1.   Each Member State shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the fishing effort of its vessels and its traps are commensurate with the fishing opportunities on bluefin tuna available to that Member State in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea.

2.   Each Member State shall draw up an annual fishing plan for the vessels and traps fishing bluefin tuna in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea. Member States whose quota of bluefin tuna is less than 5 % of the Community quota may adopt a specific method to manage their quota in their fishing plan, in which case the provisions of paragraph 3 shall not apply.

3.   The annual fishing plan shall identify:

4.   No later than 31 January each year, the annual fishing plan shall be transmitted to the Commission. Any subsequent modification to the annual fishing plan or to the specific method to manage their quota shall be transmitted to the Commission at least 10 days before the exercise of the activity corresponding to that modification.

5.   The flag Member State shall take the action under this paragraph where a vessel flying its flag has:

The flag Member State shall ensure that a physical inspection takes place under its authority in its ports or by another person designated by the flag Member State when the vessel is not in a Community port.

The flag Member State may require the vessel to proceed immediately to a port designated by it when the individual quota is deemed to be exhausted.

6.   No later than 31 January, Member States shall report to the Commission on the implementation of their annual fishing plans for the preceding year. Those reports shall include:

7.   Private trade arrangements between nationals of a Member State and a CPC in order to use a fishing vessel flying the flag of that Member State for fishing in the framework of a tuna quota of a CPC shall be conducted only under authorisation by the Member State concerned, which shall inform the Commission, and by the ICCAT Commission.

8.   By 1 March each year, Member States shall send to the Commission the information on any private trade arrangements between its nationals and a CPC.

9.   The information referred to in paragraph 8 shall contain the following elements:

10.   The Commission shall send without delay the information referred to in paragraph 9 to the ICCAT Executive Secretariat.

11.   The Commission shall ensure that the percentage of a CPC’s quota for bluefin tuna that may be used for chartering of Community fishing vessels in accordance with Article 8b of Council Regulation (EC) No 1936/2001 (7) shall not exceed 60 %, 40 % and 20 % of the total quota in 2007, 2008 and 2009 respectively.

12.   Chartering of Community fishing vessels for bluefin tuna in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean shall be prohibited in 2010 and the following years.

13.   Each Member State shall ensure that the number of its bluefin tuna fishing vessels chartered and the duration of the charter shall be commensurate with the quota allocated to the charter nation.

1.   Bluefin tuna fishing shall be prohibited in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean by large-scale pelagic longline vessels over 24 metres during the period from 1 June to 31 December with the exception of the area delimited by west of 10° W and north of 42° N.

2.   Purse seine fishing for bluefin tuna shall be prohibited in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean during the period from 1 July to 31 December.

3.   Bluefin tuna fishing by bait boats shall be prohibited in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean during the period from 15 November to 15 May.

4.   Bluefin tuna fishing by pelagic trawlers shall be prohibited in the Eastern Atlantic during the period from 15 November to 15 May.

1.   The minimum size for bluefin tuna in the Eastern Atlantic and in the Mediterranean Sea shall be 30 kg or 115 cm.

2.   By way of derogation from paragraph 1 and without prejudice to Article 9, a minimum size for bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) of 8 kg or 75 cm shall apply for the following bluefin tunas:

3.   For the purpose of paragraph 2(a), the Council, acting by qualified majority on a proposal from the Commission, shall determine the maximum number of bait boats, trolling boats authorised to fish bluefin tuna and pelagic trawlers authorised to fish bluefin tuna as by-catch. The number of bait boats and trolling boats is set at the number of Community vessels participating in directed fishery for bluefin tuna in 2006. The number of pelagic trawler vessels is set at the number of Community vessels authorised to fish bluefin tuna as by-catch in 2006.

4.   For the purpose of paragraph 2(a), the Council, acting by qualified majority on a proposal from the Commission, shall distribute among the Member States the number of vessels determined in accordance with paragraph 3.

5.   For the purpose of paragraph 2(a), no more than 10 % of the Community quota for bluefin tuna between 8 kg or 75 cm and 30 kg or 115 cm shall be allocated among the authorised vessels referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4, with up to a maximum of 200 tonnes of bluefin tuna weighing no less than 6,4 kg or 70 cm caught by bait boat vessels of an overall length of less than 17 m. The Council, acting by qualified majority on a proposal from the Commission, shall decide on the allocation of the Community quota among Member States.

6.   No more than 2 % of the Community quota for bluefin tuna between 8 and 30 kg may be allocated among its coastal artisanal fishery for fresh fish in the Eastern Atlantic. The Council, acting by qualified majority on a proposal from the Commission, shall decide on the allocation of the Community quota among Member States.

7.   The additional specific conditions for bluefin tuna caught in the Eastern Atlantic by bait boats, trolling boats and pelagic trawlers are set out in Annex I.

1.   Each Member State shall establish a sampling programme for the estimation of the numbers-at-size of the bluefin tuna captured.

2.   Sampling by size in cages shall be carried out on a sample of 100 specimens per 100 tonnes of live fish or on a sample of 10 % of the total number of fish placed in a cage. The size sample, on basis of length or weight, shall be taken during harvesting at the farm, and on the dead fish during transport in accordance with the method adopted by the ICCAT for notifying data in the framework of Task II.

3.   Additional methods and samplings shall be developed for fish reared for more than one year.

4.   Sampling shall be carried out during a harvest taken at random and shall cover all cages. The data for sampling carried out each year shall be notified to the Commission by 31 May of the following year.

1.   A by-catch of maximum 8 % of bluefin tuna weighing less than 30 kg and no less than 10 kg shall be authorised for all fishing vessels fishing actively or not for bluefin tuna, without prejudice to Article 7(2).

2.   The percentage referred to in paragraph 1 shall be calculated either on the basis of the total by-catch in number of fish per landing of the total bluefin tuna catches of these vessels, or on basis of its weight equivalence in percentage.

3.   By-catch shall be deducted from the quota of the flag Member State. The discard of dead fish from the by-catch referred to in paragraph 1 shall be prohibited while the bluefin tuna fishery is open and shall be deducted from the quota of the flag Member State.

4.   Landings of by-catch of bluefin tuna shall be subject to Articles 14 and 18(1).

1.   In the framework of recreational fisheries it shall be prohibited to catch, retain on board, transship and land more than one individual of bluefin tuna in each sea trip.

2.   The marketing of bluefin tuna caught in recreational fishing shall be prohibited except for charitable purposes.

3.   Each Member State shall record catch data from recreational fishing and communicate this data to the Commission. The Commission shall forward that information to the Standing Committee on Research and Statistics of ICCAT.

4.   Each Member State shall take the necessary measures to ensure, to the greatest extent possible, the release of bluefin tuna caught alive, especially juveniles, in the framework of recreational fishing.

1.   Each Member State shall take the necessary measures to regulate sport fishing, notably by fishing authorisations.

2.   The marketing of bluefin tuna caught in sport fishing competitions shall be prohibited except for charitable purposes.

3.   Each Member State shall record catch data from sport fishing and communicate this data to the Commission. The Commission shall forward that information to the Standing Committee on Research and Statistics of ICCAT.

4.   Each Member State shall take the necessary measures to ensure, to the greatest extent possible, the release of the bluefin tuna caught alive, especially juveniles, in the framework of sport fishing.

1.   By 31 January 2008, each Member State shall send the Commission electronically a list of all fishing vessels flying its flag authorised to fish actively for bluefin tuna in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea by issue of a special fishing permit.

2.   The Commission shall send this information to the ICCAT Executive Secretariat so that those vessels can be entered in the ICCAT record of vessels authorised to fish for bluefin tuna.

3.   Those Community fishing vessels concerned by this Article and not entered in the ICCAT record shall not fish for, retain on board, transship, transport, transfer or land bluefin tuna in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea.

4.   The rules on fishing licences in Article 8a(2), (4), (6), (7) and (8) of Regulation (EC) No 1936/2001 shall apply mutatis mutandis.

1.   By 31 January 2008, each Member State shall send the Commission electronically a list of its authorised tuna traps authorised to fish for bluefin tuna in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea by issue of a special fishing licence. The list shall include the name of the traps and the register number.

2.   The Commission shall send the list to the ICCAT Executive Secretariat so that these tuna traps can be entered on the ICCAT record of tuna traps authorised to fish for bluefin tuna.

3.   Community tuna traps not entered into the ICCAT record may not fish for, retain, tranship or land bluefin tuna in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea.

4.   Article 8a(2), (4), (6), (7) and (8) of Regulation (EC) No 1936/2001 shall apply mutatis mutandis.

1.   Member States shall designate a place to be used for landing or a place close to the shore (designated ports) where landing or transshipment operations of bluefin tuna are permitted.

2.   Member States shall transmit to the Commission no later than 1 April of each year a list of designated ports. The Commission shall send this information to the ICCAT Executive Secretariat before 15 April of each year. Any subsequent changes to the list shall be notified to the Commission for transmission to the ICCAT Executive Secretariat, at least 15 days before the change comes into force.

3.   It shall be prohibited to land and or tranship from vessels referred to in Article 12 any quantity of bluefin tuna fished in Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea at any place other than ports designated by CPCs and by Member States in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2.

4.   This provision shall apply to landings or trans-shipments by bait boats, trolling boats and pelagic trawlers having caught bluefin tuna in the Eastern Atlantic in accordance with the specific conditions set out in Annex I.

1.   In addition to complying with Article 6 and 8 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 of 12 October 1993 establishing a control system applicable to the Common Fisheries Policy (8), the master of a Community fishing vessel referred to in Article 12 shall enter in the logbook, if applicable, the information listed in Annex II.

2.   The master of a Community vessel referred to in Article 12 engaged in a joint fishing operation shall record the additional information in its logbook:

3.   Where a catching vessel engaged in a joint fishing operation declares the quantity of bluefin tuna captured by its fishing gear, the master shall indicate, for each catch, for which vessel(s) and flag State(s) against whose quota the catches must be counted.

1.   Any joint fishing operations for bluefin tuna involving vessels flying the flag of one or more Member State(s) shall only be authorised with the consent of the flag Member State or flag Member States concerned.

2.   At the moment of the application for the authorisation, each Member State shall take the necessary measures to obtain from its fishing vessels participating in the joint fishing operation detailed information concerning the duration of the joint operation, the identity of the operators involved and the allocation key between the vessels for the catches involved.

3.   Each Member State shall transmit the information referred to in paragraph 2 to the Commission. The Commission shall promptly forward that information to the ICCAT Secretariat.

1.   The master of a catching fishing vessel referred to in Article 12 shall send to the competent authorities of his flag Member State a catch report stating the quantities of bluefin tuna caught by his vessel, including zero catch returns.

2.   The catch report shall for the first time be transmitted at the latest at the end of the 10 days after the entry into Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea or after the beginning of the fishing trip. In the case of joint operations the master of the catching vessel shall indicate, for each catch, for which vessel or vessels the catches shall be counted against the quota of the flag State(s).

3.   From 1 June of each year, the master of a fishing vessel shall transmit the catch report on the quantity of bluefin tuna, including zero catch returns, on a five-day basis.

4.   Each Member State shall, upon receipt, forward catch reports by electronic or other means to the Commission. The Commission shall promptly forward that information to the ICCAT Secretariat.

5.   Member States shall inform the Commission, in computer-readable form, before the 15th day of each month, of the quantities of bluefin tuna caught in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea which have been landed, trans-shipped, trapped or caged by the vessel flying their flag during the preceding month. The Commission shall promptly forward that information to the ICCAT Secretariat.

1.   By way of derogation from Article 7 of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93, the master of a Community vessel referred to in Article 12 of this Regulation or his representative shall notify the competent authority of the Member State (including the flag Member State) or the CPC whose ports or landing facility they wish to use at least four hours before the estimated time of arrival at the port, of the following:

2.   In the case of a landing in a designated port of a Member State other than the flag Member State, the relevant authority of that Member State shall send a record of the landing to the flag authority of the vessel, within 48 hours of the end of the landing.

3.   This provision shall not apply to landings by bait boats, trolling boats and pelagic trawlers having caught bluefin tuna in the Eastern Atlantic.

1.   By way of derogation from Article 11 of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 trans-shipment at sea of bluefin tuna in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea shall be prohibited, except for large-scale tuna longline fishing vessels operating in accordance with ICCAT Recommendation 2005[06] establishing a programme for trans-shipment for large-scale tuna longline fishing vessels, as amended.

2.   Prior to entry into any port, the master of the receiving vessel (catching vessel or processing vessel) or his representative, shall provide the competent authorities of the Member State whose port he wants to use at least 48 hours before the estimated time of arrival with the following:

3.   Catching fishing vessels shall not be allowed to trans-ship, unless they have obtained prior authorisation from their flag State.

4.   The master of the catching vessel shall, before the trans-shipment starts, inform its flag State of the following:

5.   The competent authority of the Member State in which port the trans-shipment takes place shall:

6.   The master of a Community vessel referred to in Article 12 shall complete and transmit the ICCAT trans-shipment declaration to the competent authorities of the Member State whose flag the vessels are flying. The declaration shall be transmitted no later than 15 days after the date of trans-shipment in port in accordance with the format set out in Annex III.

1.   The Member State under whose jurisdiction the fattening or farming farm for bluefin tuna is located shall submit within one week of the completion of the caging operation a caging report, validated by an observer, to the Member State or CPC whose flag vessels have fished the tuna and to the Commission. The Commission shall promptly forward that information to the ICCAT Secretariat. This report shall contain the information included in the caging declaration as referred to in Article 4b of Regulation (EC) No 1936/2001.

2.   When the fattening or farming farms are located on the high seas, paragraph 1 shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to Member States where the natural or legal persons responsible for fattening or farming farms are established.

3.   Before any transfer into cage, the flag Member State or the flag CPC of the catching vessel shall be informed by the competent authority of the fattening or farming farm Member State of the transfer into cage of quantities caught by fishing vessels flying its flag.

The flag Member State of the catching vessel shall request the competent authority of the fattening or farming farm Member State to proceed to the seizure of the catches and the release of the fish into the sea if it considers on receipt of that information that:

4.   The master of a Community fishing vessel shall complete and transmit to the flag Member State or to the flag CPC the ICCAT transfer declaration not later than 15 days after the date of transfer to tug vessels or to the cage, in accordance with the format set out in Annex III. The transfer declaration shall accompany the transferred fish during transport to the cage.

1.   Catches by trap shall be recorded after the end of every fishing operation in tuna traps and shall be transmitted by electronic means or other means within 48 hours of the end of every fishing operation to the competent authority of the Member State where the trap is located.

2.   Each Member State shall, upon receipt, forward the catch record by electronic means to the Commission. The Commission shall promptly forward the information to the ICCAT Secretariat.

1.   Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that all vessels referred to in the ICCAT record of vessel authorised to fish for bluefin tuna entering a designated port to land and/or tranship bluefin tuna caught in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea are submitted to a control in port.

2.   Member States shall take the necessary measures to control each caging operation in the fattening or farming farms falling within their jurisdiction.

3.   When the fattening or farming farms are located on the high seas, paragraph 2 shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to Member States where the natural or legal persons responsible for the fattening or farming farm are established.

1.   Member States shall verify, including by using VMS (vessel monitoring system) data, the submission of logbooks and relevant information recorded in the logbooks of their vessels in the transfer/trans-shipment document and in the catch documents.

2.   The Member States shall carry out administrative cross-checks on all landings, all trans-shipments or caging between the quantities by species recorded in the vessels logbook or quantities by species recorded in the trans-shipment declaration and the quantities recorded in the landing declaration or caging declaration, and any other relevant document, such as invoice and/or sales notes.

1.   The ICCAT scheme of joint international inspection adopted by ICCAT at its Fourth Regular Meeting (Madrid, November 1975) and set out in Annex IV to this Regulation shall apply in the Community.

2.   Member States whose fishing vessels are authorised to fish bluefin tuna in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea shall assign inspectors and carry out inspections at sea under the Scheme.

3.   The Commission or a body designated by it may assign Community inspectors to the Scheme.

4.   The Commission or a body designated by it shall coordinate the surveillance and inspection activities for the Community. It may draw up, in concert with the Member States concerned, joint inspection programmes for that purpose which will enable the Community to fulfil its obligation under the Scheme. The Member States whose vessels are engaged in fishery on bluefin tuna shall adopt the necessary measures to facilitate the implementation of these programmes particularly as regards the human and material resources required and the periods and zones when these are to be deployed.

5.   Member States shall inform the Commission by 1 April of each year of the names of the inspectors and the inspection vessels they are intending to assign to the Scheme during the following year. Using this information the Commission shall draw up, in collaboration with the Member States, a forward plan for Community participation in the Scheme each year, which it shall send to the ICCAT Secretariat and the Member States.

1.   Each Member State shall ensure observer coverage on its fishing vessels over 15 m in length for at least:

The observer tasks shall be, in particular, to:

In addition, the observer shall carry out scientific work, such as collecting Task II data as defined by ICCAT, when required by ICCAT, based on the instructions from the Standing Committee on Research and Statistics of ICCAT.

2.   Each Member State within whose jurisdiction the fattening or farming farm for bluefin tuna is located shall ensure an observer presence during all transfer of bluefin tuna to the cages and all harvesting of fish from the farm.

The observer tasks shall be, in particular, to:

1.   Member States shall take enforcement measures with respect to a fishing vessel flying their flag, where it has been established, in accordance with their law that the vessel does not comply with Articles 4, 5, 7, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 19. The measures may include, in particular, depending on the gravity of the offence and in accordance with their national law:

2.   Each Member State within whose jurisdiction the bluefin tuna farm is located shall take enforcement measures with respect to that farm, where it has been established, in accordance with its law that the farm does not comply with Articles 20 and 25(2) of this Regulation and Articles 4a, 4b and 4c of Regulation (EC) No 1936/2001. The measures may include in particular depending on the gravity of the offence and in accordance with the national law:

1.   Community trade, landing, imports, exports, placing in cages for fattening or farming, re-exports and trans-shipments of Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna (thunnus thynnus) that are not accompanied by accurate, complete and validated documentation required by this Regulation shall be prohibited.

2.   Community trade, imports, landings, placing in cages for fattening or farming, processing, exports, re-exports and the trans-shipment of Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna (thunnus thynnus) caught by fishing vessels whose flag State does not have a quota, catch limit or allocation of fishing effort for Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna, under the terms of ICCAT management and conservation measures, or when the flag State’s fishing possibilities are exhausted, shall be prohibited. Based on the information received by the ICCAT Secretariat, the Commission shall inform all the Member States that a quota of a CPC is exhausted.

3.   Community trade, imports, landings, processing, exports from fattening or farming farms that do not comply with ICCAT Recommendation 2006[07] on bluefin tuna farming shall be prohibited.