Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1970 of 27 October 2017 fixing for 2018 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks applicable in the Baltic Sea and amending Regulation (EU) 2017/127

Subject matter

Article 1

This Regulation fixes the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks in the Baltic Sea for 2018.

Scope

Article 2

1.   This Regulation shall apply to Union fishing vessels operating in the Baltic Sea. 2.   This Regulation shall also apply to recreational fisheries where they are expressly referred to in the relevant provisions.

Definitions

Article 3

For the purposes of this Regulation, the definitions referred to in Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 apply. In addition, the following definitions apply: (1) ‘subdivision’ means an ICES subdivision of the Baltic Sea as defined in Annex I to Council Regulation (EC) No 2187/2005  ( 6 ) ; (2) ‘total allowable catch’ (TAC) means the quantity of each stock that can be caught over the period of a year; (3) ‘quota’ means a proportion of the TAC allocated to the Union, a Member State or a third country; (4) ‘recreational fisheries’ means non-commercial fishing activities exploiting marine biological resources such as for recreation, tourism or sport.

TACs and allocations

Article 4

The TACs, the quotas and the conditions functionally linked thereto, where appropriate, are set out in the Annex.

Special provisions on allocations of fishing opportunities

Article 5

The allocation of fishing opportunities among Member States, as set out in this Regulation, shall be without prejudice to: (a) exchanges made pursuant to Article 16(8) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013; (b) deductions and reallocations made pursuant to Article 37 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009; (c) additional landings allowed under Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 or under Article 15(9) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013; (d) quantities withheld in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 or transferred under Article 15(9) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013; (e) deductions made pursuant to Articles 105 and 107 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009.

Conditions for landing of catches and by-catches

Article 6

1.   Catches of species which are subject to catch limits and which have been caught in fisheries specified in Article 15(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 are subject to the landing obligation, as established in that Article. 2.   The stocks of non-target species within the safe biological limits referred to in Article 15(8) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 are identified in the Annex to this Regulation for the purpose of the derogation from the obligation to count catches against the relevant quota provided for in that Article.

Measures on recreational fisheries for cod in subdivisions 22-24

Article 7

1.   In recreational fisheries, no more than five specimens of cod may be retained per fisherman per day in subdivisions 22-24. 2.   By way of derogation from paragraph 1, no more than three specimens of cod may be retained per fisherman per day in subdivisions 22-24 in the period from 1 February 2018 to 31 March 2018. 3.   Paragraphs 1 and 2 are without prejudice to more stringent national measures.

Data transmission

Article 8

When, pursuant to Articles 33 and 34 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009, Member States send data relating to quantities of stocks caught or landed to the Commission, they shall use the stock codes set out in the Annex to this Regulation.

Flexibility

Article 9

1.   Except where specified otherwise in the Annex to this Regulation, Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 shall apply to stocks subject to precautionary TACs and Article 3(2) and (3) and Article 4 of that Regulation shall apply to stocks subject to an analytical TAC. 2.   Article 3(2) and (3) and Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 shall not apply where a Member State uses the year-to-year flexibility provided for in Article 15(9) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013.

Amendment to Regulation (EU) 2017/127

Article 10

In Annex IA to Regulation (EU) 2017/127, the fishing opportunities table for Norway pout and associated by-catches in 3a, and Union waters of 2a and 4 is replaced by the following: ‘Species: Norway pout and associated by-catches Trisopterus esmarkii Zone: 3a; Union waters of 2a and 4 (NOP/2A3A4.) Year 2017 2018     Denmark 141 819  ( 7 )  ( 9 ) 54 949  ( 7 )  ( 12 )     Germany 27  ( 7 )  ( 8 )  ( 9 ) 11  ( 7 )  ( 8 )  ( 12 )     The Netherlands 104  ( 7 )  ( 8 )  ( 9 ) 40  ( 7 )  ( 8 )  ( 12 )     Union 141 950  ( 7 )  ( 9 ) 55 000  ( 7 )  ( 12 )     Norway 25 000  ( 10 )       Faroe Islands 9 300  ( 11 )       TAC 238 981 Not relevant   Analytical TAC Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 shall not apply. Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 shall not apply.

Entry into force

Article 11

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union . It shall apply from 1 January 2018, with the exception of Article 10 which shall apply from 1 November 2017.

ANNEXSupplementary provisions

ANNEX TACs APPLICABLE TO UNION FISHING VESSELS IN AREAS WHERE TACs EXIST BY SPECIES AND BY AREA The following tables set out the TACs and quotas (in tonnes live weight, except where otherwise specified) by stock, and conditions functionally linked thereto. The references to fishing zones are references to ICES zones, unless otherwise specified. The fish stocks are referred to using the alphabetical order of the Latin names of the species. For the purposes of this Regulation, the following comparative table of Latin names and common names is provided: Scientific name Alpha-3 code Common name Clupea harengus HER Herring Gadus morhua COD Cod Pleuronectes platessa PLE Plaice Salmo salar SAL Atlantic salmon Sprattus sprattus SPR Sprat Species: Herring Clupea harengus Zone: Subdivisions 30-31 (HER/30/31.) Finland 69 359     Sweden 15 240     Union 84 599     TAC 84 599   Analytical TAC Species: Herring Clupea harengus Zone: Subdivisions 22-24 (HER/3BC+24) Denmark 2 426     Germany 9 551     Finland 1     Poland 2 252     Sweden 3 079     Union 17 309     TAC 17 309   Analytical TAC Article 3(2) and (3) of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 shall not apply. Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 shall not apply. Species: Herring Clupea harengus Zone: Union waters of Subdivisions 25-27, 28.2, 29 and 32 (HER/3D-R30) Denmark 5 045     Germany 1 338     Estonia 25 767     Finland 50 297     Latvia 6 359     Lithuania 6 696     Poland 57 142     Sweden 76 711     Union 229 355     TAC Not relevant   Analytical TAC Article 6(2) of this Regulation shall apply. Species: Herring Clupea harengus Zone: Subdivision 28.1 (HER/03D.RG) Estonia 13 392     Latvia 15 607     Union 28 999     TAC 28 999   Analytical TAC Article 6(2) of this Regulation shall apply. Species Cod Gadus morhua Zone: Union waters of Subdivisions 25-32 (COD/3DX32.) Denmark 6 521  ( 1 )     Germany 2 594  ( 1 )     Estonia 635  ( 1 )     Finland 499  ( 1 )     Latvia 2 425  ( 1 )     Lithuania 1 597  ( 1 )     Poland 7 510  ( 1 )     Sweden 6 607  ( 1 )     Union 28 388  ( 1 )     TAC Not relevant   Precautionary TAC Article 3(2) and (3) of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 shall not apply. Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 shall not apply. Species: Cod Gadus morhua Zone: Subdivisions 22-24 (COD/3BC+24) Denmark 2 444  ( 2 )     Germany 1 194  ( 2 )     Estonia 54  ( 2 )     Finland 48  ( 2 )     Latvia 202  ( 2 )     Lithuania 131  ( 2 )     Poland 654  ( 2 )     Sweden 870  ( 2 )     Union 5 597  ( 2 )     TAC 5 597  ( 2 )   Analytical TAC Article 3(2) and (3) of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 shall not apply. Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 shall not apply. Species: Plaice Pleuronectes platessa Zone: Union waters of Subdivisions 22-32 (PLE/3BCD-C) Denmark 5 070     Germany 563     Poland 1 061     Sweden 382     Union 7 076     TAC 7 076   Analytical TAC Species: Atlantic salmon Salmo salar Zone: Union waters of Subdivisions 22-31 (SAL/3BCD-F) Denmark 18 885  ( 1 )     Germany 2 101  ( 1 )     Estonia 1 919  ( 1 )     Finland 23 548  ( 1 )     Latvia 12 012  ( 1 )     Lithuania 1 412  ( 1 )     Poland 5 729  ( 1 )     Sweden 25 526  ( 1 )     Union 91 132  ( 1 )     TAC Not relevant   Analytical TAC Article 3(2) and (3) of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 shall not apply. Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 shall not apply. Species: Atlantic salmon Salmo salar Zone: Union waters of Subdivision 32 (SAL/3D32.) Estonia 1 026  ( 2 )     Finland 8 977  ( 2 )     Union 10 003  ( 2 )     TAC Not relevant   Precautionary TAC Species: Sprat Sprattus sprattus Zone: Union waters of Subdivisions 22-32 (SPR/3BCD-C) Denmark 25 875     Germany 16 393     Estonia 30 047     Finland 13 545     Latvia 36 289     Lithuania 13 127     Poland 77 012     Sweden 50 022     Union 262 310     TAC Not relevant   Analytical TAC Article 6(2) of this Regulation shall apply. ( 1 )    ( x ) In subdivisions 25 and 26, fishing vessels shall be prohibited from fishing with trawls, Danish seines or similar gear of a mesh size equal to or larger than 90 mm, with gillnets, entangling nets or trammel nets of a mesh size equal to or larger than 90 mm, with bottom set lines, longlines except drifting lines, handlines and jigging equipment to fish this quota from 1 July to 31 August. By way of derogation from the first paragraph, that closure period shall not apply to fishing vessels of less than 12 metres in length overall that fish in areas where the water depth is less than 20 meters according to the coordinates on the official sea chart. Those vessels shall ensure that their fishing activity can be monitored at any time. For that purpose, they can for example be equipped with a vessel monitoring system (VMS), or equivalent electronic monitoring system certified by the control authority, or paper logbooks in combination with established inspection and surveillance procedures in line with Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009. Member States shall send the catch data to the Commission on a weekly basis. ( 2 )    ( x ) Fishing vessels shall be prohibited from fishing with trawls, Danish seines or similar gear of a mesh size equal to or larger than 90 mm, with gillnets, entangling nets or trammel nets of a mesh size equal to or larger than 90 mm, with bottom set lines, longlines except drifting lines, handlines and jigging equipment to fish this quota from 1 February to 31 March. By way of derogation from the first paragraph, that closure period shall not apply to fishing vessels of less than 12 metres in length overall that fish in areas where the water depth is less than 20 meters according to the coordinates on the official sea chart. Those vessels shall ensure that their fishing activity can be monitored at any time. For that purpose, they can for example be equipped with a vessel monitoring system (VMS), or equivalent electronic monitoring system certified by the control authority, or paper logbooks in combination with established inspection and surveillance procedures in line with Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009. Member States shall send the catch data to the Commission on a weekly basis. ( 1 )   Expressed by number of individual fish. ( 2 )   Expressed by number of individual fish.