Key Benefits:
Minister of Agriculture, Food, Fisheries, Rural and Land Management,
Considering the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;
Having regard to Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 2807/83 of 22 September 1983 defining the specific modalities for the registration of fish capture information by member states;
Having regard to Commission Regulation (EC) No 1077/2008 of 3 November 2008 implementing Council Regulation EC No. 1966/2006 of 21 December 2006 concerning the electronic registration and communication of fishing activity data and remote sensing devices;
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No. 2371/2002 of 20 December 2002 on the conservation and sustainable use of fisheries resources in the context of the Common Fisheries Policy;
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No. 1966/2006 of 21 December 2006 concerning the electronic registration and communication of data relating to fishing activities and remote sensing devices;
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No. 520/2007 of 7 May 2007 providing for technical conservation measures for certain highly migratory stocks and repealing Regulation (EC) No. 973/2001;
See Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 of 20 November 2009 establishing a Community Control Regime to ensure compliance with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy, amending regulations (EC) No. 847/96, (EC) No. 2371/2002, (EC) No. 811/2004, (EC) No. 768/2005, (EC) No. 2115/2005, (EC) No. 2166/2005
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No. 1288/2009 of 27 November 2009 establishing transitional technical measures from 1 January 2010 to 30 June 2011;
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No. 57/2011 of 18 January 2011 establishing, for 2011, fishing opportunities for certain fisheries stocks and fisheries stock groups, applicable in EU waters and, for EU vessels, in certain waters not belonging to the EU;
Considering the rural code and the maritime fisheries;
Vu le Decree No. 90-94 of 25 January 1990 taken for the application of articles 3 and 13 of the decree of 9 January 1852 amended on the exercise of marine fishing;
Vu le Decree No. 90-95 of 25 January 1990 amended for the purposes of Article 3 of the amended Decree of 9 January 1852 setting out the general conditions for the exercise of marine fisheries in fishing areas not covered by the Community Conservation and Management Regulations;
Having regard to the decree of 3 December 2009 on inter-ministerial departmental branches;
Vu le Decree No. 2010-130 of 11 February 2010 the organization and missions of interregional branches of the sea;
Having regard to the decision of 18 December 2006 establishing the terms and conditions for the management of the various authorization regimes defined by the Community regulations and applicable to French professional fishing vessels registered in the European Community;
Having regard to the decision of 26 December 2006 establishing the modalities for the distribution and collective management of fishing opportunities (capture quotas and fishing effort quotas) of French vessels registered in the European Community;
Considering the opinion of the National Committee on Maritime Fisheries and Marine Animals;
Considering the opinions of the professional organizations concerned,
Stop it!
Subject.
The professional fishing of white tuna (Thunnus alalunga) in the Atlantic Ocean north of 5° N is subject to the detention of a licence, below referred to as "white tuna licence" as long as the quantities of white tuna caught, kept on board, transshipped or disembarked are greater than 2 tons in the year.
Forms of deliverance.
The white tuna licence is issued to a shipowner who has applied for it, for a specified ship and for the gear specified in the application (line/palangre, cane, pelagic trawl) by the producer organization to which the shipowner adheres.
For shipowners not adhering to a producer organization, the licence is issued by the prefect of the region. The latter may delegate this competence to the Interregional Director of the Sea under the conditions established by the Decree No. 2004-374 of 29 April 2004 and under the conditions established in the present order.
The licence is issued on the basis of a model established by the management of marine fisheries and aquaculture to the licensed shipowner.
Each change in the consolidated list of issued white tuna licences is addressed by the organization of producers in the month to the management of marine fisheries and aquaculture as well as to the National Committee of Maritime Fisheries and Marine Livestocks.
Duration of validity.
The validity of the white tuna licence cannot exceed December 31 of the year of issue.
The white tuna license is not transferable or dessible.
Filing of applications.
Any application for a white tuna licence must be filed, duly completed and signed by the shipowner for each of its vessels to the producer organization to which it adheres or, if it does not adhere to an organization of producers, to the administrative authority of the vessel's jurisdiction.
The application form is prepared by the Directorate of Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture.
These applications must be filed before May 15 of each year.
Incomplete or unreported requests in accordance with the regulations are inadmissible. Producer organizations or the region prefect notify any decision to refuse the licence to the respective shipowner.
Any amendment to the shipowner or ship shall result in the licence being deducted. It is then up to the shipowner to apply for a new license.
Contingent and eligibility conditions.
The white tuna licence may be issued to any shipowner on the list of vessels eligible for the white tuna licence established and updated by the Minister for Maritime Fisheries.
However, pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No. 1005/2008 of 29 September 2008 establishing a community system to prevent, discourage and eradicate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (INN), any vessel on an INN list or whose shipowner is on an INN list may not be eligible for the white tuna licence.
The quota of licences for the white tuna fishing in the Atlantic Ocean, north of 5° N, is set, each year, by the Commission's regulation establishing fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and fisheries stock groups, applicable in the EU waters and, for EU vessels, in waters subject to capturing limitations.
For the year 2011, the quota is 151 ships. Within this contingent, a maximum of 76 white tuna licences are reserved for pelagic trawl vessels. This number can be reviewed, proportionally, each year according to the contingent.
To be eligible, the applicant must:
― be active in the community fleet file;
― holding a community fishing licence;
– having access to a quota of white tuna;
―measure less than 25 metres above all, except for cases of renewal of a white tuna licence obtained the previous year of the application.
Any licence holder is also authorized to also fish the white tuna on the dragging line as an accessory fishing technique.
At the beginning of each year, and pending the filing of applications for a white tuna licence, the distribution of this contingent is based on the licences issued the year "n ― 1".
Conditions of attribution.
The white tuna licences are issued to a shipowner for a specified vessel and for the gear specified in the application under the conditions provided for in the above-mentioned decision of 18 December 2006 taking into account the fishing anteriorities, socio-economic balances and market directions.
The white tuna licences shall be issued for the year "n" and within the limit of the quota set out in section 5 of this Order, in accordance with the priority criteria in the following order:
1. The licensees of a white tuna licence in the year "n ― 1" having fished white tuna during this period (renewal).
2. The holders of a white tuna licence in the year "n ― 2" having fished white tuna during this period.
3. The licensees of a white tuna licence in the year "n ― 3" having fished white tuna during this period.
4. Applicants for a white tuna licence for a first installation after notice of the PPS award board.
5. Other applicants for a white tuna licence, after validation of the PPS allocation commission.
In the case of pelagic trawlers, fishing activity in pairs, the study of licensing is done in pairs. As a result, the order of priority is based on the situation of both applicants.
Control provisions and sanctions.
The master of any professional fishing vessel engaged in a white tuna fishing activity must maintain its licence on board and be able to present it in any control.
It is prohibited for any vessel to capture and keep on board, transship or disembark more than 2 tonnes of white tuna if it is not licensed as a white tuna.
The list of vessels holding a white tuna licence under this Order is notified to the European Commission.
any breach of these provisions, including in respect of the maintenance, filling, transmission and transmission of mandatory documents for the monitoring of the captures and landings or the non-compliance of the obligations in respect of the satellite monitoring of the ships, may result in the application of an administrative penalty in accordance with sections L. 946-1 and L. 946-4 of the rural code and
Implementation.
The Director of Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture and the Prefects of the region concerned are responsible, each with respect to it, for the execution of this Order, which will be published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.
Done on 14 April 2011.
For the Minister and by delegation:
By preventing the director
marine fisheries and aquaculture:
Deputy Director,
J.-M Suché
