is linked to the historic record of catches with this equipment, it should be clarified that the entitlement to the derogation is maintained when fishing vessels are replaced, while ensuring that the number of vessels covered by the derogation and their overall fishing capacity do not increase.
Swordfish. Provisions on swordfish fishing should be incorporated into EU law. Agreement was reached among the parties on allocation of the quota for 2017. The EU’s share was set at 70.756% of the total TAC, amounting to 7,410.48 tonnes in 2017. The proposal also covers: - an update of certain sand eel quotas; - setting the EU’s share of Northern prawn in Skagerrak at 3,856 tonnes; - sprat catches in the North Sea (170,387 tonnes from 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)