SECTION 1 — General conditions
Documentation on board Union fishing vessels
1. Union fishing vessels shall maintain fishing logbooks in accordance with this Regulation. The original recording contained in the fishing logbooks shall be kept on board the fishing vessel for at least 12 months.
2. Union fishing vessels shall carry on board valid documents issued by the competent authority of the flag Member State including:
(a)
licence, permit or authorisation to fish and terms and conditions attached to the licence, permit or authorisation;
(b)
vessel’s name;
(c)
port in which the vessel is registered and the registration number(s);
(d)
international call sign;
(e)
names and addresses of the owner(s) and, if applicable, the charterer;
(f)
overall length; and
(g)
engine power, in kw/horsepower, where appropriate.
3. Member States shall verify the validity of the documents to be carried on board fishing vessels regularly, and at least once a year.
4. Member States shall ensure that all documents carried on board and any further amendments to them are issued and certified by the competent authority and that fishing vessels are marked in such a way that they can be readily identified with generally accepted international standards, such as the FAO Standard Specification for the Marking and Identification of Fishing Vessels.
SECTION 2 — Record of vessels
Record of authorised fishing vessels
1. The following Union fishing vessels shall be registered in the IOTC record of fishing vessels:
(a)
vessels of 24 metres or more in overall length;
(b)
vessels of less than 24 metres in overall length, if they fish outside the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of a Member State.
2. Union fishing vessels that are not registered in the IOTC record referred to in paragraph 1 shall not be authorised to fish for, retain on board, tranship or land IOTC species or support any fishing activity or set DFADs in the Area.
This paragraph shall not apply to vessels of less than 24 metres in overall length operating in the EEZ of a Member State.
3. Member States shall submit to the Commission the list of vessels complying with the requirements of paragraph 1 which are authorised to operate in the Area. That list shall include the following information for each vessel:
(a)
name of vessel(s), register number(s);
(b)
IMO number;
(c)
previous name(s) (if any) or indication of its non-availability;
(d)
previous flag(s) (if any) or indication of its non-availability;
(e)
details of previous deletion from other registries (if any) or indication of their non-availability;
(f)
international radio call sign(s) (if any) or indication of its non-availability;
(g)
port of registration;
(h)
type of vessel(s), overall length (m) and gross tonnage (GT);
(i)
total volume of fish hold(s) in cubic metres;
(j)
name and address of owner(s) and operator(s);
(k)
name and address of beneficial owner(s), if known and different from vessel owner/operator, or indication of their non-availability;
(l)
name, address and registration number of company operating the vessel (if any);
(m)
gear used;
(n)
time period(s) authorised for fishing and/or transhipping;
(o)
colour photographs of the vessel showing:
—
the starboard and portsides, each showing the whole structure;
—
the bow;
(p)
at least one colour photograph clearly showing at least one of the external markings specified in point (a).
4. Member States shall promptly notify the Commission of any addition to, deletion from, or amendment of the IOTC record. The Commission shall send that information to the IOTC Secretariat without delay.
5. During each year, the Commission shall, if necessary, provide the IOTC Secretariat with updated information on Union fishing vessels registered in the IOTC record referred to in paragraph 1.
Communication of information
The information to be notified by Member States to the Commission in accordance with Article 24 of this Regulation shall be submitted in an electronic format in accordance with Article 39 of Regulation (EU) 2017/2403 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 16 ) .
Authorisation of fishing vessels
1. Member States shall issue an authorisation to fish for IOTC species for fishing vessels flying their flag in accordance with Article 21 of Regulation (EU) 2017/2403.
2. Member States shall submit to the Commission an updated template of the official authorisation to fish outside national jurisdictions, and update the information in the template whenever necessary. The Commission shall send this information to the IOTC Secretariat without delay. The template shall include the following information:
(a)
name of the competent authority;
(b)
name and contact of personnel of the competent authority;
(c)
signature of the personnel of the competent authority; and
(d)
official stamp of the competent authority.
3. The template referred to in paragraph 2 shall be used exclusively for monitoring, control and surveillance purposes. A difference between the template and the authorisation carried onboard the vessel shall not constitute an infringement, but shall prompt the controlling State to clarify the issue with the identified competent authority of the flag State of the vessel in question.
Obligations for Member States issuing fishing authorisations
1. Member States shall:
(a)
authorise their vessels to operate in the Area only if they are able to fulfil the requirements and responsibilities under the IOTC Agreement, this Regulation and CMMs;
(b)
take the necessary measures to ensure that their fishing vessels comply with this Regulation and CMMs;
(c)
take the necessary measures to ensure that their auxiliary fishing vessels keep on board valid certificates of vessel registration and valid authorisations to fish or tranship;
(d)
ensure that their authorised fishing vessels have no history of IUU fishing activities or that, if a vessel has such a history, the new owner has provided sufficient evidence demonstrating that:
—
the previous owners and operators have no legal, beneficial or financial interest in, or control over that vessel;
—
the parties involved in the IUU incident have officially resolved the matter and sanctions have been completed; and
—
having taken into account all relevant facts, their auxiliary fishing vessels are not engaged in or associated with IUU fishing;
(e)
ensure, to the extent possible under national legislation, that the owners and operators of their auxiliary fishing vessels are not engaged in or associated with tuna fishing activities conducted by vessels not registered in the IOTC record referred to in Article 24(1); and
(f)
take the necessary measures to ensure, to the extent possible under national legislation, that the owners of auxiliary fishing vessels registered in the IOTC record referred to in Article 24(1) are citizens of, or legal entities in, the flag Member State, so that any control or punitive action can be taken against them where required.
2. Member States shall report the results of the review of the actions and measures taken pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article to the Commission, or to a body designated by it, in accordance with Article 51(5).
3. Member States which issue licences to their authorised fishing vessels shall report annually to the Commission, or to a body designated by it, all measures taken in accordance with Annex I to CMM 05/07, using the format set out in Annex II to CMM 05/07, and in accordance with Article 51 of this Regulation.
Measures against vessels not registered in the IOTC record of vessels
1. Union fishing vessels not registered in the IOTC record referred to in Article 24(1) shall not fish for, retain on board, tranship or land IOTC species in the Area.
2. To ensure the effectiveness of this Regulation with regard to species covered by statistical document programmes, Member States shall:
(a)
validate statistical documents only for Union vessels registered in the IOTC record;
(b)
require that, when imported into the territory of a CPC, the species covered by statistical document programmes caught by Union fishing vessels in the Area shall be accompanied by statistical documents; and
(c)
cooperate, when importing catch of species covered by statistical document programmes, with the flag Member States of vessels catching those species to ensure that statistical documents are not forged or do not contain misinformation.
3. Member States shall notify the Commission, or a body designated by it, of any factual information showing that there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that vessels not registered in the IOTC record are engaged in fishing for or transhipment of IOTC species in the Area. The Commission, or a body designated by it, shall notify the IOTC Secretariat of that information immediately.
Record of active vessels fishing for tuna and swordfish
1. Member States with vessels fishing for tunas and swordfish in the Area shall, using the appropriate IOTC report template, submit to the Commission by 1 February of each year a list of fishing vessels flying their flag that were active in the Area during the previous year and that:
(a)
are 24 metres in overall length or above, or
(b)
in the case of vessels shorter than 24 metres in overall length, operated in waters outside the EEZ of their Member State.
2. Member States with vessels fishing for yellowfin tunas in the Area shall, using the appropriate IOTC report template, submit to the Commission by 1 February of each year a list of all fishing vessels flying their flag which have fished for yellowfin tuna in the Area during the previous year.
3. The Commission shall forward the information referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 to the IOTC Secretariat before 15 February of each year.
4. The list of vessels referred to in paragraph 1 shall contain the following information for each vessel:
(a)
the IOTC number;
(b)
name and registration number;
(c)
IMO number, if available;
(d)
previous flag (if any);
(e)
international radio call sign (if any);
(f)
vessel type, length and gross tonnage (GT);
(g)
name and address of owner, charterer or operator (where relevant);
(h)
main target species; and
(i)
period of authorisation.
SECTION 3 — Regional Observer Scheme
Regional Observer Scheme
1. In order to improve the collection of scientific data, Union fishing vessels of 24 metres in overall length and above, and those under 24 metres fishing outside the EEZ of a Member State, shall ensure that at least 5 % of the number of operations or sets for each gear type while fishing in the Area are covered by observers endorsed by the Regional Observer Scheme.
2. When purse seine vessels are carrying an observer as referred to in paragraph 1, that observer shall also monitor the catches at landing to identify the composition of bigeye tuna catches.
3. Paragraph 2 shall not apply to Member States that already have a sampling scheme the coverage of which fulfil requirements set out in paragraph 1.
Observers’ obligations
1. Observers on board Union fishing vessels shall:
(a)
record and report their fishing activities and verify positions of the vessel;
(b)
observe and estimate catches as far as possible with a view to identifying catch composition and monitoring discards, by-catches and size frequency;
(c)
record gear type, mesh size and attachments employed by the master;
(d)
collect information to enable the cross-checking of entries recorded in the logbooks (species composition and quantities, live and processed weight and location, where available); and
(e)
carry out scientific work as requested by the IOTC Scientific Committee.
2. The observer shall, within 30 days of completion of each trip, provide a report to the flag Member State. The report shall be provided by area of 1°latitude by 1°longitude. Member States shall send each report to the Commission, or to a body designated by it, within 140 days from reception, and shall ensure that the reports from the observer placed on the longline fleet are sent regularly throughout the year. The Commission, or the body designated by it, shall forward the reports to the IOTC Secretariat within 10 days of their receipt.
Field samplers
1. Field samplers shall monitor the number of landings by Union artisanal fishing vessels at the landing place. As regards artisanal fishing vessels, the samplers should cover at least 5 % of the total number of fishing trips by such vessels or of the total number of active fishing vessels.
2. Field samplers shall collect information on land during unloading of fishing vessels. Field sampling programmes can be used for quantifying catch, retained bycatch and collecting tag returns.
3. Field samplers shall monitor catches at the landing place with a view to estimating catch-at-size by type of boat, gear and species, or carry out such scientific work as requested by the IOTC Scientific Committee.
Member States obligations
1. Member States shall recruit qualified observers to place on board vessels flying their flag.
2. Member States shall:
(a)
take the necessary measures to ensure that observers are able to carry out their duties in a competent and safe manner;
(b)
ensure that observers alternate vessels between their assignments;
(c)
ensure that the vessel on which an observer is placed provides suitable food and lodging during the observer’s deployment of the same level as that of the officers on board, where possible;
(d)
ensure that the master of a vessel cooperates with observers in order for them to carry out their duties safely including providing access, as required, to the retained catch, and catch which is intended to be discarded; and
(e)
bear the cost of the observer scheme.
3. Member States shall report the number of vessels monitored and the coverage achieved by gear type to the Commission, in accordance with Article 51(6).
SECTION 4 — Monitoring and surveillance
Vessel monitoring system (VMS)
1. Member States shall, no later than two working days following detection or notification of technical failure or non-functioning of the vessel monitoring device on board a Union fishing vessel, forward the geographical position of the vessel to the IOTC Secretariat, or shall ensure that these positions are forwarded to the IOTC Secretariat by the master or the owner of the vessel, or their representative.
2. Where a Member State suspects that one or more vessel monitoring devices on board the vessel of another flag Member State or another CPC do not meet required operational conditions, or have been tampered with, it shall immediately notify the Commission, or a body designated by it. The Commission, or the body designated by it, shall forward the notification to the IOTC Secretariat and the vessel’s flag State.
Chartering
1. Chartering shall be subject to the following conditions:
(a)
the flag CPC has consented in writing to the chartering agreement;
(b)
the duration of the fishing operation under the chartering agreement does not exceed 12 months in any calendar year;
(c)
fishing vessels to be chartered shall be registered with the responsible CPC which shall explicitly agree to comply with the CMMs and enforce them on their vessels; all flag CPCs shall effectively fulfil their duty to control their fishing vessels to ensure compliance with CMMs;
(d)
fishing vessels to be chartered shall be registered in the IOTC record referred to in Article 24 and shall be authorised to operate in the Area;
(e)
if the chartered vessel is allowed by the chartering CPC to operate in the high seas, the flag CPC shall be responsible for controlling the high seas fishing conducted pursuant to the chartering arrangement;
(f)
chartered vessels shall report VMS and catch data to both the chartering CPC and flag CPC, and to the IOTC Secretariat, as provided in the Charter Notification Scheme set out in Annex 6;
(g)
all catches, including bycatches and discards, taken pursuant to the chartering agreement shall be counted against quota or fishing possibilities of the chartering CPC; the observer coverage on board such chartered vessels shall be counted against the coverage rate of the chartering CPC for the duration of its fishing activity under the chartering agreement;
(h)
the chartering CPC shall report to the IOTC all catches, including bycatches and discards, and other information required by the IOTC;
(i)
chartered vessels shall be duly equipped with VMS, and fishing gear shall be marked for effective fishery management;
(j)
observer coverage of at least 5 % of fishing effort;
(k)
chartered vessels shall have a fishing licence issued by the chartering CPC and shall not be on the IOTC IUU vessel list, that of any other regional fisheries management organisation (RFMO), or on the Union IUU vessel list;
(l)
chartered vessels shall not be authorised to use the quota of the flag CPC, and under no circumstances shall chartered vessels be authorised to fish under more than one chartering agreement at the same time;
(m)
landing shall take place in the ports of the CPC, or under the direct supervision of CPC, in order to ensure that the activities of the chartered vessels do not undermine CMMs.
Chartering notification scheme
1. The chartering Member State shall notify the Commission of any vessel to be identified as chartered in accordance with this Article without delay within 15 days and no later than 72 hours before commencement of fishing activities under a chartering agreement, by submitting electronically the following information with respect to each chartered vessel:
(a)
the name (in both original registration language and Latin alphabets), registration number of the chartered vessel, and IMO number;
(b)
the name and contact address of the beneficial owner of the vessel;
(c)
the description of the vessel, including the overall length, type of vessel and the type of fishing method(s) to be used under the chartering agreement;
(d)
a copy of the chartering agreement and any fishing authorisation or licence it has issued to the vessel, including the quota allocation or fishing possibility assigned to the vessel, and the duration of the chartering arrangement;
(e)
its consent to the chartering agreement; and
(f)
the measures adopted to implement the provisions included in the chartering agreement.
2. The flag Member State shall notify the Commission of any vessel to be identified as chartered in accordance with this Article, without delay within 17 days and no later than 96 hours before commencement of fishing activities under a chartering agreement by submitting electronically the information with respect to each chartered vessel referred to in paragraph 1.
3. Upon receiving the information from Member States set out in paragraph 1 or 2, the Commission shall forward the following information to the IOTC Secretariat:
(a)
its consent to the chartering agreement;
(b)
the measures adopted to implement the provisions included in the chartering agreement; and
(c)
its agreement to comply with CMMs.
4. Member States referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall immediately inform the Commission of the start, suspension, resumption and termination of the fishing operations under the chartering agreement.
5. Member States chartering fishing vessels shall report to the Commission by 10 February of each year the particulars of chartering agreements made in the previous calendar year, including information on catches taken and fishing effort deployed by the chartered vessels as well as the level of observer coverage achieved on the chartered vessels in accordance with Article 35(1), point (j). The Commission shall forward that information to the IOTC Secretariat by 28 February of each year.
Vessels with no nationality
Where a Member State’s vessel or aircraft makes any sighting of fishing vessels that are suspected of, or confirmed as, being without nationality that may be fishing in the high seas of the Area, that Member State shall report the sighting to the Commission, or to a body designated by it. The Commission, or the body designated by it, shall forward the information to the IOTC Secretariat immediately.
Fishing vessels with flags of convenience
Member States shall, as regards large scale tuna longline vessels with flags of convenience (FOCs):
(a)
refuse landing and transhipment by flag of convenience vessels which are engaged in fishing activities diminishing the effectiveness of the measures laid down in this Regulation or measures adopted by the IOTC;
(b)
take every possible action to urge their importers, transporters and other operators concerned to refrain from transacting in and transhipping tunas and tuna-like species caught by vessels carrying out flag of convenience fishing activities;
(c)
inform their general public of fishing activities which are carried out by large scale tuna longline vessels with FOCs and which diminish the effectiveness of IOTC conservation and management measures, and urge their general public not to purchase fish harvested by such vessels;
(d)
urge their manufacturers and other business people concerned to prevent their vessels and equipment or devices from being used for flag of convenience longline fishing operations; and
(e)
monitor and exchange information concerning flag of convenience fishing vessels activities, including the port sampling activities conducted by the IOTC Secretariat.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
