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General principle
Without prejudice to the requirement to obtain an authorisation from the competent organisation or third country, a Union fishing vessel shall not carry out fishing operations outside Union waters unless it has been authorised by its flag Member State, and the fishing operations are indicated in a valid fishing authorisation issued in accordance with Chapters II to V, as appropriate.
Eligibility criteria
1. A flag Member State may only issue a fishing authorisation for fishing operations outside Union waters if: (a) it has received complete and accurate information, in accordance with the requirements of the Annex or the SFPA concerned or RFMO concerned, about the fishing vessel and the associated support vessel(s), including non-Union support vessels; (b) the fishing vessel has a valid fishing licence under Article 6 of the Control Regulation; (c) the fishing vessel and any associated support vessel apply the relevant IMO ship identification number scheme insofar as is required under Union law; (d) the fishing vessel is not included in an IUU vessel list adopted by an RFMO and/or by the Union pursuant to the IUU Regulation; (e) where applicable, fishing opportunities are available to the flag Member State under the fisheries agreement concerned or the relevant provisions of the RFMO; and (f) where applicable, the fishing vessel complies with the requirements set out in Article 6. 2. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts, in accordance with Article 44, for the purpose of amending the Annex to ensure appropriate monitoring of the activities of fishing vessels under this Regulation, in particular through new data requirements resulting from fisheries agreements or the development of information technologies.
Reflagging operations
1. This Article applies to vessels that, during the 5 years preceding the application for a fishing authorisation, have: (a) left the Union fishing fleet register and been reflagged in a third country; and (b) subsequently returned to the Union fishing fleet register. 2. A flag Member State may only issue a fishing authorisation if it has verified that, during the period that the vessel referred to in paragraph 1 operated under a third-country flag, it did not: (a) engage in IUU fishing; (b) operate in waters of a third country identified as a country allowing non-sustainable fishing pursuant to point (a) of Article 4(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1026/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 15 ) ; (c) operate in waters of a third country listed as non-cooperating pursuant to Article 33 of the IUU Regulation; and (d) operate in waters of a third country identified as non-cooperating in fighting IUU fishing pursuant to Article 31 of the IUU Regulation after a period of 6 weeks following the adoption of the decision of the Commission identifying that third country as such, except for any operations carried out in the event that the Council has rejected a proposal to designate that third country as non-cooperating pursuant to Article 33 of that Regulation. 3. To that end, an operator shall provide the following information related to the period during which the vessel operated under a third-country flag required by a flag Member State: (a) a declaration of catches and fishing effort during the relevant period as required by the third-country flag state; (b) a copy of any fishing authorisations permitting fishing operations during the relevant period; (c) an official statement by the third country where the vessel was reflagged listing the sanctions the vessel or the operator had been subject to during the relevant period; (d) complete flag history during the period when the vessel had left the Union fleet register. 4. A flag Member State shall not issue a fishing authorisation to a vessel that has been reflagged in a third country: (a) listed as non-cooperating in fighting IUU fishing pursuant to Article 33 of the IUU Regulation; (b) identified as non-cooperating in fighting IUU fishing pursuant to Article 31 of the IUU Regulation after a period of 6 weeks following the adoption of the decision of the Commission identifying that third country as such, except for any operations carried out in the event that the Council has rejected a proposal to designate that third country as non-cooperating pursuant to Article 33 of that Regulation; or (c) identified as allowing non-sustainable fishing pursuant to point (a) of Article 4(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1026/2012. 5. Paragraph 4 shall not apply if the flag Member State is satisfied that, as soon as the circumstances described in points (b) to (d) of paragraph 2 or points (a) to (c) of paragraph 4 became applicable, the operator: (a) ceased fishing operations; and (b) immediately started the relevant administrative procedures to remove the vessel from the fishing fleet register of the third country.
Management of fishing authorisations
1. When applying for a fishing authorisation, an operator shall provide the flag Member State with complete and accurate data. 2. An operator shall immediately inform the flag Member State of any change to the related data. 3. A flag Member State shall on a regular basis monitor whether the conditions on the basis of which a fishing authorisation has been issued continue to be met during the period of validity of that authorisation. 4. If, as a result of the final outcome of the monitoring activities referred to in paragraph 3, there is evidence that the conditions on the basis of which a fishing authorisation has been issued are no longer met, the flag Member State shall take appropriate action, including amending or withdrawing the authorisation and, if necessary, imposing sanctions. The sanctions applied by the flag Member State in respect of infringements shall be sufficiently stringent to ensure effective compliance with the rules, to prevent infringements and to deprive offenders of the benefits derived from infringements. The flag Member State shall immediately notify the operator and the Commission thereof. Where relevant, the Commission shall notify the secretariat of the RFMO or the third country concerned accordingly. 5. Upon a reasoned request from the Commission, a flag Member State shall take appropriate action as provided for in paragraph 4, in the event of contravention of conservation and management measures of marine biological resources adopted by an RFMO to which the Union is a contracting party, or under SFPAs. 6. Where the Union is a contracting party to an RFMO and a Union fishing vessel does not comply with the conditions set out in point (b) of Article 21 as established in the final inspection report recognised by the RFMO, and where the flag Member State fails to take the appropriate action as provided for in paragraph 4 of this Article, the Commission may by decision require the flag Member State concerned to ensure that the Union fishing vessel concerned fulfils those conditions. Where the flag Member State concerned has not taken appropriate action to comply with the Commission decision referred to in the first subparagraph within a period of 15 days, the Commission shall send the updated details of the fishing vessels referred to in Article 22 to the Secretariat of the RFMO to address the vessel concerned. The Commission shall inform the flag Member State of its action. The flag Member State shall notify the operator of the action of the Commission. 7. Where the Union has concluded an SFPA with a third country and a Union fishing vessel does not comply with the conditions set out in point (b) of Article 10 as established in the final inspection report recognised by the competent authorities, and where the flag Member State fails to take the appropriate action as provided for in paragraph 4 of this Article, the Commission may by decision require the flag Member State concerned to ensure that the Union fishing vessel concerned fulfils those conditions. Where the flag Member State concerned has not taken appropriate action to comply with the Commission decision referred to in the first subparagraph within a period of 15 days, the Commission shall send the updated details of the fishing vessels to the third country to address the Union fishing vessel concerned. The Commission shall inform the flag Member State of its action. The flag Member State shall notify the operator of the action of the Commission.
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Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.