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.
