European Union Proposal for Porbeagle Shark Protection

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 17.8.2011
COM(2011) 496 final
2011/0222 (NLE)

Proposal for a
COUNCIL REGULATION
amending Council Regulations (EU) No 57/2011 and (EC) 754/2009 as regards the
protection of the species “porbeagle”, certain TACs and certain fishing effort limits set for the United Kingdom, Germany and Ireland.

3. LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL

The proposed amendments are:

1. Regulation (EU) No 57/2011 regulates porbeagle as a prohibited species in international
waters in Article 8 (with a prompt release obligation for accidental catches) and as a stock
with a 0 TAC in certain Atlantic ICES zones in Annex IA (with no provision regarding
accidental catches). This situation results in some areas within EU waters where porbeagle
remains unregulated, meaning that catches are unrestricted. Given the status of this
species and the discussions underway regarding the possibility of its listing under the
CITES convention (Appendix III) it is necessary to implement a consistent protection for
porbeagle in all areas. To achieve this, the proposal foresees :

(a) introducing a 0 TAC for porbeagle in the Mediterranean (in Annex ID of the
Regulation). This ensures no catches are allowed in the waters under the
jurisdiction of Mediterranean Member States (the waters beyond the national
jurisdiction being now covered by the general prohibition in international
waters)
(b) amending the description of the existing 0 TAC in Annex IA to include all EU
waters of the ICES and CECAF zones of the Atlantic, and
(c) in both cases (a) and (b) mentioned above, to provide for consistent obligations
of promptly release of catches.

Source: You can download the complete proposal (pdf) here .