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| Procedure : 2015/0096(COD) |
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Document stages in plenary
| Document selected : A8-0367/2015 | ||||||
Texts tabled : A8-0367/2015 |  | Debates : PV 18/01/2016 - 15CRE 18/01/2016 - 15 |  | Votes : PV 19/01/2016 - 5.3CRE 19/01/2016 - 5.3 Explanations of votes PV 23/06/2016 - 8.7 CRE 23/06/2016 - 8.7 Explanations of votes |  | Texts adopted : P8_TA(2016)0003P8_TA(2016)0286 |
| REPORT ***I |
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| 15.12.2015 |
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on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on a multiannual recovery plan for Bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean repealing Regulation (EC) No 302/2009 (COM(2015)0180 – C8‑0118/2015 – 2015/0096(COD)) | ||||||||||
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 DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION |
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on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on a multiannual recovery plan for Bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean repealing Regulation (EC) No 302/2009 (COM(2015)0180 – C8‑0118/2015 – 2015/0096(COD)) (Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading) The European Parliament, – having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2015)0180), – having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 43(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C8‑0118/2015), – having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 1 July 2015(1), – having regard to Rule 59 of its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Fisheries (A8-0367/2015), 1. Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out; 2. Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it intends to amend its proposal substantially or replace it with another text; 3. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.
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| EXPLANATORY STATEMENT |
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The European Union is Contracting Party to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), the Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (RFMO) responsible for the management of tuna and tuna-like species in the Atlantic Ocean and adjoining seas. ICCAT has the authority to adopt decisions (“Recommendations”) for fisheries conservation and management in its area of competence; these acts are binding; they must be enacted into Union law. In 2006 ICCAT has adopted a multiannual recovery plan for bluefin tuna, ending in 2022. In order to rebuild the stock, the plan sets up a gradual reduction in the total allowable catch level from 2007 to 2011, restrictions on fishing within certain areas and time periods, a new minimum size, measures concerning sport and recreational fishing activities, farming and fishing capacity measures and reinforced the ICCAT Scheme of Joint International Inspection. This plan has been amended successively by ICCAT in its annual meetings. Bluefin tuna is the most important species regulated by ICCAT. Fishermen have made considerable efforts to adjust their catches to as shrunk TAC issued from the decisions taken in 2006 by complying with the strict fishing conditions established in the plan. The total admissible catches, set at 33.000 tonnes before the recovery plan, were reduced progressively to achieve the lowest level in 2012 (12.900 tonnes). In view of the positive evolution of the state of the stocks, ICCAT decided to slightly increase the total allocation to 13.400 tonnes for 2013. In 2014 the TAC has not been modified, but the EU quota increased to 7.939 tonnes due to the inclusion of the Croatian quota of 390,6 tonnes. The current TAC in 2015 is 15.821 tonnes, and the EU allocation is 9.372,9 tonnes. Bluefin tuna biomass has been showing a dramatically positive trend since 2008. The regional organisation decided in 2014 to increase the TAC by 20 percent for the following three years (from 2015 to 2017), since there are solid scientific data proving that stocks are stocks are at healthy levels of abundance. In the opinion of the rapporteur, the spectacular recovery observed in bluefin tuna stocks during the last years could justify a decision by ICCAT to advance to 2016 the TAC foreseen for 2017 (23.155 tonnes), which would still remain much below the TAC in place before the entry into force of the recovery plan. Content of the proposal With a view to ensure uniform and effective application throughout the European Union of all measures of the Recovery plan adopted between 2012 and 2014, the current proposal aims at incorporating them into a Regulation. The proposal contains technical measures such as those on transfer and caging operations of live bluefin tuna, including also measures on the use of stereoscopic cameras to estimate the quantities of bluefin tuna and releases, catch reporting requirements, and the implementation of the ICCAT Regional Observer Programme. The new CFP basic Regulation introduced a landing obligation which applies as of 1 January 2015 also to bluefin tuna. However the landing obligation is without prejudice to the Union's international obligations, such as those resulting from ICCAT recommendations. Under provision 15(2) of the CFP Basic Regulation, the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts for the purpose of implementing such international obligations into Union law, including, in particular, derogations from the landing obligation. Accordingly, the discard of bluefin tuna will be allowed in some situations laid down in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 2015/98. Position of the rapporteur Even if the Commission proposal is, in general, correctly transposing the relevant ICCAT Recommendations, in certain cases it goes beyond what was decided in ICCAT but also what the EU legislation provides for. This is the case, for example, when the individual quota for bluefin tuna is deemed to be exhausted: the ICCAT Recommendations, as well as the EU Control Regulation foresees that the flag Member State may – and not “shall”, as the Commission proposes – require the vessel to proceed immediately to a port designated by it. In this respect, the rapporteur wishes to remind that the aim of the transposition of the ICCAT Recommendations is to have uniform application throughout the EU; it is not to reopen the discussion about what has already been decided after, often, lengthy negotiations, where every single word and every comma count. Uniform application should aim at ensuring a level playing-field for all operators engaged in tuna fishing, including – most importantly – non-EU operators. Otherwise, all the efforts put and restrictions applied to EU fishermen will have no result, if different rules apply to foreign fleets. EU operators should not be penalised, by imposing them stricter measures than those agreed, because the Commission could not impose such measures in the negotiations in ICCAT. Taking advantage of the Commission proposal on the procedure to apply for future amendments of this Recovery plan, the rapporteur could not, once more, not address the issue of the absence of the European Parliament from international negotiations. The Commission proposes to transpose future amendments to this Recovery plan through delegated acts. If this – already extremely limited – power that the Parliament has in the last phase of approval of international agreements is taken away, this would practically mean that it has no say at all in ICCAT and, in the future, in other international fora. The transposition of RFMOs’ Recommendations has to remain a joint European Parliament and Council competence under the ordinary procedure (co-decision). ICCAT Recommendations take in account the specificities of the different tuna gears. In this context, the rapporteur would like to stress the role of artisanal traps, such as traditional traps ("almadrabas"), in the conservation of the stocks. In the implementation of the recovery plan, the European Union should pay particular attention to these traditional traps, which contribute to the rebuilt of tuna stocks, as they are extremely selective. Moreover, these gears have a very low impact in the marine ecosystems thanks to the low level of energy consumption and of accidental catches. | ||||
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