Regulation (EU) 2023/2053 establishing a multiannual management plan for bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean

What it is

establish a multiannual management plan for bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea in accordance with a recommendation of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas ("ICCAT"). PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council. ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council. BACKGROUND: the Union has been a contracting party to the International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas since 14 November 1997. The Convention provides a framework for regional cooperation in the conservation and management of tunas and tuna-like species in the Atlantic Ocean and adjoining seas through the establishment of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). The Committee on Fisheries adopted the report by Giuseppe FERRANDINO (S&D, IT) on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a multiannual management plan for bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean, amending Regulations (EC) No 1936/2001, (EU) 2017/2107, and (EU) 2019/833 and repealing Regulation (EU) 2016/1627. The aim of the proposal is to transpose into EU law Recommendation 18-02 of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) establishing a multiannual management plan for bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea. This recommendation was adopted at ICCAT’s 21st special meeting, which was held in Dubrovnik from 12 to 19 November 2018. The transposition covers all control measures that concern the catch and farming of bluefin tuna in EU waters and/or by EU vessels in the Convention Area. The committee recommended that the European Parliament’s position adopted at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure should amend the Commission proposal as follows: Members proposed specific amendments to bring the proposal more in line with the ICCAT recommendation with regard to the following provisions: - sport fishery, which shall be included in the proposal, and its definition; - the definition of ‘caging’; it is also suggested to change the terminology of the caging declaration and caging report; - the possibility to provide for derogations as regards fishing seasons for the eastern Mediterranean and the Adriatic; - as regards the transmission of VMS data, the possibility of providing for an exception for operations where there is a system of hailing in and out of port; - the fixing of a limit of the percentage of the quota that may be allocated for farming purposes in the Adriatic Sea (Annex I); - the possibility of providing for a timeframe for the provision of reports between the Member States authorities (Annex XI). At its 26th ordinary meeting, held in Palma de Mallorca in November 2019, ICCAT adopted recommendation 19-04, which makes minor modifications to recommendation 18-02. Members proposed amendments to further align the text with ICCAT recommendation 19-04. These amendments concern, inter alia : - the definition of a stereoscopic camera,…

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