SECTION 1 — Conditions for Masters of Union fishing vessels
General conditions
1. In respect of catches of fisheries referred to in Article 14(4), point (a), of the Control Regulation landed or transhipped in listed ports, masters of Union fishing vessels shall land or tranship all catches from the same fishing trip only in listed ports.
2. In respect of catches of tropical tuna purse seine fisheries to be landed or transhipped in a listed port located in the territory of a third country, masters of Union fishing vessels shall ensure that the sorting, sampling and weighing of those catches on board are controlled at all times by remote electronic monitoring systems with CCTV cameras or equivalent technology ensuring the same level of accuracy of control.
SECTION 2 — Conditions for Member States
Sampling plans
1. In listed ports within the Union, Member States shall ensure that the determination of the catch composition of fisheries referred to in Article 14(4), point (a), of the Control Regulation landed or transhipped in a listed port by fishing vessels flying their flag, is based on sampling plans adopted or approved by the Commission, where applicable.
2. For catches of tropical tuna, the catch composition shall be determined by sorting and weighing the catch by species.
3. By way of derogation from paragraph 2, the catch composition of yellowfin tuna ( Thunnus albacares ) and bigeye tuna ( Thunnus obesus ) specimens below 5 kg landed or transhipped in the listed port of a third country may be determined in accordance with a sampling methodology established by the flag Member State in the conditions of the fishing authorisation of the fishing vessel.
Information on Union fishing vessels benefitting from the derogation to the margin of tolerance
1. On a yearly basis, Member States shall provide the Commission with a list of fishing vessels flying their flag that are allowed to benefit from the derogation to the margin of tolerance set in Article 14(4), point (a), and Article 21(3) of the Control Regulation in a listed port.
2. Member States shall ensure that only fishing vessels included in the list referred to in paragraph 1 and complying with the conditions set in this Chapter benefit from the derogation set out in Article 14(4), point (a), and Article 21(3) of the Control Regulation.
For that purpose, Member States shall exercise the necessary level of control over those vessels in line with Title VIII of the Control Regulation and ensure that natural persons who have committed or legal persons held liable for infringement of the conditions set out in this Chapter are subject to effective, proportionate, and dissuasive sanctions, including the temporary or permanent deletion of non-compliant fishing vessels from the list referred to in paragraph 1.
3. Member States shall make available the list referred to in paragraph 1 to the other Member States and the Commission and keep it updated.
Control and inspection in Union ports
1. Coastal Member States of listed ports located in their territories shall ensure that measures are in place to effectively control the accuracy of catch reporting by Union fishing vessels benefitting from the derogation set out in Article 14(4), point (a), and Article 21(3) of the Control Regulation and to check compliance with the conditions set out in this Chapter.
2. The measures referred to in paragraph 1 shall include minimum benchmarks for inspection activities based on risk management, as defined in Article 4(18) of the Control Regulation, and revised periodically.
Such benchmarks shall not be lower than 5 % of the total number of landings and transhipments and 7,5 % of the quantities landed and transhipped by Union fishing vessels listed benefitting from the derogation set out in Article 14(4), point (a), and Article 21(3) of the Control Regulation, on a yearly basis.
Control and inspection in third country ports
1. Flag Member States of fishing vessels benefitting from the derogation set out in Article 14(4), point (a), and Article 21(3) of the Control Regulation shall ensure that measures are in place to effectively control the accuracy of catch reporting by those fishing vessels and to check compliance with the conditions set out in this Chapter.
2. The measures referred to in paragraph 1 shall include minimum benchmarks for inspection activities based on risk management, as defined in Article 4(18) of the Control Regulation, and revised periodically.
Such benchmarks shall not be lower than 5 % of the total number of landings and transhipments and 7,5 % of the quantities landed and transhipped by Union fishing vessels listed benefitting from the derogation set out in Article 14(4), point (a), and Article 21(3) of the Control Regulation, on a yearly basis.
3. This Article shall apply only when access to the listed port and facilities of the third country concerned for control and inspection purposes is allowed within the framework of an SFPA, other bilateral agreements concluded by the Union with the third country or in any other case under international law that would allow officials, as defined in Article 4(6) of the Control Regulation, to conduct the inspections referred to in paragraph 2.
4. The Commission may request the third country concerned to grant access by officials to its port and facilities for control and inspection purposes on a case-by-case basis.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
