Select Committee on European Scrutiny Thirty-Seventh Report


6 Fisheries conservation in Antarctic waters

(24880)

11146/03

COM(03) 384

Amended draft Council Regulation laying down certain technical measures applicable to fishing activities in the area covered by the Convention on the conservation of Antarctic marine living resources.

Amended draft Council Regulation laying down certain control measures applicable to fishing activities in the area covered by the Convention on the conservation of Antarctic marine living resources.

Legal baseArticle 37 EC; QMV
Document originated1 July 2003
Deposited in Parliament19 September 2003
DepartmentForeign and Commonwealth Office
Basis of considerationEM of 7 October 2003
Previous Committee ReportNone
To be discussed in CouncilNo date set
Committee's assessmentPolitically important
Committee's decisionNot cleared; further information requested

Background

6.1 Fisheries conservation in Antarctic and sub-Antarctic waters is regulated by the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which is an important part of the Antarctic Treaty System. The European Community has been a Contracting Party to the Convention since 1981 and is required to transpose the measures for the conservation and management of fish stocks provided for in the Convention into Community law. These measures include numerous rules on the technical specifications applicable to fishing activities, most of which have been transposed.[8] Arrangements for the control of fishing activities were transposed in 1990[9] with the application of a system of inspection at sea and scientific observation on board, mainly for the purpose of evaluating stocks.

The proposed Regulations

6.2 The two relevant Regulations need to be updated to bring them into line with the amendments to CCAMLR measures which have been adopted by CCAMLR over the last five years. Some limits and prohibitions on catches have already been transposed as part of the annual TACs[10] and quotas exercise. For the sake of clarity, the technical and observation measures, and those for the control of fishing, have been drawn up in two separate Regulations.

PROPOSED REGULATION LAYING DOWN CERTAIN TECHNICAL MEASURES

6.3 Major changes have been made by CCAMLR to the technical measures in Regulation 66/98. These relate to:

  • the use of certain types of fishing gear, such as longlines, pots and trawls. Certain types of equipment regarded as harmful to the environment will be banned, and measures will be specified, aimed at reducing the harmful effect of fishing on species such as seabirds, which suffer incidental mortality from longline fishing, and marine mammals.
  • mesh sizes; and
  • the scientific observer scheme.

PROPOSED REGULATION LAYING DOWN CERTAIN CONTROL MEASURES

6.4 In 1999, the Community regulations on control measures in the Convention area were augmented by a new Regulation,[11] which has since been modified several times. In 2002, specific procedures were introduced to identify, and take measures relating to, vessels of Non-Contracting Parties, as well as those of Contracting Parties, engaging in Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) fishing activities in the Convention Area.

6.5 The Commission proposes that the three Regulations mentioned above should be repealed and replaced by a single Regulation which brings together the special provisions for the control of fishing activities arising from the Community's obligations as a Contracting Party. It covers access to fishing activities in the Convention Area, the data reporting system, control and inspection measures and vessels engaged in IUU fishing in the Convention Area.

THE CCAMLR COMMISSION

6.6 Members of the CCAMLR Commission include the European Community and seven Member States — Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Finland, Greece and the Netherlands are Acceding States, that is, observers, to the Convention.

The Government's view

6.7 The Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr Bill Rammell) says that

"As an active and committed participant in the Antarctic Treaty System, of which CCAMLR is part, the United Kingdom is concerned to ensure the long-term conservation of fish and other living marine resource stocks in the entire CCAMLR area. The Regulations will update measures to safeguard long-term conservation of stocks of Toothfish, Icefish, Krill and other target species in the Convention area, including in the Maritime Zone of the UK Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The United Kingdom therefore supports the draft Regulations in general terms".

6.8 The Minister comments that there is no clear timetable but that discussion of the proposals were expected to start soon. These and other conservation measures would be reviewed at the annual meeting of the CCAMLR Commission in late October.

Conclusion

6.9 Although the Minister says that the UK already implements the obligations laid down in the proposed "Regulation" — presumably he means both proposals — we have several questions to put to him on the effectiveness of the measures and what the EU is doing to promote the achievement of these objectives of the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR).

6.10 We ask the Minister:

  • Why has it taken so long for these amendments to the CCAMLR measures to be brought forward by the European Commission?
  • Is there any reason to believe that any Member State is in breach of the measures which are already in place? Do such breaches include vessels fishing under flags of convenience, but captained by Member State nationals? What measures are being taken to apply sanctions in Community waters to Community vessels, in the event that these are found guilty of fishing illegally in the Convention Area?
  • How effective does the Government expect the amended Regulation to be in relation to enforcement of IUU (Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported) fishing in the Convention Area?
  • What pressure is being put on Indonesia, Hong Kong and Singapore, as well as other countries where vessels of non-Contracting Parties are able to sell fish into the black market? Where else is illegally caught fish being "laundered"?
  • Should the EU be more active in encouraging non-Contracting Parties to contract?
  • What other action could the EU be taking to promote the achievement of the CCAMLR objectives and to persuade others to adopt its best practice, particularly as regards the use of longlines, where we understand that good results are being achieved?



8   By enacting Council Regulation (EC) No.66/98 of 18 December 1997 and repealing Regulation (EC) NO.2113/96. Back

9   Council Regulation (EEC) No.3943/90 of 19 December 1990. Back

10   Total Allowable Catches. Back

11   Council Regulation (EC) No. 1721/1999 of 29 July 1999. Back


 
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