Ceci est une version HTML d'une pièce jointe de la demande d'accès à l'information 'Access to information regarding total allowable catches (TACs) of EU fish stocks in the Northeast Atlantic discussed and adopted on 17 and 18 December 2018, and exemptions from the landing obligation'.




Ref. Ares(2018)3109482 - 13/06/2018
Ref. Ares(2019)2387732 - 04/04/2019
To: 
 
Cc: 
 CLARK Helene (MARE);
 
 
Subject: 
FW: Joint Recommendation of the NWW Member States group for a 2018 
demersal discard plan: request for additional scientific evidence following the 
meeting of the STECF Expert Working Group 
 
Importance: 
High 
 
Dear 

 
I am writing to you in your position of Chairman of the North-Western Waters (NWW)Member States 
Group. A STECF Expert Working Group (EWG) met last week to assess the Joint Recommendations of the 
various Member States Group and prepare the work for the STECF Plenary of 2 to 6 July.  
 
The EWG issued a number of comments on the Joint Recommendation of the NWW Member States 
group and I would like to share them with you (see Annex). 
In the light of the EWG’s report and of the scientific evidence provided by to date, we expect the 
STECF’s Plenary to express reservations as regards the granting of certain exemptions if these 
data gaps are not being closed. 
Please note that the annex list cannot be interpreted as a positive STECF assessment regarding 
exemption requests for which no data gaps have been identified. Please also note that the 
tables contain only those exemptions where EWG18-06 considered there were information or 
data shortfalls that might be corrected by provision of information from the respective Regional 
Groups in the short term (ie before the STECF July Plenary meeting). 
 
You certainly share my view that it is extremely important that the NWW Member States group provide 
the additional scientific evidence requested by the STECF well ahead of the Plenary. We share the same 
objective here, namely to make sure that STECF is in a position to give as much positive advice on the 
proposed measures as possible. 
 
I would kindly ask you to send me the data requested by Monday 25 June, close of business. 
 
Please copy J
 and 
as well as 
   in any electronic correspondence on this matter. 
Sincerely, 
 
 
Mare.C1|  Fisheries Management Atlantic, North Sea and Baltic Sea|DG  Maritime Affairs and Fisheries  
 
European Commission 
 
 
 
 
 

 
North Western Waters De Minimis 
Exemption Shortfalls 
Whiting caught with bottom trawls and 
No supporting evidence relating to request 
seines >80mm and pelagic trawls and beam  to include BT2. Regional Group should 
trawls (80-119mm) to catch whiting in the 
provide fishery information (landing 
Eastern Channel (VIId) 
discards etc) 
Combined de minimis for Gadoids (cod, 
a) No information provided for fleets other 
haddock, whiting) caught using bottom 
than France and Ireland. Regional Group 
trawls, seines and beam trawls of greater 
than or equal to 80mm mesh size in the 
should provide fishery information (landing 
Celtic Sea and the Channel (ICES VIIb-c, 
discards etc) 
e-k) 
b) EWG 18-06 notices that in the 
“Template for the provision of information 
that defines the fisheries to which de 
minimis exemptions should apply (Annex 
IV)” the estimated landings and the 
estimated discards for gadoids report the 
same value (9097.84 tons), and this is 
not consistent with the reported discard 
rate (53%). Can this be corrected.
By-catches of pelagic species (mackerel, 
a)  No information provided for beam 
horse mackerel, herring, boarfish, greater 
trawl and seine net fisheries. 
silver smelt) caught by vessels using bottom 
b)  Information related to safeguards 
trawls and seines, and beam trawls in ICES 
only provided for France. Discard 
subarea VI and VIIb-k 
profiles for other MS are required. 
 
North Western Waters High Survivability 
Exemption 
Shortfalls 
Common sole (undersized only) caught 
Location of sole nursery grounds has not 
with trawl gears in area VIId 
been provided.  Provision of this material is 
a condition in the Delegated Act (COM 
2018/46) and should be supplied . 
Nephrops in the TRI fisheries in Area VII 
Apart from Ireland, fisheries descriptions 
and in the TR2 fisheries in Area VII in 
of other countries fleets are lacking which 
combination with highly selective gears 
makes the magnitude and effects of this 
exemption difficult to assess 
Skates and ray species caught by any 
Very few landings and discards data 
gear in the North Western Waters (areas 
provided. EWG18-06 recognises these data 
VI and VII) 
are sparse and that there are quite a lot of 
species, however, Regional Group should 
provide whatever they do have to assist in 
the evaluations. 
Plaice caught by trammel nets in ICES 
a)The supplementary material provided as 

divisions VIId and VIIe 
scientific evidence of the high survivability 
of Plaice is too limited to be reviewed. 
Experimental details about a large extent 
of the study are missing (e.g. analysis, 
control group, vitality assessment and 
animal observations) 
a)  Fleet and fishery descriptions are 
provided for the United Kingdom, 
but there are other countries 
associated with the proposed 
exemption that have not been 
described.
Plaice caught by trammel nets in ICES 
As above 
divisions VIIf and VIIg 
Plaice caught by Otter Trawls in ICES 
As above 
divisions VIId and VIIe 
Plaice caught by otter trawl gears in ICES 
As above 
subarea VIIf and VIIg 
Plaice caught with beam trawls in ICES 
Fleet and fishery descriptions are provided 
subareas VIIa to VIIk 
for Ireland, but the source related to 
numbers supplied is unknown. There are 
other countries associated with the 
proposed exemption that have not been 
described. 
Fish caught in pots, traps and creels in 
Fleet and fishery descriptions are detailed 
North Western Waters 
for Scotland, but data from other 
countries associated with the proposed 
exemption were not submitted. Regional 
Group should provide this