Scope of weighing procedures for catches of herring, mackerel and horse mackerel
The rules set out in this Section shall apply to the weighing of catches landed in the European Union or by EU fishing vessels in third countries, of herring ( Clupea harengus ), mackerel (Scomber scombrus) and horse mackerel ( Trachurus spp.) or a combination thereof, taken in:
(a)
for herring in ICES zones: I, II, IIIa, IV, Vb, VI and VII;
(b)
for mackerel in ICES zones: IIa, IIIa, IV, Vb, VI, VII, VIII, IX, XII, XIV and EU waters of CECAF;
(c)
for horse mackerel: ICES zones IIa, IV, Vb, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XII, XIV and EU waters of CECAF,
when the quantities per landing exceed 10 tonnes.
Ports of weighing catches of herring, mackerel and horse mackerel
1. Catches of species referred to in Article 78 of this Regulation shall be weighed immediately on landing. However, catches of these species may be weighed after transport where:
—
for a destination within a Member State the Member State concerned has adopted a control plan as referred to in Article 61(1) of the Control Regulation in accordance with the risk-based methodology described in Annex XXI,
—
for a destination in another Member State the Member States concerned have adopted a common control programme as referred to in Article 61(2) of the Control Regulation in accordance with the risk-based methodology described in Annex XXII,
and where this control plan or common control programme has been approved by the Commission
2. Each Member State concerned shall establish at which of its ports the weighing of species referred to in Article 78 of this Regulation shall be carried out and shall ensure that all landings of such species are carried out in those ports. Such ports shall have:
(a)
established landing and transhipment times;
(b)
established landing and transhipment places;
(c)
established inspection and surveillance procedures.
3. The Member States concerned shall communicate to the Commission the list of such ports and the inspection and surveillance procedures applicable in those ports, including the terms and conditions for recording and transmitting the quantities of any such species within each landing.
4. Any changes to the lists of ports and to the inspection and surveillance procedures referred to in paragraph 3 shall be transmitted to the Commission, at least 15 days before they enter into force.
5. Member States shall ensure that all landings of species referred to in Article 78 of this Regulation by their vessels outside the European Union are carried out in ports expressly chosen for the purpose of weighing by third countries which have concluded agreements with the European Union concerning such species.
6. The Commission shall transmit the information referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4 as well as the list of ports chosen by third countries to all Member States concerned.
7. The Commission and the Member States concerned shall publish the list of ports and changes thereto on their official websites.
Entry into a port of a Member State
1. For the purpose of weighing, the master of a fishing vessel or his representative shall inform the competent authorities of the Member State in which the landing is to be made, at least 4 hours in advance of entry to port of landing concerned of the following:
(a)
the port he intends to enter, the name of the vessel and its external registration letters and numbers;
(b)
the estimated time of arrival at that port;
(c)
the quantities in kilograms live weight of herring, mackerel and horse mackerel retained on board;
(d)
relevance geographical area(s) where the catch was taken; the zone shall refer to the sub-area and division or sub-division in which catch limits apply pursuant to Union law.
2. The master of an EU fishing vessel which is under the obligation to record fishing logbook data electronically shall send the information referred to in paragraph 1 electronically to his flag Member State. The Member States shall transmit this information without delay to the Member State where the landing is to be made. The electronic fishing logbook data referred to in Article 15 of the Control Regulation and the information referred to in paragraph 1 may be sent in a single electronic transmission.
3. Member States may provide for a shorter notification period than laid down in paragraph 1. In such a case the Member States concerned shall inform the Commission 15 days before the entry into force of the shorter notification period. The Commission and the Member States concerned shall put this information on their websites.
Discharge
The competent authorities of the Member State concerned shall require that the discharge of any catches referred to in Article 78 of this Regulation does not commence until it is expressly authorised. If the discharge is interrupted, permission shall be required before the discharge can recommence.
Fishing logbook
1. Immediately upon arrival in port and before the discharge commences, the master of a fishing vessel which is not under the obligation to record fishing logbook data electronically shall present the completed relevant page or pages of the fishing logbook for inspection by the competent authority of the Member State at the port of landing.
2. The quantities of herring, mackerel and horse mackerel retained on board, notified prior to landing as referred to in Article 80(1)(c) of this Regulation, shall be equal to the quantities recorded in the fishing logbook after its completion.
Publicly operated weighing facilities for fresh herring, mackerel and horse mackerel
Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 72 of this Regulation, where publicly operated weighing facilities are used, the natural or legal persons weighing catches referred to in Article 78 of this Regulation shall issue to the buyer a weighing slip indicating the date and time of the weighing and the identity number of the tanker. A copy of the weighing slip shall be attached to the sales note or takeover declaration.
Privately operated weighing facilities for fresh fish
1. In addition to the provisions of Article 72 of this Regulation, the use of privately operated weighing facilities shall also be subject to the requirements of this Article.
2. The natural or legal persons weighing any catches referred to in Article 78 of this Regulation shall for each weighing system keep a bound, paginated record. This shall be completed immediately after the completion of weighing of an individual landing, and at the latest by 23.59 local time of the day of completion of weighing. This record shall indicate:
(a)
the name and external registration letters and numbers of the vessel from which any catches referred to in Article 78 of this Regulation have been landed;
(b)
the unique identity number of the tankers and its load in cases where any catches referred to in Article 78 of this Regulation have been transported from the port of landing before weighing in accordance with Article 79 of this Regulation. Each tanker load shall be weighed and recorded separately. However the total weight of all the tanker loads from the same vessel may be recorded as a whole in case these tanker loads are weighed consecutively and without interruption;
(c)
the species of fish;
(d)
the weight of each landing;
(e)
the date and time of the beginning and end of the weighing.
3. Without prejudice to Article 72(3) of this Regulation, where the weighing is carried out on a conveyor belt system all use of the system shall be recorded in the bound, paginated record of weighing.
Weighing of frozen fish
When landed quantities of frozen herring, mackerel and horse mackerel are weighed, the weight of frozen fish landed in boxes shall be determined per species in accordance with Article 73 of this Regulation.
Keeping of weighing records
All records of weighing provided for in Article 84(3) and Article 85 of this Regulation and the copies of any transport documents as part of a control plan or a common control programme referred to in Article 79(1) of this Regulation shall be kept for 6 years.
Sales note and takeover declaration
The natural or legal persons responsible for the submission of sales notes and takeover declarations shall submit such declarations in respect of species referred to in Article 78 of this Regulation to the competent authorities of the Member State concerned on demand.
Cross-checks
Until the establishment of a computerised database in accordance with Article 109 of the Control Regulation the competent authorities shall carry out administrative cross-checks on all landings between the following:
(a)
quantities by species of herring, mackerel and horse mackerel indicated in the prior notification of landing, as referred to in Article 80(1)(c) of this Regulation, and the quantities recorded in the fishing logbook;
(b)
quantities by species of herring, mackerel and horse mackerel recorded in the fishing logbook and the quantities recorded in the landing declaration;
(c)
quantities by species of herring, mackerel and horse mackerel recorded on the landing declaration and the quantities recorded in the takeover declaration or the sales note;
(d)
catch area recorded in the vessel’s fishing logbook and the VMS data for the vessel concerned.
Monitoring of weighing
1. The weighing of catches of herring, mackerel and horse mackerel from the vessel shall be monitored by species. In the case of vessels pumping catch ashore the weighing of the entire discharge shall be monitored. In the case of landings of frozen herring, mackerel and horse mackerel, all boxes shall be counted and the methodology for calculating the average net weight of boxes provided for in Annex XVIII shall be monitored.
2. The following data shall be cross-checked in addition to those referred to in Article 88 of this Regulation:
(a)
quantities by species of herring, mackerel and horse mackerel recorded in the records of weighing at public or private facilities and the quantities by species recorded in the takeover declaration or the sales note;
(b)
quantities by species of herring, mackerel and horse mackerel recorded in any transport documents as part of a control plan or a common control programme referred to in Article 79(1) of this Regulation;
(c)
unique identity numbers of tankers entered into the record in accordance with Article 84(2)(b) of this Regulation.
3. It shall be verified that the vessel is empty of all fish, once the discharge has been completed.
4. All monitoring activities covered by this Article and Article 107 of this Regulation shall be documented. Such documentation shall be kept for 6 years.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
