Council Regulation (EC) No 1579/2007 of 20 December 2007 fixing the fishing opportunities and the conditions relating thereto for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks applicable in the Black Sea for 2008

This Regulation fixes fishing opportunities for 2008 for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks in the Black Sea and the specific conditions under which such fishing opportunities may be used.

1 This Regulation shall apply to Community fishing vessels (Community vessels) operating in the Black Sea.

2 By way of derogation from paragraph 1, this Regulation shall not apply to fishing operations conducted solely for the purpose of scientific investigations which are carried out with the permission and under the authority of the Member State concerned and of which the Commission and the Member State in the waters of which the research is carried out have been informed in advance.

In addition to the definitions laid down in Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002, for the purposes of this Regulation the following definitions shall apply: (a) ‘GFCM’ shall mean General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean; (b) ‘Black Sea’ shall mean the GFCM geographical sub-area as defined in Resolution GFCM/31/2007/2; (c) ‘total allowable catch (TAC)’ shall mean the quantity that can be taken from each stock each year; (d) ‘quota’ shall mean a proportion of the TAC allocated to the Community, a Member State or a third country.

The catch limits, the allocation of such limits among Member States, and the additional conditions applicable pursuant to Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 are set out in Annex I to this Regulation.

The allocation of catch limits among Member States as set out in Annex I shall be without prejudice to: (a) exchanges made pursuant to Article 20(5) of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002; (b) reallocations made pursuant to Articles 21(4), 23(1) and 32(2) of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 and the second subparagraph of Article 23(4) of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002; (c) additional landings allowed under Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96; (d) deductions made pursuant to Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 847/96 and the first subparagraph of Article 23(4) of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002.

1 Fish from stocks for which catch limits are fixed shall be retained on board or landed only if the catches have been taken by fishing vessels of a Member State with a quota and that quota has not been exhausted.

2 All landings shall count against the quota or, if the Community share has not been allocated among Member States by quotas, against the Community share.

The transitional technical measures shall be as set out in Annex II.

When Member States send data to the Commission relating to landings of quantities of stocks caught pursuant to Article 15(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93, they shall use the stock codes set out in Annex I to this Regulation.

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. It shall apply from 1 January 2008.