What changed between the draft committee report and the plenary report

Changed:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 1 – point d, Article 4 – point 20: (20) ‘SPRFMO register of authorised inspection vessels and authorities of the inspection vessel’ means the list of inspection vessels and authorities authorised to conduct boarding and inspection in the SPRFMO Convention Area, as notified by the Member States, theCommission Commission,or EFCA, Contracting Parties and CNCPs, which is maintained by the SPRFMO Secretariat;Secretariat. Member States shall communicate to the Commission or EFCA their inspection vessels and authorities authorised to board an inspect in the SPRFMO Convention Area;

Changed:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 3, Article 12 – paragraph 2 – point d: (d) inside a management area where the species targeted has not previously been targeted in the area where the fishing activities are to take placetargeted, unless the species has regularly been caught as part of an existing fishery.

Changed:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 3, Article 14 – paragraph 2: 2. Fishing vessels shall report encounters with VMEs to the flag Member State on the basis of the guidelines set out in Annex IV including a detailed description of the encounter. The flag Member State shall carry out a comparison of the encounter with the existing model prediction, and suggested management actions to prevent significant adverse impacts on VMEs, in order to verify whether a VME is likely to be present at the encounter area and/or the surrounding area, whether a significant adverse impact has occurred, and the risk of a significant adverse impact occurring in the future. The Member State shall transmit those reports to the Commission without delay. The Commission shall forward that information to the SPRFMO Secretariat without delay.

Changed:Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 1 a (new), Article 6 – paragraph 1 – points d and e: (1a) In Article 6(1), points (d) and (e), the time format of “24:00” is replaced by “23:59”;

Changed:Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 8, Article 30 – paragraph 3 – point b: (b)b. transmit the surveillance report to EFCA relating to a sighting referred to in paragraph 2 which shall submit it without delay to the NAFO Executive Secretary for transmission to the flag Member State or Contracting Party of the vessel;Secretary;

Changed:Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 9 a (new), Article 43: (9a) Article 43 is replaced by the following: / “Article 43 / Confidentiality and data protection / 1. Data collected and exchanged in the framework of this regulationRegulation shall be treated in accordance with the applicable rules on confidentiality pursuant to Articles 112 and 113 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009. / 2. The collection, transfer, storage or other processing of any data pursuant to this Regulation shall be in accordance with Regulations (EU) 2016/679* and (EU) 2018/1725** of the European Parliament and of the Council. / 3. Personal data processed under this Regulation shall not be stored for a period longer than 10 years, except if those personal data are necessary to enable the follow-up of an infringement, an inspection, or judicial or administrative procedures. In those cases, the personal data may be stored for a maximum of 20 years. If personal data are retained for a longer period, the data shall be anonymised. / *Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 1). / **Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the fre…

Changed:Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point -1 (new), Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 24 a (new): (-1) In Article 3, the following point is added: / “24a. ‘Electronic Monitoring System’ or ‘EMS’ means an integrated system of hardware and software that supports acquisition of video footagesfootage of fishing activity, positional data and/or sensor, that allows the analysis and reporting of electronic monitoring records.”

Added:Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point 6, Article 10 – paragraph 9: 9. Union fishing vessels shall not fish in silky shark pupping areas identified by the IATTC. The Member States shall make the information on those areas available for the operators of Union fishing vessels.

Added:Regulation (EU) 2021/56

Changed:Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point 3 a (new), Article 18 – paragraph 3 a (new): (3 a)(3a) In Article 18, the following paragraph is added: / 3a. It shall be prohibited for all longline and purse seine vessels to catch, retain on board, tranship, store, land or offer for sale any cetacean (infraorder Cetacea) in whole or in part.

Changed:Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point 4 b (new), Article 38 – paragraph 3 – points i a (new) and i b (new): (4b) In Article 38(3), the following points are added: / ‘(ia) the progress with the implementation of this Regulation with respect to the conservation of cetaceans, including information collected on interactions with cetaceans in fisheries managed under the Convention; / (ib) any by catchby-catch of Pacific Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus orientalis).’

Removed:Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point 6, Article 8c – paragraph 2: 2. Union fishing vessels shall annually submit the number of instrumented buoys assigned to them by the end of each calendar year, including instrumented buoys which have been lost, or abandoned and/or discarded by 1° by 1° grid area and month strata and DFAD type to their flag Member State. The information shall be stratified by fleet, year, month and 1° by 1° grid, and expressed as the average daily number of active instrumented buoys in each stratum. Member States shall send that information to the Commission in accordance with Article 51(2).

Added:Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point 5, Article 8b – paragraph 4: 4. Once established the IOTC DFAD identifier process and not before 1 January 2026, DFADs shall be permanently marked with a specific IOTC DFAD unique identifier as provided by the IOTC secretariat. The marking shall be separate from the marking of the instrumented buoy.

Added:Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point 6, Article 8c – paragraph 2: 2. Union fishing vessels shall annually submit the number of instrumented buoys assigned to them by the end of each calendar year, including instrumented buoys which have been lost, or abandoned and/or discarded by 1° by 1° grid area and month strata and DFAD type to their flag Member State. The Member State shall stratify the information by fleet, year, month and 1° by 1° grid, and express it as the average daily number of active instrumented buoys in each stratum. Member States shall send that information to the Commission in accordance with Article 51(2).

Added:Regulation (EU) 2022/2343

Added:Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point 6, Article 8c – paragraph 5: 5. Member States shall include buoys deployed before the entry into force of the DFAD Register and still active on 1 January 2026 or on the date immediately before the DFAD Register enters into force.

Added:Regulation (EU) 2022/2343

Changed:Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point 2 -– point a, Article 34 – paragraph 3: 3. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, Member States where bluefin tuna is landed may set a shorter period for the prior notification referred to in paragraph 1 for those Union fishing vessels that catch less than 3 specimens of bluefin tuna or less than one ton,1, taking into account the type of fishery products and the distance between the fishing grounds and the port or landing site, and provided that such a shorter period of prior notification does not impair the ability of that Member State to carry out inspections. Member States may apply that derogation only to vessels referred to in Article 26 that catch less than 3 specimens of bluefin tuna or less than one tonne. Where catches are taken between the time of the prior notification and arrival at port, the estimated quantities of bluefin tuna retained on board may be modified at any time prior to arrival.

Changed:Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point 9, Article 56b – paragraph 1a: 1a. The competent authority of the farm Member State may allow a margin of error of up to 5 % between the number of bluefin tuna individuals resulting from the carry-overintra-farm assessmenttransfer and the number of individuals expected to be present in the cage. When the difference is larger than 5%,5 %, the competent authority of the farm Member State shall order the release of the corresponding number of bluefin tuna individuals. The release operation shall be conducted in accordance with Annex XII. Compensation for differences between different cages in the farm shall not be allowed.

Added:Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point 9 a (new), Article 56c – paragraph 1 a (new): (9a) In Article 56c, the following paragraph is inserted: / 1a. The competent authority of the farm Member State may allow a margin of error of up to 5 % between the number of bluefin tuna individuals resulting from the carry-over assessment and the number of individuals expected to be present in the cage. When the difference is larger than 5 %, the competent authority of the farm Member State shall order the release of the corresponding number of bluefin tuna individuals. The release operation shall be conducted in accordance with Annex XII. Compensation for differences between different cages in the farm shall not be allowed.

Added:Regulation (EU) 2023/2053

Removed:In conclusion, the Rapporteur stresses that the process of transposition should stick to the strict and timely transposition of RFMO rules, thereby welcoming MEPs and the Council to work in this spirit in order to timely transpose rules that have been multilaterally agreed – in some cases, since 2018.

Changed:Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2, Article 30a: (2) The following Article is inserted: / 1. It shall be prohibited to: / (a) retain on board, tranship, or land, any part or whole of the carcass of whale sharks caught in association with ICCAT fisheries; / (b) set a purse seine on a school of tuna associated with a whale shark after sighting of the shark concerned. / 2. Masters of Union fishing vessels, shall take all reasonable steps to ensure the safe release of whale sharks that are incidentally encircled in the purse seine net. / 3. Member States shall ensure that their domestic observer programmes record purse seine operations with interactions with whale sharks referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, and that the following information is collected: / (c) geographic position of the interaction; / (d) steps taken by the fishing vessel to ensure safe handling and release of the specimens encircled in the purse seine; / 4. Member States shall report to the Commission, in accordance with ICCAT data reporting requirements, the data and information collected under paragraph 3 in their annual reports. The Commission shall report these data to the ICCAT Secretariat. / 5. The provisions in paragraphs 1 to 4 shall apply exclusively to fishing vessels operating between 40° N and 40° S.S.”

Changed:Regulation (EU) 2017/21072021/2107

Added:The following amendment will substitute amendment 6.

Added:The following amendment will substitute amendment 18.

Changed:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 22 – point a, Article 43 – paragraph 1 – point b: (b) the time limits laid down in Articles 7(1),(1b),1(c)7(1), (1b), 1(c) and (2), 11, 13(2) and (5), 16(1) and (3), 17(1) and (2), 21(1) and (2), 22 (1) to (4), 23(6), 24(1) to (3), 25(5) and (6), 26(1), 27(2), (3) and (3a), 28(2), 28a(1) and (2), 28b(1), 28u(1), 29(1) and (2), 30(2), 31(1) and (1a), 34(5) and (6), 35(2) and (3), 35b(4), 35e(1) and (2), 36, 37(1), 39(2), and 40(2), (3) and (4), and 41(1), (2) and (4);

Changed:Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point 13, Article 28 – paragraph 1 – pointp:point p: (13) Article 28(1) is amended as follows: / (a) point (o) is replaced by the following: / “(o) the Annexes to this Regulation".Regulation”. / (b) the following point is added: / (p)“(p) the reference to Standard Questionnaire on Compliance with IATTC Resolutions set out in Article 26(1).26(1).”

Changed:Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point b, Article 34 – paragraph 7: 7. Where bluefin tuna is landed in Member States or CPC ports, or Member States or CPC landing facilities, other than the ports or landing facilities of the notified Member State, masters of Union catching vessels, whatever the length overall of the vessel, shall submit, within 48 hours after the completion of the landing, a landing declaration to the Member State or CPC where the bluefin tuna is landed which shall contain the information required in Article 17, paragraph 2, points (a), (b) and (c) of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 and the quantities and weight of the blue fin tuna landed.

Changed:Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 6, Article 66a – Paragraphparagraph 3: 3. When a vessel is sighted pursuant to paragraph 1, the Member State concerned or the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) (the ‘sighting entity’) shall record findings and transmit a report without delay, if possible by electronic means, to the appropriate authorities of the flag Member State or CPC or flag non-CPC of the sighted vessel, with copy to the ICCAT secretariat, the Commission and, when appropriate, EFCA. If the sighted vessel is flagged to a Member State, the flag Member State shall, without undue delay, take appropriate action with respect to the vessel concerned; both the sighting entity and the flag Member State of the sighted vessel shall provide information on the sighting to the Commission and, when appropriate, EFCA, including details of any follow-up action taken.

Changed:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 3, Article 14 – paragraph 4: 4. Member States shall transmit the information referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 to fishing vessels flying their flag authorised to operate in the SPRFMO Convention Area. Fishing vessels areshall be prohibited from carrying out bottom fishing activities in VME encounter areas notified under paragraphs 2 and 3 unless and until the SPRFMO Commission determines management actions that would permit the resumption of bottom fishing activities in the area.

Changed:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5, Article 21 – paragraph 1 – point a: (a) give at least 72 hours advance notice to the flag Member State, including the expected location, dates and times of entry and exit as well as the length of gillnet carried on board. The flag Member State shall without delay inform the SPRFMO Secretariat and the Commission, or the body designated by it, prior to the vessel entering the SPRFMO Convention Area;

Changed:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 11, Article 26 – paragraph 1: 1. Receiving fishing vessels that engage in transhipment shall prepare a SPRFMO transhipment declaration in accordance with Annex IX and shall submit the declaration to its flag Member State no later than the 5th day of the month following that in which the transhipment is completed. The flag Member State shall submit the declaration to the Commission, or the body designated by it, no later than the 10th day of the month following that in which the transhipment is completed. The Commission, or the body designated by it, shall transmit this information to the SPRFMO Secretariat no later than the 15th day of the month following that in which the transhipment is completed.

Changed:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 13, Article 28 – paragraph 6: 6. Member States intending to deploy observers from the observer programme of another Member State, SPRFMO Contracting Party or CNCP shall inform the Commission before such deployment. TheThose Member StateStates shall seek the consent of the respective Member State, SPRFMO Contracting Party or CNCP before informing the Commission.

Changed:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 13, Article 28q – paragraph 2 – point g: (g) arebe familiar with the emergency procedures aboard the vessel, including the locations of life rafts, fire extinguishers, and first aid kits, and participate regularly in emergency drills for which the observer has received training;

Changed:Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 8, Article 30 – paragraph 1 – point d: (d) sighted fishing vessel’s activity in accordance as set upout in ANNEX II.I. Part B to the CEM referred to in point 46 of the Annex to this Regulation;

Changed:Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point 5, Article 7c – paragraph 17: 17. Member States that decide to implement EMS to collect fisheries data for submission to IATTC shall submit by 15 March of the following year a fleet-level summary of the VMPs to the Commission describing the implementation of their EM program(s)programme(s) in the previous year, including, at a minimum, the number of vessels implementing EMS by gear and fishery type; the range of EMS configurations implemented within the fleet; a general description of EMS requirements placed upon vessel masters and crews by the Member States; the percentage of coverage levels achieved by fishery and gear type; details on how those coverage levels were calculated; and, where appropriate, information on compliance monitoring. The Commission shall submit to the IATTC Secretariat the report on the implementation of EM programme(s) in the previous year by 30 March.

Changed:Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point 7, Article 12 – paragraph 1 – point e a (new): (ea) recommendedthe following tools are recommended for best handling and release practices: / (i) bycatch sorting/releasing devices for working/main deck, e.for g.instance hopper with a door or ramp; / (ii) stretcher/cradle.

Changed:Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point 7, Article 12 – paragraph 2 – point g a (new): “(ga) recommendedthe following tools are recommended for best handling and release practices: / (i) dipnet; / (ii) short de-hooker, for sharks brought on board; / (iii) line cutter; / (iv) short handled de-hooker, on vessels with freeboard withof less than 2 metres; / (v) long-handled line cutter with length equal to or greater than the vessel’s freeboard length; / (vi) long-handled de-hooker with length equal to or greater than the vessel’s freeboard length.”

Changed:Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point 4 a (new), Article 37 – paragraph 1 – point d: (4a) In Article 37 (1),37(1), point (d) is replaced by the following: / ‘(d) safe handling and release of cetaceans.’

Changed:Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point 6, Article 8c – paragraph 4 – introductory part: 4. Once the IOTC DFAD identifier process is established, the Commission notifies the Member States of the entry into force of the IOTC DFAD register, buoy owners shall insert the following information concerning the deployment of instrumented buoysbuoys.

Changed:Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point 7, Article 9 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1 – point c: (c) Unique National Identification number, referred to in paragraph 3.