Additional conditions for year-to-year management of TACs and quotas

The Committee adopted by a majority, with one vote against, the report by Mrs Patricia McKENNA (GREENS, IRL) on the Commission's proposal to introduce additional conditions for year-to-year management of TACs and quotas. The proposed measures, aimed at increasing flexibility into the TAC and quota management system, received broad support from members. The proposals include: - procedures for increasing precautionary TACs and quotas in mid-year; - carryovers of quotas from one year to the next; - deductions from quotas for the following year if overfishing occurs; - imposition of penalties for overfishing. Several amendments were adopted to the draft regulation reminding the Commission and the Council of their responsibilities under the basic Regulation (3760/92). The Committee also reduced the conditions applicable to requests by Member States for permission to land additional quantities of fish, when more than 75% of a quota has been used up by 30 September of any year. Similarly members felt that Member States should have until 30 September rather than 31 March to submit requests to hold back unused quota until the following year.