Amendments to Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006
Article 3
Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 is amended as follows: (1) in point (a)(ii) of Article 1(1), the title of Article 6, Article 7(1), Article 8(2), Article 16(2), the title of Article 18, Article 26(1), Article 27(3) and Annex I, section B, paragraph 7, the noun ‘Community’ or the corresponding adjective is replaced by ‘Union’, with any necessary grammatical changes being made; (2) in Article 2, the following point is added: ‘18. “unintended catches” means incidental catches of marine organisms which, under Article 15 of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( *3 ) , must be landed because they are below the minimum conservation reference size. ( *3 ) Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on the Common Fisheries Policy, amending Council Regulations (EC) No 1954/2003 and (EC) No 1224/2009 and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 2371/2002 and (EC) No 639/2004 and Council Decision 2004/585/EC ( OJ L 354, 28.12.2013, p. 22 ).’ " ; (3) the following Article is inserted: ‘Article 14a Procedure for adopting technical measures in the context of discard plans The Commission shall be empowered, for the purpose of adopting the acts referred to in Article 15(6) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 and for the duration thereof, to adopt specific provisions regarding fisheries or species subject to the landing obligation that consist of technical measures referred to in Article 7(2) of that Regulation. Such measures shall be adopted by means of a delegated act adopted in accordance with Article 29a of this Regulation and Article 18 of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013, with the aim of increasing gear selectivity or reducing or, as far as possible, eliminating unwanted catches, and may, where appropriate, derogate from the measures set out in this Regulation.’ ; (4) Article 15 is amended as follows: (a) paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: ‘1. A marine organism is undersized if its dimensions are below the minimum conservation reference size specified in Annex III for the relevant species and the relevant geographical area or a minimum conservation reference size otherwise fixed in accordance with Union law. Except where minimum conservation reference sizes have been established in an act adopted in accordance with Article 15(6) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013, the minimum conservation reference sizes established in Annex III to this Regulation shall apply. 1a. For catches of undersized marine organisms of a species subject to the landing obligation, Article 15 of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 shall apply. 1b. Where catches as referred to in paragraph 1a have been landed, Member States shall have in place measures to facilitate their storage or for finding outlets for them, such as support for investment in the construction and adaptation of landing sites and shelters, or support for investments to add value to fishery products. 1c. Undersized marine organisms of a species not subject to the landing obligation set out in Article 15 of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 shall not be retained on board, trans-shipped, landed, transferred, stored, sold, displayed or offered for sale, but shall be returned immediately to the sea.’ ; (b) in paragraph 3, the phrase ‘Paragraph 1’ is replaced by the phrase ‘Paragraph 1a’; (5) the following Article is inserted: ‘Article 15a Procedure for establishing minimum conservation reference sizes in the context of discard plans The Commission shall be empowered, for the purpose of adopting the acts referred to in Article 15(6) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 and for the duration thereof, to establish minimum conservation reference sizes for species subject to the landing obligation set out in Article 15 of that Regulation. Such sizes shall be established by means of a delegated act adopted in accordance with Article 29a of this Regulation and Article 18 of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013, with the aim of ensuring the protection of juveniles of marine organisms, and may derogate, where appropriate, from the minimum conservation reference sizes specified in Annex III to this Regulation.’ ; (6) in Article 16, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: ‘1. By way of derogation from Article 15(1), undersized marine organisms may be fished for, retained on board, trans-shipped, landed, transferred, stored, sold, displayed or offered for sale live for the purpose of direct restocking or transplantation, with the permission and under the authority of the Member State where those activities take place.’ ; (7) the following Article is inserted: ‘Article 29a Exercise of 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 Articles 14a and 15a shall be conferred on the Commission for a period of 5 years from 1 June 2015. 3. The delegation of power referred to in Articles 14a and 15a 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. As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council. 5. A delegated act adopted pursuant to Articles 14a and 15a shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or the Council within a period of 2 months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and 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 2 months at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.’ ; (8) in Annex III, the term ‘Minimum sizes of marine organisms’ is replaced by the term ‘Minimum conservation reference sizes’ and the term ‘Minimum size’ is replaced by the term ‘Minimum conservation reference size’.