Data reporting
1. No later than 15 June of each year, Member States shall submit to the Commission, using the table set out in Annex II to CMM 18/07, the information for the preceding calendar year, concerning the following elements:
(a)
estimates of the total catch by species and gear, if possible quarterly, separated, whenever possible, by retained catches in live weight and by discards in live weight or numbers, for all species under the IOTC mandate as well as the most commonly caught elasmobranch species according to records of catches and incidents;
(b)
total catch data concerning cetaceans, marine turtles and seabirds data as referred to in Articles 20, 21 and 22, respectively;
(c)
for purse seine and pole and line fisheries, data on catch and effort stratified by fishing mode and extrapolated to the total national monthly catches for each gear; documents describing the extrapolation procedures shall also be submitted routinely;
(d)
for longline fisheries, data on catches by species, in numbers or weight, and effort as the number of hooks deployed, provided by 5° grid area and monthly strata; documents describing the extrapolation procedures shall also be submitted routinely;
(e)
a summary of the most recent yellowfin tuna catches in accordance with Article 39;
(f)
zero catches, that shall be reported using the table set out in Annex II to CMM 18/07.
2. In addition to the information referred to in paragraph 1, Member States shall include the following fishing effort data by the purse seiners fleet using supply vessels and FADs:
(a)
the number and characteristics of purse seine supply vessels, operating under their flag, or assisting purse seine vessels operating under their flag, or licensed to operate in their EEZ, which have been operated in the Area;
(b)
number and days at sea by purse seine vessels and purse seine supply vessels by 1° grid area and month to be reported by the flag Member State of the supply vessel;
(c)
the positions, dates and the time of setting, FAD identifier and type, and FAD design characteristics of each FAD.
3. The information referred to in paragraph 1, for type of vessels and in regard to provisional and final data, shall be submitted to the Commission on the following dates:
(a)
provisional data for longline fleets operating on the high seas for the previous year shall be submitted no later than 15 June of each year; final data shall be submitted no later than 15 December of each year;
(b)
final data for all other fleets, including supply vessels, shall be submitted no later than 15 June each year.
4. The Commission shall analyse the information, and send it to the IOTC Secretariat by the specific deadlines provided for in this Regulation.
5. Member States shall submit to the Commission 75 days before the annual meeting of the IOTC information for the preceding calendar year, containing the information on actions taken to implement their reporting obligations for all IOTC fisheries, including shark species caught in association with IOTC fisheries, in particular the steps taken to improve their data collection for direct and incidental catches. The Commission shall compile the information in a Union implementation report and send it to the IOTC Secretariat.
6. Flag Member States shall send annually to the Commission a national scientific report, no later than 45 days before the session of the IOTC Scientific Committee, at a date communicated by the Commission, containing the following information:
(a)
general fisheries statistics;
(b)
report on the implementation of Committee recommendations;
(c)
the progress achieved undertaking research as provided in Article 15(3), Article 16(3), Article 17(4) and Article 18(5); and
(d)
other relevant information related to fishing activities for IOTC species as well as sharks, other byproduct and bycatch species.
7. The report referred to in paragraph 6 shall be drawn up in accordance with the template prescribed by the Scientific Committee of the IOTC. The Commission shall send to the flag Member States the required template. The Commission shall analyse the information in the report, compile it in a Union report and send it to the IOTC Secretariat.
Confidentiality and data protection
1. Data collected and exchanged in the framework of this Regulation shall be treated in accordance with the applicable rules on confidentiality pursuant to Articles 112 and 113 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009.
2. The collection, transfer, storage or other processing of any data pursuant to this Regulation shall be in accordance with Regulations (EU) 2016/679 and (EU) 2018/1725.
3. Personal data processed under this Regulation shall not be stored for a period longer than 10 years, except if the personal data are necessary to enable the follow-up of an infringement, an inspection, or judicial or administrative procedures. In those cases, the personal data may be stored for 20 years. If personal data are retained for a longer period, those data shall be anonymised.
Guidelines
The Commission shall provide Member States which have fishing opportunities in the fisheries managed by the IOTC with any guidelines developed by the IOTC, in particular with regard to:
(a)
identification guides and handling practices for sharks;
(b)
handling procedures for mobulid rays;
(c)
the IOTC Scientific Committee’s best practice guidelines for the safe release and handling of whale sharks;
(d)
the IOTC Scientific Committee’s best practice guidelines for the safe release and handling of cetaceans; and
(e)
handling guidelines on marine turtles.
The Member States concerned shall ensure that those guidelines are provided to the masters of their vessels engaged in the fisheries concerned. Those masters shall take all reasonable steps to apply such guidelines.
Procedure for amendments
1. Where necessary in order to implement into Union law amendments or supplements to the existing IOTC resolutions which become binding on the Union, and insofar as amendments to Union law do not go beyond the IOTC resolutions, the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 55 for the purpose of amending:
(a)
description of FADs in Article 10;
(b)
CPC ports to be used for transhipment in Article 12;
(c)
information per vessel for the list of active vessels for tuna and swordfish, set out in Article 24(3);
(d)
percentage of observer coverage set out in Article 30(1);
(e)
field samplers coverage for artisanal fisheries set out in Article 32(1);
(f)
conditions of chartering set out in Article 35(1);
(g)
percentage of inspections for port landings set out in Article 44(1);
(h)
reporting deadlines set out in Article 29(1) and (3), Article 45(5) and Article 51;
(i)
Annexes 1 to 10;
(j)
references to international acts set out in Article 9(3), point (a), Article 9(4), Article 21(4), Article 23(4), Article 27(3), Article 40(3) and (4), Article 42(3), Article 45(3) and (4), Article 47(1) and Article 51(1).
2. Any amendments adopted in accordance with paragraph 1 shall be strictly limited to the implementation into Union law of amendments and supplements to the IOTC resolutions concerned that are binding on the Union.
Exercise of the delegation
1. The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this Article.
2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 54 shall be conferred on the Commission for a period of five years from 22 December 2022. The Commission shall draw up a report in respect of the delegation of power not later than nine months before the end of the five-year period. The delegation of power shall be tacitly extended for periods of an identical duration, unless the European Parliament or the Council opposes such extension not later than three months before the end of each period.
3. The delegation of power referred to in Article 54 may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.
4. Before adopting a delegated act, the Commission shall consult experts designated by each Member State in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making.
5. As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council.
6. A delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 54 shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or the Council within a period of two months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and to the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by two months at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.
Amendments to Regulations (EC) No 1936/2001, (EC) No 1984/2003, and (EC) No 520/2007
1. Article 2, point (b) and Articles 20 to 21a of Regulation (EC) No 1936/2001 are deleted.
2. Article 1, point (b), Article 8, point (b), and Annexes VII, XII, XIV, and XVIII to Regulation (EC) No 1984/2003 are deleted.
3. Article 4(2) and Articles 18 to 20 of Regulation (EC) No 520/2007 are deleted.
Entry into force
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union .
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
