Record
1. Member States shall ensure that Union fishing vessels have been listed in the Record in accordance with this Regulation.
2. Any Union fishing vessel not listed in the Record shall be deemed not to be authorised to fish for, retain on board, tranship, transport or land highly migratory fish stocks in the Convention Area.
3. Member States shall notify the Commission of any factual information showing that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that a vessel that is not listed in the Record is fishing for or has been engaged in fishing for or transhipment of highly migratory fish stocks in the Convention Area.
Submission of vessel information
1. Each flag Member State shall submit electronically to the Commission the following information with respect to each Union fishing vessel listed in the Record:
(a)
name of the Union fishing vessel, registration number, WIN, previous names (if known) and port of registry;
(b)
name and address of the owner or owners;
(c)
name and nationality of the master;
(d)
previous flag (if any);
(e)
international radio call sign;
(f)
vessel communication types and numbers (Inmarsat A, B and C numbers and satellite telephone number);
(g)
colour photograph of the vessel;
(h)
where and when the vessel was built;
(i)
type of vessel;
(j)
normal crew complement;
(k)
type of fishing method or methods;
(l)
length (specify type and metric);
(m)
moulded depth (specify metric);
(n)
beam (specify metric);
(o)
gross registered tonnage (GRT) or gross tonnage (GT);
(p)
power of main engine or engines (specify metric);
(q)
carrying capacity, including freezer type, capacity and number, fish hold capacity and capacity of freezer chambers (specify metric);
(r)
the form and number of the authorisation granted by the flag Member State including any specific areas, species and time periods for which it is valid; and
(s)
International Maritime Organization number or Lloyd’s Register number.
2. Member States shall notify the Commission of any changes to the information referred to in paragraph 1, and of any Union fishing vessel to be added to or deleted from the Record, within 12 days of any such change having been made and in any event not later than seven days before the commencement of fishing activities in the Convention Area by the vessel concerned.
3. Member States shall submit to the Commission information requested by the Commission with respect to Union fishing vessels listed in the Record not later than seven days after such request.
4. Before 1 June of each year, each Member State shall submit to the Commission a list of all Union fishing vessels that were listed in the Record at any time during the preceding calendar year, together with each vessel’s WIN and an indication of whether each vessel fished for highly migratory fish stocks in the Convention Area beyond its area of jurisdiction. The indication shall be expressed as follows, as appropriate, the vessel (a) fished, or (b) did not fish.
5. Member States that operate vessels under lease, charter or similar arrangements that result in data reporting obligations being conferred on a party other than the flag State shall make arrangements to ensure that the flag State can meet its obligations under paragraph 4.
6. Member States shall submit complete fishing vessel record data to the Commission that meet the structure and format specifications of Attachment 1 to CMM 2014-03, and submit vessel photographs that meet the specifications of Attachment 2 to CMM 2014-03.
7. The submission of vessel record data to the Commission shall be in an electronic form that meets the electronic formatting specifications of Attachment 3 to CMM 2014-03.
Bunkering
Member States shall ensure that fishing vessels flying their flag only provide bunkering for, are bunkered by or are otherwise supported by:
(a)
fishing vessels flagged to contracting parties;
(b)
fishing vessels flagged to non-contracting parties if such vessels are listed in the Record; or
(c)
fishing vessels operated by non-contracting parties under charter, lease or similar arrangements and comply with the CMMs.
Marking and identification of fishing vessels
1. Union fishing vessels operating in the Convention Area, shall be marked for their identification with the International Telecommunication Union Radio Call Sign (IRCS).
2. Union fishing vessels shall comply with the markings and other technical specifications provided for in Annex II.
Vessel Monitoring System (VMS)
Union fishing vessels operating in the Convention Area shall use two monitoring systems:
(a)
a VMS established in accordance with Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 and any act adopted pursuant thereto; and
(b)
the VMS which receives data directly from Union fishing vessels operating on the high seas in the Convention Area, which is either administered by the WCPFC or reporting to the Pacific Islands Fisheries Forum Agency, and for the purposes of which Member States shall:
(i)
ensure that their fishing vessels on the high seas in the Convention Area comply with the VMS requirements established by the WCPFC and are equipped with ALCs that shall communicate such data as determined by the WCPFC;
(ii)
ensure that VMS equipment on their fishing vessels complies with standards, specifications and procedures for the fishing vessel monitoring in the Convention Area provided in Annex III;
(iii)
cooperate to ensure compatibility between national and high seas VMSs;
(iv)
ensure that the ALC installed on board their fishing vessels conform to the minimum standards set out in Annex III;
(v)
ensure that the default position reporting rate is four hours while in the Convention Area (six position reports per day);
(vi)
ensure that vessels that exit the Convention Area report their position once a day.
Charter notification scheme
1. Within 20 days, or in any event within 96 hours before commencement of fishing activities under a charter arrangement, the chartering Member State shall notify the Commission of any vessel to be identified as chartered by submitting electronically the following information with respect to each chartered vessel:
(a)
name of the fishing vessel;
(b)
WIN;
(c)
name and address of the owner or owners;
(d)
name and address of the charterer;
(e)
the duration of the charter arrangement; and
(f)
the flag State of the fishing vessel.
2. Upon receipt of the information referred to in paragraph 1, the Commission shall immediately notify the WCPFC Secretariat thereof.
3. Each chartering Member State shall notify the Commission and the flag State, within 20 days, or in any event within ninety-six hours before commencement of fishing activities under a charter arrangement, of:
(a)
any additional chartered vessels, along with the information referred to in paragraph 1;
(b)
any change in the information referred to in paragraph 1 with respect to any chartered vessel; and
(c)
the termination of the charter of any vessel previously notified under paragraph 1.
4. Only vessels listed in the Record shall be eligible for charter.
5. Vessels on the WCPFC IUU (illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing) vessel list, or the IUU List of another Regional Fisheries Management Organisation shall not be eligible for charter.
6. Catches and fishing effort of vessels notified as chartered shall be attributed to the chartering Member States or contracting party. The chartering Member State shall report annually to the Commission the catch and fishing effort of chartered vessels in the previous year.
7. Paragraph 6 shall not apply to the tropical tuna purse seine fishery, for which catch and fishing effort shall be attributed to the flag State.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
