SECTION 1 — Port state measures
Points of contact and designated ports
1. A Member State wishing to grant access to its ports to third-country fishing vessels carrying IOTC species caught in the Area or fishery products originating from IOTC species that have not been previously landed or transhipped shall:
(a)
designate the port to which third-country fishing vessels may request entry pursuant to Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008;
(b)
designate a point of contact for the purposes of receiving prior notice pursuant to Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008;
(c)
designate a point of contact for the purposes of receiving inspection reports pursuant to Article 11(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008.
2. Member States shall transmit any changes to the list of designated points of contact and designated ports to the Commission, or to a body designated by it, at least 30 days before the changes take effect. The Commission, or the body designated by it, shall forward that information to the IOTC Secretariat at least 15 days before the changes take effect.
Prior notice
1. By way of derogation from Article 6(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008, the period for prior notification shall be at least 24 hours before the estimated time of arrival at the port or immediately after the end of the fishing operations, if the time distance to the port is less than 24 hours.
2. By way of derogation from Article 6(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008, the information to be provided by masters of third country fishing vessels or their representatives shall be that required under Annex 10 to this Regulation which shall be accompanied by a catch certificate validated in accordance with Chapter III of Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 if those third-country fishing vessels carry on board IOTC fishery products.
3. The prior notice referred to in Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 and the information required under paragraph 2 of this Article may be transmitted electronically through e-PSM application.
4. Port Member States may request any additional information in order to determine whether the fishing vessels referred to in paragraph 1 have engaged in IUU fishing or related activities.
Authorisation to enter, land and tranship in ports
1. After receiving the relevant information pursuant to Article 42, a port Member State shall decide whether to authorise or deny the third-country fishing vessel entry into and use of its ports. Where a third-country fishing vessel has been denied entry, the port Member State shall inform the flag State of the vessel and the Commission, or a body designated by it. The Commission, or the body designated by it, shall forward the information to the IOTC Secretariat without delay. Port Member States shall deny entry to fishing vessels included in the IOTC IUU vessel list, that of any other RFMO or the Union IUU vessel list.
2. Where a prior notice has been received through e-PSM application, the port Member State shall communicate its decision to authorise or deny entry into port through the same application.
3. Pursuant to Article 8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008, in the case of carrier vessels, the IOTC transhipment declaration is required and shall be submitted at least 48 hours prior to the intended time of landing. In order to ensure that landings are consistent with the reported catch amount of each catching fishing vessel, the Member States where transhipped catches are to be landed shall take the appropriate measures to verify the accuracy of the information received and shall cooperate with the flag State of the carrier vessel, any port State involved in the transhipments to be landed and the flag states of the catching fishing vessels involved. That verification shall be carried out in such a way that the carrier vessel suffers the minimum interference and inconvenience and that degradation of the fish is avoided.
4. Where a landing or transhipment declaration is received by the port Member State from a catching fishing vessel pursuant to Article 8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008, the port Member States shall take appropriate measures to verify the accuracy of the information received and shall cooperate with the flag CPC to ensure that landings and/or transhipments are consistent with the amount of catches reported for each catching vessel.
5. Each port Member State shall submit to the Commission by 15 June of each year the list of fishing vessels that are not flagged to that port Member State and which have landed in its ports tuna and tuna-like species caught in the Area in the preceding calendar year. That information shall be included in the appropriate IOTC report template and shall detail the catch composition by weight and species landed. The Commission shall examine such reports and transmit them to the IOTC Secretariat by 30 June of each year.
Port inspection
1. Each year, each port Member State shall inspect in its designated ports at least 5 % of all landings or transhipments related to IOTC species made by fishing vessels that are not flagged to that port Member State.
2. Inspections shall involve the monitoring of the entire landing or transhipment and include a cross-check between the quantities, by species, recorded in the prior notice and the quantities by species actually landed or transhipped. When the landing or transhipment is completed, the inspector shall verify and note the quantities by species of fish remaining on board.
Inspection procedure
1. This Article shall apply in addition to the rules on the inspection procedure laid down in Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008.
2. Inspectors from port Member States shall be properly qualified inspectors authorised for that purpose, and shall carry a valid document of identity that they shall present to the master of the vessel to be inspected.
3. As a minimum standard, port Member States shall ensure that their inspectors carry out the tasks set out in Annex II to CMM 16/11. Port Member States, in carrying out inspections in their ports, shall require the master of the vessel to give inspectors all necessary assistance and information, and to present relevant material and documents as may be required, or certified copies thereof.
4. In the written report of the results of each inspection, each port Member State shall, as a minimum, include the information set out in Annex III to CMM 16/11. Within three working days of the completion of the inspection, the port Member State shall transmit a copy of the inspection report and, upon request, an original or certified copy thereof, to the master of the inspected vessel, to the flag State, to the Commission, or to a body designated by it. The Commission, or the body designated by it, shall forward the report to the IOTC Secretariat.
5. By 15 June of each year, each port Member State shall submit to the Commission the list of fishing vessels not flagged to that port Member State which have landed in its ports tuna and tuna-like species caught in the IOTC area the preceding calendar year. That information shall detail the catch composition by weight and species landed. The Commission shall forward that information to the IOTC Secretariat by 1 July of each year.
Procedure in the case of evidence of infringements of IOTC measures during port inspections
1. If the information collected during the inspection provides evidence that a fishing vessel has committed a breach of the IOTC measures, this Article shall apply in addition to Article 11 of Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008.
2. The competent authorities of the port Member State shall forward a copy of the inspection report to the Commission, or to a body designated by it, as soon as possible and in any case within three working days. The Commission, or the body designated by it, shall transmit that report to the IOTC Secretariat and to the flag CPC point of contact without delay.
3. Port Member States shall promptly notify the action taken in the event of infringements to the competent authority of the flag CPC and to the Commission, or to a body designated by it. The Commission, or the body designated by it, shall transmit that information to the IOTC Secretariat.
Alleged infringements reported by Member States
1. Member States shall submit to the Commission, using the reporting form of Annex I to CMM 18/03, any documented information that indicates possible instances of non-compliance by any fishing vessel with IOTC conservation and management measures in the Area over the past two years at least 80 days in advance of the annual meeting of the IOTC. The Commission shall examine that information and, if appropriate, forward it to the IOTC Secretariat at least 70 days in advance of the compliance committee meeting.
2. The documented information referred to in paragraph 1 shall be accompanied by the information concerning the IUU fishing activity of each of the listed vessels, including:
(a)
reports regarding the alleged IUU fishing activity relating to CMMs in force;
(b)
trade information obtained on the basis of relevant trade statistics such as those from statistical documents and other verifiable national or international statistics;
(c)
any information obtained from other sources or gathered from fishing grounds, such as:
—
information gathered from inspections undertaken in port or at sea;
—
information from coastal states including VMS transponder or Automatic Identification System (AIS) data, surveillance data from satellites or airborne or seaborne assets;
—
IOTC programmes, except where such a programme stipulates that information gathered is to be kept confidential; or
—
information and intelligence collected by third parties.
Alleged infringements reported by CPC and the IOTC Secretariat
1. Where the Commission receives from a CPC or the IOTC Secretariat any information indicating alleged IUU fishing activities by a Union fishing vessel, it shall transmit that information to the Member State concerned without delay.
2. The Member State concerned shall provide the Commission with the findings of any investigation undertaken in relation to the allegations of non-compliance by fishing vessels flying its flag, and any actions taken to address compliance concerns, at least 45 days in advance of the annual meeting of the IOTC. The Commission shall forward that information to the IOTC at least 15 days in advance of the annual meeting.
Draft IOTC IUU vessel list
1. If the Commission receives official notification of the inclusion of a Union fishing vessel in the draft IOTC IUU vessel list from the IOTC Secretariat, it shall transmit that notification, including the supporting evidence and any other documented information provided by the IOTC Secretariat, to the flag Member State concerned.
2. The Member State concerned shall provide comments no later than 30 days in advance of the annual meeting of the IOTC Compliance Committee. The Commission shall examine and forward that information to the IOTC Secretariat at least 15 days in advance of the annual meeting of the Compliance Committee.
3. Once notified by the Commission, the authorities of the flag Member State concerned shall:
(a)
notify the owner and the operators of the fishing vessel of its inclusion in the draft IOTC IUU vessel list and of the possible consequences that may result from that inclusion being confirmed in the IUU vessel list adopted by the IOTC; and
(b)
closely monitor the vessels included in the draft IOTC IUU vessel list, in order to determine their activities and detect possible changes of name, flag, or registered owner of those vessels.
Provisional IOTC IUU vessel list
1. In order to prevent a Union fishing vessel included in the draft IOTC IUU vessel list, as referred to in Article 49, from being included in the provisional IOTC IUU vessel list, the flag Member State shall provide the following information to the Commission demonstrating that:
(a)
the vessel has, at all relevant times, complied with the conditions of its authorisation and:
—
conducted fishing activities in a manner consistent with the CMMs,
—
conducted fishing activities within the waters under the jurisdiction of a coastal State in a manner consistent with the laws and regulations of that coastal State, or
—
fished exclusively for species not covered by the Agreement; or
(b)
effective punitive action has been taken in response to the IUU fishing activities in question, including prosecution and imposition of sanctions of adequate severity to be effective in securing compliance and deterring further infringements.
2. The Commission shall examine the information referred to in paragraph 1 and transmit it to the IOTC Secretariat without delay.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
