Each Member State shall designate the competent national authorities which shall be responsible for:
(a)
setting up the system for the attribution of points for serious infringements, as referred to in Article 92(1) of the Control Regulation;
(b)
assigning the appropriate numbers of points to the holder of a fishing licence;
(c)
transferring assigned points to any future holder of a fishing licence for the fishing vessel concerned where the latter is sold, transferred or otherwise changes ownership; and
(d)
keeping relevant records of the points assigned or transferred to the holder for each fishing licence.
1. The number of points for serious infringements shall be assigned in accordance with Annex XXX to the holder of the fishing licence for the fishing vessel concerned by the competent authority of the flag Member State.
2. When two or more serious infringements by the same natural or legal person holding the licence are detected in the course of one inspection, points in respect of each serious infringement concerned shall be assigned to the holder of the fishing licence referred to in paragraph 1 up to a maximum of 12 points.
3. The holder of the fishing licence shall be informed that points have been assigned to him.
4. The points are assigned to the holder of the licence on the date set in the decision assigning them. Member States shall ensure that the application of national rules concerning the suspensory effects of review proceedings do not render the point system ineffective.
5. Where the serious infringement is detected in a Member State other than the flag Member State, the points shall be assigned by the competent authorities of the flag Member State referred to in Article 125 of this Regulation upon notification pursuant to Article 89(4) of the Control Regulation.
If the authority designated in accordance with Article 125 of this Regulation is not the same as the single authority referred to in Article 5(5) of the Control Regulation, the latter shall be informed of any decision taken pursuant to this Title.
When the fishing vessel is offered for sale or for other type of transfer of ownership, the holder of the fishing licence shall inform any potential future licence holder of the number of points which are still assigned to him by means of a certified copy obtained from the competent authorities.
Suspension and permanent withdrawal of a fishing licence
1. The accumulation of 18, 36, 54, 72 points by the holder of a fishing licence shall automatically trigger the first, second, third and fourth suspension of the fishing licence respectively for the relevant periods referred to in Article 92(3) of the Control Regulation.
2. The accumulation of 90 points by the holder of a fishing licence shall trigger automatically the permanent withdrawal of the fishing licence.
Follow-up of suspension and permanent withdrawal of fishing licence
1. If a fishing licence is suspended or permanently withdrawn in accordance with Article 129 of this Regulation, the competent authority of the flag Member State shall inform the holder of the fishing licence immediately of this suspension or permanent withdrawal.
2. Upon receiving the information referred to in paragraph 1 the holder of the fishing licence shall ensure that the fishing activity of the vessel concerned ceases immediately. He shall ensure that it proceeds immediately to its home port or a port indicated by the competent authorities of the flag Member State. During the voyage the fishing gear shall be lashed and stowed in accordance with Article 47 of the Control Regulation. The holder of the fishing licence shall ensure that any catch on board the fishing vessel is dealt with in accordance with the instructions of the competent authorities of the flag Member State.
1. If the fishing licence is suspended or withdrawn permanently in accordance with Article 129(1) or (2) of this Regulation, the fishing vessel to which the suspended or permanently withdrawn fishing licence relates shall be identified as being without fishing licence in the national register referred to in Article 15(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002. This fishing vessel shall also be identified in this way in the EU fishing fleet register referred to in Article 15(3) of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002.
2. The permanent withdrawal of a fishing licence in accordance with Article 129(2) of this Regulation shall not affect the reference levels of the Member State issuing the licence as referred to in Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002.
3. The competent authorities of Member States shall immediately update the list referred to in Article 116(1)(d) of the Control Regulation with an indication of all points assigned and resulting suspensions and permanent withdrawals of fishing licences, including the date on which they became applicable and their duration.
Illegal fishing during the suspension period or after the permanent withdrawal of a fishing licence
1. If a fishing vessel, the fishing licence of which is suspended or has been permanently withdrawn in accordance with Article 129 of this Regulation, carries out fishing activities during the suspension period or after the permanent withdrawal of the fishing licence, the competent authorities shall take immediate enforcement measures in accordance with Article 91 of the Control Regulation.
2. The fishing vessel referred to in paragraph 1 may, where appropriate, be included the EU IUU vessel list in accordance with Article 27 of Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008.
1. If a fishing licence has been suspended in accordance with Article 129 of this Regulation, the points on the basis of which the fishing licence has been suspended shall not be deleted. Any new points assigned to the holder of the fishing licence shall be added to existing points for the purpose of Article 129 of this Regulation.
2. For the application of Article 92(3) of the Control Regulation, if points have been deleted in accordance with Article 92(4) of the Control Regulation the holder of fishing licence shall be considered as if his fishing licence had not been suspended in accordance with Article 129 of this Regulation.
3. Two points shall be deleted provided that the total amount of points assigned to the holder of the fishing licence for the fishing vessel concerned exceeds two, if:
(a)
the fishing vessel which has been used in committing the infringement for which points were assigned uses thereafter VMS or records and transmits thereafter fishing logbook, transhipment and landing declaration data electronically without being legally subject to these technologies; or
(b)
the holder of the fishing licence volunteers after the assignation of points to take part in a scientific campaign for the improvement of the selectivity of the fishing gear; or
(c)
the holder of the fishing licence is a member of a producer organisation and the holder of the fishing licence accepts a fishing plan adopted by the producer organisation in the year following the assignation of the points involving a reduction of 10 % of the fishing opportunities for the holder of the fishing licence; or
(d)
the holder of the fishing licence joins a fishery covered by an eco-labelling scheme that is designed to certify and promote labels for products from well-managed marine capture fisheries and focus on issues related to the sustainable use of fisheries resources.
For each 3-year period since the date of the last serious infringement, the holder of a fishing licence can avail himself of one of the options under (a), (b), (c) or (d), to reduce the amount of points assigned only once, and provided that such reduction does not lead to the deletion of all points on the fishing licence.
4. If the points were deleted in accordance with paragraph 3 the holder of the fishing licence shall be informed of that deletion. The holder of the fishing licence shall also be informed of the number of points that still remain.
Member States shall inform the Commission 6 months after the date of application of this Title of their national point systems for masters as referred to in Article 92(6) of the Control Regulation.
