Regulation (EU) 2023/2053 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 September 2023 establishing a multiannual management plan for bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean, amending Regulations (EC) No 1936/2001, (EU) 2017/2107, and (EU) 2019/833 and repealing Regulation (EU) 2016/1627

(b) The arrangements set out in the ICCAT Recommendation 19-04 and the plans for participation shall apply between Contracting Parties unless otherwise agreed between them, and such agreement shall be notified to the ICCAT Commission. However, the implementation of the scheme shall be suspended between any two Contracting Parties if either of them has notified the ICCAT Commission to that effect, pending completion of such an agreement.

(b) The inspector shall be entitled to inspect all fishing gear in use or on board.

18.The inspector shall affix an identification mark approved by the ICCAT Commission to any fishing gear inspected which appears to be in contravention of the ICCAT Commission’s recommendations in force in relation to the flag State of the vessel concerned and shall record this fact in the inspection report.

19.The inspector may photograph the gear, equipment, documentation and any other element the inspector considers necessary in such a way as to reveal those features which in his/her opinion are not in conformity with the regulation in force, in which case the subjects photographed shall be listed in the report and copies of the photographs shall be attached to the copy of the report to the flag State.

20.The inspector shall, as necessary, inspect all catch on board to determine compliance with ICCAT recommendations.

21.The model identity card for inspectors is as follows:

The European Fisheries Control Agency shall be the body designated to:

(a) receive, from the authorities of the flag Member State of the inspection vessel, the report and any information related to detected infringements;

(b) send a copy of the reports with detected infringements to the flag State of the inspected fishing vessel and to the ICCAT Secretariat, with copy to the Commission.

ANNEX X

Transfer operations

1.The electronic storage device containing the original video record shall be provided to the ICCAT regional observer as soon as possible after the end of the transfer operation, who shall immediately initialise it to avoid any further manipulation.

2.The original recording shall be kept on board the catching vessel or by the farm or trap operator, where appropriate, during its entire period of authorisation.

3.Two identical copies of the video record shall be produced. One copy shall be transmitted to the ICCAT regional observer on board the purse seine vessel and one to the national observer on board the towing vessel, the latter of which shall accompany the ITD and the associated catches to which it relates. That procedure shall only apply to national observers in the case of transfers between towing vessels.

4.The ICCAT transfer authorisation number shall be displayed at the beginning or at the end of each video, or both.

5.The time and the date of the video shall be continuously displayed throughout each video record.

6.Before the start of the transfer, the video shall include the opening and closing of the net or door and footage showing whether the receiving and donor cages already contain bluefin tuna.

7.The video recording shall be continuous without any interruptions and cuts and cover the entire transfer operation.

8.The video record shall be of sufficient quality to estimate the number of bluefin tuna being transferred.

9.If the video record is of insufficient quality to estimate the number of bluefin tuna being transferred, a control transfer shall be conducted. The operator may request the flag authorities of the vessel or trap to conduct a control transfer. In the case the operator does not request such control transfer or the result of that voluntary transfer is not satisfactory, the control authorities shall request as many control transfers as necessary until a video record of sufficient quality is available. Such control transfers shall cover transfer of all the bluefin tuna from the receiving cage into another cage which shall be empty. Where the origin of the fish is a trap, the bluefin tuna already transferred from the trap to the receiving cage may be sent back to the trap, in which case the control transfer shall be cancelled under the supervision of the ICCAT regional observer.

Caging operations

1.The electronic storage device containing the original video record shall be provided to the ICCAT regional observer as soon as possible after the end of the caging operation, who shall immediately initialise it to avoid any further manipulation.

2.The original recording shall be kept by the farm, where applicable, during their entire period of authorisation.

3.Two identical copies of the video record shall be produced. One copy shall be transmitted to the ICCAT regional observer deployed on the farm.

4.The ICCAT caging authorisation number shall be displayed at the beginning or at the end of each video, or both.

5.The time and the date of the video shall be continuously displayed throughout each video record.

6,Before the start of the caging, the video shall include the opening and closing of the net/door and whether the receiving and donor cages already contain bluefin tuna.

7.The video recording shall be continuous without any interruptions and cuts and cover the entire caging operation.

8.The video record shall be of sufficient quality to estimate the number of bluefin tuna being transferred.

9.If the video record is of insufficient quality to estimate the number of bluefin tuna being transferred, then a new caging operation shall be requested by the control authorities. The new caging operation shall include all the bluefin tuna in the receiving farm cage into another farm cage which shall be empty.

ANNEX XI

A. Use of stereoscopical camera systems

The use of stereoscopic camera systems in the context of caging operations, as required by Article 51, shall be conducted in accordance with the following:

B. Presentation and use of the results of the programmes

1.Decisions regarding differences between the catch report and the results from the stereoscopical system programme shall be taken at the level of the JFO or total trap catches, for JFOs and trap catches destined to a farm facility involving a single CPC and/or Member State. The decision regarding differences between the catch report and the results from the stereoscopical system programme shall be taken at the level of the caging operations for JFOs involving more than one CPC and/or Member State, unless otherwise agreed by all the flag CPC and/or Member State authorities of the catching vessels involved in the JFO.

2.Within 15 days from the caging date, the Member State responsible for the farm shall provide a report to the Member State or CPC responsible for the catching vessel or trap and to the Commission, including the following documents:

(a) technical stereoscopical system report including: — general information: species, site, cage, date, algorithm, — sizing statistical information: average weight and length, minimum weight and length, maximum weight and length, number of fish sampled, weight distribution, size distribution;

(b) detailed results of the programme, with the size and weight of every fish that was sampled;

(c) caging report including: — general information on the operation: number of the caging operation, name of the farm, cage number, BCD number, ITD number, name and flag of the catching vessel or trap, name and flag of the towing vessel, date of the stereoscopical system operation and footage file name, — algorithm used to convert length into weight, — comparison between the amounts declared in the BCD and the amounts found with the stereoscopical system, in number of fish, average weight and total weight (the formula used to calculate the difference shall be: (stereoscopical system-BCD)/stereoscopical system * 100), — margin of error of the system, — for those caging reports relating to JFOs/traps, the last caging report shall also include a summary of all information in previous caging reports.

3.When receiving the caging report, the Member State authorities of the catching vessel or trap shall take all the necessary measures according to the following situations:

(a) the total weight declared by the catching vessel or trap in the BCD is within the range of the stereoscopical system results: — no release shall be ordered, — the BCD shall be modified both in number (using the number of fish resulting from the use of the control cameras or alternative techniques) and average weight, while the total weight shall not be modified;

(b) the total weight declared by the catching vessel or trap in the BCD is below the lowest figure of the range of the stereoscopical system results: — a release shall be ordered using the lowest figure in the range of the stereoscopical system results, — the release operations shall be carried out in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 41(2) and Annex XII, — after the release operations took place, the BCD shall be modified both in number (using the number of fish resulting from the use of the control cameras, minus the number of fish released) and average weight, while the total weight shall not be modified;

(c) the total weight declared by the catching vessel or trap in the BCD exceeds the highest figure of the range of the stereoscopical system results: — no release shall be ordered, — the BCD shall be modified for the total weight (using the highest figure in the range of the stereoscopical system results), for the number of fish (using the results from the control cameras) and average weight accordingly.

4.For any relevant modification of the BCD, the values (number and weight) entered in Section 2 shall be consistent with those in Section 6 and the values in Sections 3, 4 and 6, shall be not higher those in Section 2.

5.In the case of compensation of differences found in individual caging reports across all cagings from a JFO/trap, whether or not a release operation is required, all relevant BCDs shall be modified on the basis of the lowest range of the stereoscopical system results. The BCDs related to the quantities of bluefin tuna released shall also be modified to reflect the weight/number released. The BCDs related to bluefin tuna not released but for which the results from the stereoscopical systems or alternative techniques differ from those reported caught and transferred shall also be amended to reflect those differences.

The BCDs relating to the catches from where the release operation took place shall also be modified to reflect the weight/number released.

ANNEX XII

RELEASE PROTOCOL

Issuing of release orders

1.Release orders before caging shall be issued:

by the competent authority of the Member State or CPC of the donor operator when, on the basis of the prior transfer notification, the competent authority of the Member State of the catching vessel or trap refuses the transfer operation as per Article 46; or

by the competent authority of the farm Member State or CPC when, in accordance with Article 45d, paragraph 8 the caging authorisation has not been issued by the competent authorities of the farm Member State or CPC within 1 month after the request for a caging authorisation.

2.Release orders after caging shall be issued:

by the competent authority of the catching flag or trap Member States or CPC when, following procedures in paragraphs 7 to 9 of Article 50 it is established that the weight caged exceed that reported caught. The release order shall be notified to the competent authorities of the farm Member State or CPC, which shall transmit it to the farm operator concerned; or

by the competent authorities of the farm Member State or CPC when, after harvest, the remaining fish is not covered by an eBCD, or when a carry-over assessment or control transfer has identified an excess of fish.

For cases under the first paragraph of point 2, the total weight of bluefin tuna to be released shall be converted into a corresponding number of individuals by applying the average weight resulting from the analysis of the stereoscopic camera video footages related to the relevant caging operation, made by the competent authorities of the farm Member State or CPC in accordance with paragraph 1 of Article 51.

Segregation of fish prior to the release operation

3.Prior to the release from a farm cage, the competent authorities of the farm Member State or CPC shall ensure that:

the fish to be released is segregated and moved to an empty transport cage, and the transfer of the fish to the transport cage is monitored by control camera in the water, in accordance with the minimum standards set out in Annex X;

the number of fish segregated for release corresponds to the release order.

4.The prior segregation of the fish shall be conducted in the presence of an ICCAT regional observer.

Record of the release operation by video camera

5.The release of bluefin tuna from transport or farm cages into the sea shall be recorded by control camera. All release operations into the sea shall be observed by an ICCAT regional observer.

Reporting

6.For each release operation performed, the donor operator or farm operator responsible for the release shall complete a release report, using the template set out in section 13 of this Annex.

7.The ICCAT regional observer shall validate the information in the release declaration. The donor operator or farm operator shall submit the release declaration to its authorities within 48 hours of the release operation taking place for transmission to the ICCAT Secretariat.

General provisions

8.Release operations from purse seine nets, traps or transport cages shall be executed immediately after receipt of the release order.

9.Release operations from farms shall be executed within 3 months of the last caging operation of the fish concerned and at a minimum distance of 10 miles from the farm. For releases of less than 5 tonnes of bluefin tuna, the competent authorities of the farm Member State or CPC may set a shorter distance, of minimum 5 miles, for the release.

10.The master of the towing vessel or the farm operator shall be responsible for the fish survival until the release operation has taken place.

11.The competent authorities of the farm Member State or CPC might implement any additional measures they feel necessary to guarantee that the release operations take place at the most appropriate time and place in order to increase the probability of the fish going back to the stock.

12.The provisions of this Annex shall not apply to release of bluefin tuna from traps as a result of lifting of the gear at the end of the activity.

13.RELEASE REPORT TEMPLATE:

ANNEX XIII

A. Record of dead or lost bluefin tuna

1.The number of bluefin tuna individuals that die during any operation regulated under this Regulation shall be reported by the donor operator, in the case of a transfer operation and associated transport, or by the operator of the farm, in the case of a caging operation or farming activities, and shall be deducted from the relevant quota of the Member State concerned.

2.For the purposes of this Annex, ‘lost fish’ means the missing bluefin tuna individuals that, after the potential differences detected during the investigation referred to in Article 50 of this Regulation, have not been justified as mortalities.

B. Treatment of fish that die during the catch and first transfer

1.The bluefin tuna individuals that die during the catch and first transfer from a purse seine vessel or trap shall be recorded in the purse seine vessel logbook or the trap daily catch report and reported on the ITD and in Section 4 (Transfer information) of the eBCD.

2.The eBCD shall be provided to the master of the towing vessel with Sections 2 (Catch information), 3 (Trade information) and 4 (Transfer information) including subsections regarding ‘dead fish’ completed.

3.Section 2 (Catch information) of the eBCD shall include all bluefin tuna individuals caught. The total quantities reported in Sections 3 (Trade information) and 4 (Transfer information) of the eBCD (including subsections regarding ‘dead fish’) shall be equal to the quantities reported in Section 2 (Catch information) thereof, after deductions of all the mortalities observed between the catch and completion of the transfer.

4.The eBCD shall be accompanied by the ITD in accordance with this Regulation.

5.A copy of the eBCD with Section 8 (Trade information) completed shall be completed and transmitted to the master of the auxiliary vessel which transports the dead bluefin tuna to shore (or retained on the catching vessel or the trap if landed directly to shore). A copy of the ITD shall accompany those dead fish and that copy of the eBCD.

6.The quantities of dead fish shall be recorded in the eBCD of the catching vessel which made the catch or, in the case of joint fishing operations (‘JFOs’), in the eBCD of either the participating catching vessels or of a vessel flying another flag participating in the JFO.

C. Treatment of fish that die or are lost during further transfers and transport operations

1.Masters of the towing vessels shall report, using the template provided for in Section F, all bluefin tuna individuals that die during transport. Individual lines shall be completed by the master of the towing vessel each time a dead or lost fish is detected.

2.In case of further transfers, the master of the donor towing vessel shall provide the original of the report to the master of the towing vessel receiving the bluefin tuna, keeping a copy on board for the duration of the campaign.

3.On the arrival of a transport cage at the destination farm, the master of the towing vessel shall deliver the complete set of reports of dead fish using the template provided for in Section F to the competent authority of the farm Member State or CPC responsible for the farm.

4.For the purpose of the quota uptake to be determined by the flag or trap Member State, the weight of fish that die or are lost during transport shall be evaluated as follows:

(a) for dead fish: (i) in the case of landing, the effective weight at landing shall be applied; (ii) in the case where the dead fish are discarded, the average weight of bluefin tuna individuals established at the time of caging shall be applied to the number of bluefin tuna individuals discarded;

(b) for fish otherwise considered as lost fish at the moment of the investigation referred to in Article 50, the average weight of bluefin tuna individuals established at the time of caging shall be applied to the number of bluefin tuna individuals considered as being lost fish, as determined by the competent authority of the flag or trap Member State resulting from its analysis of the first transfer video record in the context of that investigation.

D. Treatment of fish that die during caging operations

The fish that die during caging operations shall be reported by the operator of the farm on the caging declaration. The competent authority of the farm Member State shall ensure that the number and weight of the bluefin tuna individuals that die during caging operations is reported in the relevant subsection of section 6 (Farming information) of the eBCD.

E. Treatment of fish that die or are lost during farming activities

Dead or lost fish in farms or those that disappear from farms, including allegedly stolen or escaped fish, shall be reported by the operator of the farm to the competent authority of the farm Member State immediately after the dead or lost fish has been detected. The report of the operator of the farm shall be accompanied by the necessary supporting evidence (e.g. complaint filed about the stolen fish, damage report in case of damage to the cage). After receipt of such a report, the competent authority of the farm Member State shall apply the necessary changes or cancellation of the eBCD concerned (following the necessary developments in the eBCD system).

F. Reporting template

ANNEX XIV

ANNEX XV

1.Notwithstanding any stricter requirements applicable in specific ICCAT fisheries, each flag Member State shall implement a VMS for all its fishing vessels equal or greater than 12 metres in length overall, and for all their towing vessels, irrespective of their length, authorised to fish in waters beyond jurisdiction of the flag Member State and shall:

(a) require its fishing vessels to be equipped with an autonomous, tamper-evident system that continuously, automatically, and independent of any intervention by the vessel, transmits messages to the fishing monitoring centre (‘FMC’) of the flag Member State to track the position, course, and speed of a fishing vessel by the flag Member State of that vessel;

(b) ensure that the satellite tracking device fitted on board the fishing vessel collects and transmits continuously to the FMC of the flag Member State the following data: — the vessel’s identification, — the geographical position of the vessel (longitude, latitude) with a margin of error lower than 500 metres, with a confidence interval of 99 %, and — the date and time;

(c) ensure that the FMC of the flag Member State receives an automatic notification if communication between the FMC and the satellite tracking device is interrupted;

(d) ensure, in cooperation with the coastal State, that the position messages transmitted by the vessels flying its flag while operating in waters under the jurisdiction of that coastal State are also transmitted automatically and in real time to the FMC of the coastal State thathas authorised the activity. In implementing this provision, due consideration shall be been given to minimising the operational costs, technical difficulties, and administrative burden associated with transmission of these messages; and

(e) ensure that, in order to facilitate the transmission and receipt of position messages, as described in point (d), the FMC of the flag Member State or CPC, and the FMC of the coastal State shall exchange their contact information and notify each other without delay of any changes to this information. The FMC of the coastal State shall notify the flag Member State or CPC FMC of any interruption in the reception of consecutive position messages. The transmission of position messages between the FMC of the flag Member State or CPC, and that of the coastal State shall be carried out electronically using a secure communication system.

2.Each Member State shall take appropriate measures to ensure that the VMS messages are transmitted and received, as specified in paragraph 1, and use this information to continuously track the position of the vessels flying its flag.

3.Each Member State shall ensure that the masters of fishing vessels flying its flag ensure that the satellite tracking devices are permanently and continuously operational and that the information identified in paragraph 1, point (b), is collected and transmitted at least once every hour for purse seine vessels and at least once every two hours for all other vessels. In addition, Member States shall require that their vessel operators ensure that:

(a) the satellite tracking device is not tampered with in any way;

(b) VMS data are not altered in any way;

(c) the antennae connected to the satellite tracking device is not obstructed in any way;

(d) the satellite tracking device is hardwired into the fishing vessel and the power supply is not intentionally interrupted in any way; and

(e) the satellite tracking device is not removed from the vessel except for the purposes of repair or replacement.

4.In the event of a technical failure or non-operation of the satellite tracking device fitted on board a fishing vessel, the device shall be repaired or replaced within one month from the time of the event, unless the vessel has been removed from the list of authorised large scale fishing vessels, where applicable, or for vessels not required to be included on ICCAT’s authorised vessel list, the authorisation to fish in areas beyond the jurisdiction of the flag CPC no longer applies. The vessel shall not be authorised to commence a fishing trip with a defective satellite tracking device. Furthermore, when a device stops functioning or has a technical failure during a fishing trip, the repair or the replacement shall take place as soon as the vessel enters a port; the fishing vessel shall not be authorised to commence a fishing trip without the satellite tracking device having been repaired or replaced.

5.Each Member State or CPC shall ensure that a fishing vessel with a defective satellite tracking device shall communicate to the FMC, at least daily, reports containing the information in point (b) of paragraph 1 by other means of communication (radio, web-based reporting, electronic mail, telefax or telex).

6.Member States or CPCs may allow a vessel to power down its satellite tracking device only if the vessel will not be fishing for an extended period of time (e.g. in dry dock for repairs), and it notifies the competent authorities of its flag Member State or CPC in advance. The satellite tracking device shall be re-activated, and collect and transmit at least one report, prior to the vessel leaving port.

ANNEX XVa

1.Prior to their deployment on a purse seine vessel, a trap, or a towing vessel, the entity operating the ICCAT regional observer programme shall provide a minimum of 25 ICCAT seals to each ICCAT regional observer under their responsibility and maintain a record of the seals provided and used

2.The donor operator shall be responsible for sealing the cages. For this purpose, a minimum of three seals, placed in such a way that they prevent the opening of the doors without breaking the seals, shall be put on each cage door.

3.The sealing operation shall be video recorded by the donor operator and shall allow the identification of the seals and the verification that the seals have been properly placed. The video recording shall comply with the minimum standards for video recording procedures set out in Annex X. The video record concerned shall accompany the fish to the farm of destination. A copy of the video record shall be kept on board the donor vessels or on the traps and be accessible for control purposes at any time during the fishing campaign. A copy of the video record shall be made available to the ICCAT regional observer on board the purse seine vessel or on the trap, or to the national observer on the receiving towing vessel, for transmission to the competent authority of the Member State or CPC, or ICCAT regional observer present at the subsequent control transfer.

4.The video record of the subsequent control transfer shall include the unsealing operation, which shall be undertaken in such a way as to allow the identification of the seals and the verification that the seals have not been tampered with.

ANNEX XVb

ANNEX XVI