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

The Committee on Fisheries adopted the recommendation for second reading contained in the report by Clara AGUILERA (S&D, ES) on the Council position at first reading with a view to the adoption of 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) 2016/1627.

The committee responsible recommended that the European Parliament approve the Council position at first reading as it stands.

The Council's first reading proposal seeks to implement International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) Recommendation 18-02 and parts of ICCAT Recommendation 22-04 into European law. Union in order to enable the Union to fulfil its international obligations and to provide operators with legal certainty in terms of rules and obligations.

The Council's position at first reading reflects the agreement reached between the Parliament and the Council during the interinstitutional negotiations at the stage of the second advance reading.

The main elements of the agreement reached with the European Parliament concern, inter alia:

- the conditions for the carry-over of non-harvested live bluefin tuna from previous years’ catches;

- the provisions concerning the allocation by the Member States of sectoral quotas within the framework of their annual fishing plans, including for small-scale fishing;

- the provisions concerning the allocation of fishing opportunities;

- the rules on the caging of bluefin tuna;

- the responsibility to launch investigations into irregularities concerning catches of bluefin tuna.