Multiannual management plan for bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean

The European Parliament adopted par 643 votes to 11, with 47 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council 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) 2016/162.

The European Parliament adopted its position at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure.

The purpose of the proposal is to transpose into Union law the recommendations of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT).

ICCAT has the authority to adopt binding recommendations on the conservation and management of fisheries under its competence. ICCAT recommendations enter into force six months after their adoption and must be implemented in EU law as soon as possible.

ICCAT Recommendation 18-02 establishing a multi-annual management plan for bluefin tuna in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea was adopted at the 21st Extraordinary Meeting of ICCAT, held in Dubrovnik from 12 to 19 November 2018.

At its 26th regular meeting in 2019, ICCAT adopted Recommendation 19-04 amending the multi-annual management plan established by Recommendation 18-02. ICCAT Recommendation 19-04 repeals and replaces Recommendation 18-02. This Regulation should implement Recommendation 19-04 in Union law.

The objective of this Regulation is to implement the multiannual management plan for bluefin tuna, as adopted by ICCAT, which aims to maintain a biomass of bluefin tuna above levels capable of producing maximum sustainable yield. The transposition concerns all control measures relating to the catch and farming of bluefin tuna in EU waters and/or by EU vessels in the Convention area.

This Regulation should apply to:

- Union fishing vessels, and Union vessels engaged in recreational fisheries, which catch bluefin tuna in the Convention Area; and tranship or carry on board, also outside the Convention Area, bluefin tuna caught in the Convention Area;

- Union farms;

- Third country fishing vessels, and third country vessels engaged in recreational fisheries that operate in Union waters and catch bluefin tuna in the Convention Area;

- Third country vessels which are inspected in Member State ports and which carry on board bluefin tuna caught in the Convention Area, or fishery products originating from bluefin tuna caught in Union waters that have not been previously landed or transhipped at ports.

The management plan should take account of the specific characteristics and needs of small-scale and artisanal fisheries. In addition to relevant provisions of ICCAT Recommendation 19-04 that remove obstacles to the participation of small-scale coastal vessels in the bluefin tuna fishery, Member States should make further efforts to ensure a fair and transparent distribution of fishing opportunities between small-scale, artisanal and larger fleets, consistent with their obligations under Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 on the Common Fisheries Policy.