Negotiators from the European Parliament and the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU reached, on Tuesday 30 May, an agreement on the proposal to revise the rules on the monitoring of fishing activities.
Recent debates have focused in particular on the maximum tolerated margins of error between the quantities estimated by fishers in their logbooks and the quantities actually landed (see EUROPE 13189/4).
Margins of tolerance. The negotiators agreed that the margin of tolerance - the difference between the estimate of the fish caught and the result of the weighting in the landing port - will be of 10% per species, as a general rule (as under the current rules). A 20% margin of tolerance will apply to any other species on board that does not exceed 100 kg.
For small pelagic, industrial fishing and tropical tuna, the margin of tolerance will be 10%, calculated on the total quantity registered (and not per species as is the general rule) under strict control conditions (certified ports). Small-scale fishers will have a 20% margin of tolerance, as it is more difficult to estimate the size of small catches. The tolerance margin for by-catch will be 0.5%.
CCTV. EU vessels of 18 metres or more, likely to present a risk of non-compliance, will have to be equipped with remote electronic monitoring (REM) systems, including closed-circuit television (CCTV), to guarantee respect with the so-called landing obligation (prohibition of discharges at sea).
EU countries will have to set up systems to track the position and movements of all EU fishing vessels, including those smaller than 12 metres. However, Member States may exempt small vessels from the VMS (vessel monitoring systems) obligation until 2030 in limited and justified circumstances.
Traceability. Under the compromise reached, information on fresh and frozen fish will be fully accessible, including in digital form. This system of digitalised traceability will also be extended to cover processed fish (following a study by the Commission and a five-year transition phase).
Sanctions. In order to overcome the significant differences between EU countries on the levels of sanctions, MEPs and the EU Council have decided that the value of the fishery products caught by a vessel will define the minimum level of the fine applied in the event of a serious rules violation. If there is repeated infringement, the penalty will be at least twice the average value of the products.
EU countries will be tasked to check recreational fisheries’ compliance and determine appropriate sanctions. They will also have to set up a data collecting system including catches made during non-commercial activities (sporting competitions). Recreational fisheries that sell catches weighing over 10 kg or more than €50 will be considered in serious infringement.
The registration of recreational fishermen and the daily declaration of catches will concern the species subject to: - multi-year stock management plans; - rules on the obligation to land; - fishing opportunities set by the Union for stocks which, according to a scientific assessment, are considered to have a significant impact. This declaration of catches will be made from 2030 onwards.
For stocks subject to specific EU conservation measures for recreational fisheries, daily registration and declaration will take place two years after the entry into force of the Regulation.
In addition, certain large vessels (depending on the certified engine power and the type of net used) will have to be fitted with a device for calculating engine power to ensure that their fishing capacity remains within the limits set by the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The limit for serious infringements will be set at 20% above the tolerated engine power, according to the compromise.
In general, the new rules on controls in this text will apply two to four years after the adoption of the regulation. This will give the EU authorities and professionals sufficient time to adapt to the new requirements.
The text of the agreement must be formally adopted by the Parliament and the EU Council. It is scheduled be put to a vote at one of the next meetings of the European Parliament’s Committee on Fisheries. The European Commission had proposed a review of the fisheries control system on 30 May 2018. It took 12 trilogues and two years of tough negotiations to reach a compromise.
Satisfaction. The European Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius, said: “By revising and updating the fisheries control system, we ensure a more effective control over the use of our valuable marine resources and a better enforcement of the rules in the future". He welcomed the increased use of digital technologies.
For the rapporteur, Clara Aguilera (S&D, Spanish), the outcome of the talks will put the EU “in the lead” of control fisheries, thanks also to the “full traceability” of fishery products. For the first time, recreational fishing is included in the scope of the regulation, she noted.
The NGOs are also said to be satisfied with the compromise reached by the EU institutions.
Link to the NGOs' position : https://aeur.eu/f/74s (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)