COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 1100/2007 of 18 September 2007

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 1100/2007

of 18 September 2007

establishing measures for the recovery of the stock of European eel

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European

Community, and in particular Article 37 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (

Whereas:

(1) On 19 July 2004 the Council adopted conclusions

concerning the Commission’s Communication to the

Council and the European Parliament of 1 October

2003 on the development of a Community Action

Plan for the Management of European Eel, which

included a request to the Commission to come forward

with proposals for long-term management of eels in

Europe.

(2) On 15 November 2005 the European Parliament

adopted a resolution calling on the Commission to

immediately submit a proposal for a regulation for the

recovery of European eel stocks.

(3) The latest scientific advice from the International Council

for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) concerning

European eel is that the stock is outside safe biological

limits and that current fisheries are not sustainable. ICES

recommends that a recovery plan be developed for the

whole stock of European eel as a matter of urgency and

that exploitation and other human activities affecting the

fishery or the stock be reduced as much as possible.

(4) There are diverse conditions and needs in the

Community which require different specific solutions.

That diversity should be taken into account in the

planning and execution of measures to ensure protection

and sustainable use of the population of European eel.

Decisions should be taken as close as possible to the

locations where eel are exploited. Priority should be given

to action by Member States through the drawing up of

Eel Management Plans adjusted to regional and local

conditions.

(5) Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the

conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and

flora (

) and Directive 2000/60/EC of the European

Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 estab-

lishing a framework for Community action in the field of

water policy (

) are intended, inter alia, to protect,

conserve and enhance the aquatic environment where

eels spend part of their life cycle and it is necessary to

ensure that there is coordination and consistency

between measures taken under this Regulation and

those taken under the aforementioned Directives. In

particular, Eel Management Plans should cover river

basins defined in accordance with Directive 2000/60/EC.

(6) The success of measures for the recovery of the European

eel stock depends on close cooperation and coherent

action at Community, Member State and local and

regional level as well as on information, consultation

and involvement of the public sectors involved. To this

end support from the European Fisheries Fund may

contribute to the effective implementation of Eel

Management Plans.

(7) If river basins lying within the national territory of a

Member State cannot be identified and defined as consti-

tuting natural habitats for the European eel, it should be

possible for that Member State to be exempted from the

obligation to prepare an Eel Management Plan.

(8) In order to ensure that eel recovery measures are effective

and equitable, it is necessary that Member States identify

the measures they intend to take and the areas to be

covered, that this information be communicated widely,

and that the effectiveness of the measures be evaluated.

(9) Eel Management Plans should be approved by the

Commission on the basis of a technical and scientific

evaluation by the Scientific, Technical and Economic

Committee for Fisheries (STEFC).

22.9.2007 Official Journal of the European Union L 248/17

(

) Opinion of 16 May 2006 (not yet published in the Official Journal).

(

) OJ L 206, 22.7.1992, p. 7. Directive as last amended by Directive

2006/105/EC (OJ L 363, 20.12.2006, p. 368).

(

) OJ L 327, 22.12.2000, p. 1. Directive as amended by Decision

No 2455/2001/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council

(OJ L 331, 15.12.2001, p. 1).

(10) Within a river basin where fisheries and other human

activities affecting eels may have transboundary effects,

all programmes and measures should be coordinated for

the whole of the relevant river basin. However, coordi-

nation must not take place at the expense of the rapid

introduction of the national parts of Eel Management

Plans. For river basins extending beyond the boundaries

of the Community, the Community should endeavour to

ensure appropriate coordination with the third countries

concerned.

(11) In the context of transboundary coordination, both

within and outside the Community, special attention

should be devoted to the Baltic Sea and European

coastal waters falling outside the scope of Directive

2000/60/EC. However, the need for such coordination

should not prevent urgent action being taken by

Member States.

(12) Special measures to increase the numbers of eels less

than 12 cm in length released into European waters as

well as for the transfer of eel less than 20 cm in length

for the purpose of restocking should therefore be imple-

mented as part of an Eel Management Plan.

(13) By 31 July 2013, 60 % of eels less than 12 cm in length

caught annually should be reserved for restocking. The

evolution of market prices for eel less than 12 cm in

length should be monitored annually. In the event of a

significant decline in average market prices for eels less

than 12 cm in length used for restocking in eel river

basins as defined by Member States, compared to the

price of eels less than 12 cm in length used for other

purposes, the Commission should be authorised to take

appropriate measures which may include a temporary

reduction in the percentage of eels less than 12 cm in

length to be reserved for restocking.

(14) Catches of eels in Community waters seaward of the

boundary of eel river basins defined by Member States

as constituting natural eel habitats should be reduced

gradually by reducing fishing effort or catches by at

least 50 % based on the average fishing effort or

catches in the years 2004 to 2006.

(15) Based on information to be provided by Member States,

the Commission should produce a report on the

outcome of the implementation of the Eel Management

Plans and if necessary propose any appropriate measures

to achieve with high probability the recovery of

European eel.

(16) A control and monitoring system should be established

by Member States adapted to the circumstances and to

the legal framework already applicable to inland fisheries

in consistency with Council Regulation (EEC) No

2847/93 of 12 October 1993 establishing a control

system applicable to the common fisheries policy (

). In

this context Member States should establish certain infor-

mation and estimates concerning commercial and recrea-

tional fishing activities to support if necessary the

reporting and evaluation of Eel Management Plans as

well as control and enforcement measures. Member

States should furthermore take measures to ensure

control and enforcement of imports and exports of eel,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Subject-matter

1. This Regulation establishes a framework for the protection

and sustainable use of the stock of European eel of the species

Anguilla anguilla in Community waters, in coastal lagoons, in

estuaries, and in rivers and communicating inland waters of

Member States that flow into the seas in ICES areas III, IV,

VI, VII, VIII, IX or into the Mediterranean Sea.

2. As regards the Black Sea and the river systems connected

to it, the Commission shall take a Decision in accordance with

the procedure referred to in Article 30(2) of Council Regulation

(EC) No 2371/2002 of 20 December 2002 on the conservation

and sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources under the

Common Fisheries Policy (

), after consultation of the Scientific

Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries by 31

December 2007 on whether these waters constitute natural

habitats for the European eel in accordance with Article 3 of

this Regulation.

3. Measures under this Regulation shall be adopted and

implemented without prejudice to the relevant provisions of

Directives 92/43/EEC and 2000/60/EC.

Article 2

Establishment of Eel Management Plans

1. Member States shall identify and define the individual river

basins lying within their national territory that constitute

natural habitats for the European eel (eel river basins) which

may include maritime waters. If appropriate justification is

provided, a Member State may designate the whole of its

national territory or an existing regional administrative unit as

one eel river basin.

L 248/18 Official Journal of the European Union 22.9.2007

(

) OJ L 261, 20.10.1993, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 1967/2006 (OJ L 409, 30.12.2006, p. 11), corrected

by OJ L 36, 8.2.2007, p. 6.

(

) OJ L 358, 31.12.2002, p. 59.

2. In defining eel river basins, Member States shall have the

maximum possible regard for the administrative arrangements

referred to in Article 3 of Directive 2000/60/EC.

3. For each eel river basin defined under paragraph 1,

Member States shall prepare an Eel Management Plan.

4. The objective of each Eel Management Plan shall be to

reduce anthropogenic mortalities so as to permit with high

probability the escapement to the sea of at least 40 % of the

silver eel biomass relative to the best estimate of escapement

that would have existed if no anthropogenic influences had

impacted the stock. The Eel Management Plan shall be

prepared with the purpose of achieving this objective in the

long term.

5. The target level of escapement shall be determined, taking

into account the data available for each eel river basin, in one or

more of the following three ways:

(a) use of data collected in the most appropriate period prior to

1980, provided these are available in sufficient quantity and

quality;

(b) habitat-based assessment of potential eel production, in the

absence of anthropogenic mortality factors;

river systems.

6. Each Eel Management Plan shall contain a description and

an analysis of the present situation of the eel population in the

eel river basin and relate it to the target level of escapement laid

down in paragraph 4.

7. Each Eel Management Plan shall include measures to

attain, monitor and verify the objective set out in paragraph

4. The Member States may define the means depending on local

and regional conditions.

8. An Eel Management Plan may contain, but is not limited

to, the following measures:

— reducing commercial fishing activity,

— restricting recreational fishing,

— restocking measures,

— structural measures to make rivers passable and improve

river habitats, together with other environmental measures,

— transportation of silver eel from inland waters to waters

from which they can escape freely to the Sargasso Sea,

— combating predators,

— temporary switching-off of hydro-electric power turbines,

— measures related to aquaculture.

9. Each Eel Management Plan shall contain a time schedule

for the attainment of the target level of escapement laid down

in paragraph 4, following a gradual approach and depending on

an expected recruitment level; it shall include measures that will

be applied as of the first year of application of the Eel

Management Plan.

10. In the Eel Management Plan, each Member State shall

implement appropriate measures as soon as possible to reduce

the eel mortality caused by factors outside the fishery, including

hydroelectric turbines, pumps or predators, unless this is not

necessary to attain the objective of the plan.

11. Each Eel Management Plan shall include a description of

the control and enforcement measures which will apply in

waters other than Community waters in accordance with

Article 10.

12. An Eel Management Plan shall constitute a management

plan adopted at national level within the framework of a

Community conservation measure as referred to in Article

24(1)(v) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006 of 27 July

2006 on the European Fisheries Fund (

22.9.2007 Official Journal of the European Union L 248/19

(

) OJ L 223, 15.8.2006, p. 1.

Article 3

Exemption from the obligation to prepare an Eel

Management Plan

1. A Member State may be exempt from the obligation to

prepare an Eel Management Plan if appropriate justification is

provided that river basins or maritime waters lying within its

territory do not constitute natural habitats for the European eel.

2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission not

later than 1 January 2008 a request for exemption prepared in

accordance with paragraph 1.

3. On the basis of a technical and scientific evaluation by the

Scientific Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries or

by other appropriate scientific bodies, the request for exemption

shall be approved by the Commission in accordance with

the procedure referred to in Article 30(2) of Regulation (EC)

No 2371/2002.

4. Where the Commission approves a request for exemption,

Article 4 shall not apply to the Member State concerned.

Article 4

Communication of Eel Management Plans

1. Member States shall communicate to the Commission not

later than 31 December 2008 Eel Management Plans prepared

in accordance with Article 2.

2. A Member State which has not submitted an Eel

Management Plan to the Commission for approval by 31

December 2008 shall either reduce fishing effort by at least

50 % relative to the average effort deployed from 2004 to

2006 or reduce fishing effort to ensure a reduction in eel

catches by at least 50 % relative to the average catch from

2004 to 2006, either by shortening the fishing season for eel

or by other means. This reduction shall be implemented from

1 January 2009.

3. The reduction in catches set out in paragraph 2 may be

substituted in whole or in part by immediate measures

concerning other anthropogenic mortality factors, which will

allow a number of migrating silver eels equivalent to that

which the reduction of catches would allow to escape to the

sea to spawn.

Article 5

Approval and implementation of Eel Management Plans

1. On the basis of a technical and scientific evaluation by the

Scientific Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries or

by other appropriate scientific bodies, the Eel Management Plans

shall be approved by the Commission in accordance with

the procedure referred to in Article 30(2) of Regulation (EC)

No 2371/2002.

2. Member States shall implement the Eel Management Plans

approved by the Commission in accordance with paragraph 1

from 1 July 2009, or from the earliest possible time before that

date.

3. From 1 July 2009, or from the date of implementation of

an Eel Management Plan before that date, fishing for eel of the

species Anguilla anguilla shall be permitted the whole year round

provided that the fisheries conform to the specifications and

restrictions set out in an Eel Management Plan approved by

the Commission in accordance with paragraph 1.

4. A Member State which has submitted an Eel Management

Plan to the Commission for approval not later than 31

December 2008, which cannot be approved by the Commission

in accordance with paragraph 1, shall either reduce fishing

effort by at least 50 % relative to the average effort deployed

from 2004 to 2006 or reduce fishing effort to ensure a

reduction in eel catches by at least 50 % relative to the

average catch from 2004 to 2006, either by shortening the

fishing season for eel or by other means. This reduction shall

be implemented within three months of the decision not to

approve the plan.

5. The reduction in catches set out in paragraph 4 may be

replaced in whole or in part by immediate measures concerning

other anthropogenic mortality factors, which will allow a

number of migrating silver eels equivalent to that which the

reduction of catches would allow to escape to the sea to spawn.

6. In the event that the Commission cannot approve an Eel

Management Plan, the Member State may submit a revised plan

within three months of the decision not to approve the plan.

The revised Eel Management Plan shall be approved in

accordance with the procedure established in paragraph 1.

The implementation of the reduction in catches set out in

paragraph 4 shall not apply if a revised plan is approved by

the Commission.

Article 6

Transboundary Eel Management Plans

1. For eel river basins extending to the territory of more than

one Member State, the Member States involved shall jointly

prepare an Eel Management Plan.

L 248/20 Official Journal of the European Union 22.9.2007

If coordination is in danger of resulting in such a delay that it

will become impossible to submit the Eel Management Plan on

time, Member States may submit Eel Management Plans for

their national part of the river basin.

2. Where an eel river basin extends beyond the territory of

the Community, the Member States involved shall endeavour to

develop an Eel Management Plan in coordination with the

relevant third countries, and the competence of any relevant

regional fisheries organisation shall be respected. If the

relevant third countries do not participate in the joint

preparation of an Eel Management Plan, the Member States

concerned may submit Eel Management Plans for the part of

the eel river basin situated within their territory, with the

objective of achieving the target level of escapement laid

down in Article 2(4).

3. Articles 2, 4 and 5 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the

transboundary plans referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this

Article.

Article 7

Measures concerning restocking

1. If a Member State permits fishing for eels less than 12 cm

in length, either as part of an Eel Management Plan established

in accordance with Article 2, or as part of a reduction in fishing

effort in accordance with Article 4(2) or Article 5(4), it shall

reserve at least 60 % of the eels less than 12 cm in length

caught by the fisheries in that Member State during each year

to be marketed for use in restocking in eel river basins as

defined by Member States according to Article 2(1) for the

purpose of increasing the escapement levels of silver eels.

2. The 60 % for restocking is to be set out in an Eel

Management Plan established in accordance with Article 2. It

shall start at least at 35 % in the first year of application of an

Eel Management Plan and it shall increase by steps of at least

5 % per year. The level of 60 % shall be achieved by 31 July

2013.

3. In order to ensure that the respective percentages set out

in paragraph 2, of eels less than 12 cm in length caught are

used in a restocking programme, Members States must establish

an appropriate reporting system.

4. The transfer of eels for restocking shall be part of an Eel

Management Plan as defined in Article 2. Eel Management Plans

shall specify the quantity of eels of less than 20 cm in length

needed for restocking for the purpose of increasing escapement

levels of silver eels.

5. The Commission shall annually report to the Council on

the evolution of market prices for eels of less than 12 cm in

length. For this purpose the Member States concerned shall

establish an appropriate system to monitor prices and shall

report annually to the Commission on these prices.

6. In the event of a significant decline of average market

prices for eels used for restocking, as compared to those of

eels used for other purposes, the Member State concerned

shall inform the Commission. The Commission, in accordance

with the procedure referred to in Article 30(2) of Regulation

(EC) No 2371/2002, shall take appropriate measures to address

the situation, which may include a temporary reduction of the

percentages referred to in paragraph 2.

7. The Commission shall, not later than 1 July 2011, report

to the Council and evaluate the measures concerning restocking

including the evolution of market prices. In the light of this

evaluation, the Council shall decide by qualified majority, on a

proposal from the Commission, on appropriate measures to

balance the measures concerning restocking while achieving

the percentages referred to in paragraph 2.

8. Restocking shall be deemed to be a conservation measure

for the purposes of Article 38(2) of Regulation (EC) No

1198/2006, provided that:

— it is part of an Eel Management Plan established in

accordance with Article 2,

— it concerns eels less than 20 cm in length, and

— it contributes to the achievement of the 40 % target level of

escapement as referred to in Article 2(4).

Article 8

Measures concerning Community waters

1. Where a Member State operates a fishery in Community

waters that catches eel, the Member State shall either reduce

fishing effort by at least 50 % relative to the average effort

deployed from 2004 to 2006 or reduce fishing effort to

ensure a reduction of eel catches by at least 50 % relative to

the average catch from 2004 to 2006. This reduction is to be

achieved gradually, initially by steps of 15 % per year in the first

two years over a 5-year period, from 1 July 2009.

2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, Community waters are

those waters seaward of the boundary of those eel river basins

which constitute natural eel habitats as defined by Member

States according to Article 2(1).

22.9.2007 Official Journal of the European Union L 248/21

Article 9

Reporting and Evaluation

1. Each Member State shall report to the Commission,

initially every third year, with the first report to be presented

by 30 June 2012. The frequency of reporting shall decrease to

once every sixth year, after the first three tri-annual reports have

been submitted. Reports shall outline monitoring, effectiveness

and outcome, and in particular shall provide the best available

estimates of:

(a) for each Member State, the proportion of the silver eel

biomass that escapes to the sea to spawn, or the proportion

of the silver eel biomass leaving the territory of that

Member State as part of a seaward migration to spawn,

relative to the target level of escapement set out in

Article 2(4);

(b) the level of fishing effort that catches eel each year, and the

reduction effected in accordance with Articles 4(2) and 5(4);

reduction effected in accordance with Article 2(10);

(d) the amount of eel less than 12 cm in length caught and the

proportions of this utilised for different purposes.

2. The Commission shall, not later than 31 December 2013,

present a report to the European Parliament and the Council

with a statistical and scientific evaluation of the outcome of the

implementation of the Eel Management Plans, accompanied by

the opinion of the Scientific, Technical and Economic

Committee for Fisheries.

3. The Commission shall, in the light of the report referred

to in paragraph 2, propose any appropriate measures to achieve

with high probability the recovery of the stock of European eel

and the Council shall decide by qualified majority on alternative

measures to achieve the target level of escapement set out in

Article 2(4) or a reduction of fishing effort in accordance with

Articles 4(2) and 5(4).

Article 10

Control and enforcement in waters other than Community

waters

1. Member States shall establish a control and catch moni-

toring system adapted to the circumstances and to the legal

framework already applicable to their inland fisheries, which

shall be consistent with the relevant provisions set out in Regu-

lation (EEC) No 2847/93.

2. The control and catch monitoring system shall contain a

thorough description of all systems of allocation of fishing

rights in eel river basins which constitute natural eel habitats

as defined by Member States according to Article 2(1), including

privately owned waters.

Article 11

Information concerning fishing activities

1. By 1 January 2009, each Member State shall establish the

following information concerning commercial fishing activities:

— a list of all fishing vessels flying its flag authorised to fish for

eel in Community waters in accordance with Article 8,

notwithstanding the overall length of the vessel,

— a list of all fishing vessels, commercial entities or fishermen,

authorised to fish for eel in eel river basins which constitute

natural eel habitats as defined by Member States according

to Article 2(1),

— a list of all auction centres or other bodies or persons

authorised by Member States to undertake the first

marketing of eel.

2. Member States shall establish on a regular basis an

estimate of the number of recreational fishermen and their

catches of eels.

3. On a request from the Commission, Member States shall

provide the information referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2.

Article 12

Control and enforcement concerning imports and exports

of eel

No later than 1 July 2009, Member States shall:

— take the measures necessary to identify the origin and

ensure the traceability of all live eels imported or exported

from their territory,

— determine whether the eel harvested in the Community area

and exported from their territory was caught in a manner

consistent with Community conservation measures,

— take measures to determine whether the eel harvested in the

waters of any relevant regional fisheries organisation and

imported into their territory was caught in a manner

consistent with the rules agreed in the regional fisheries

organisation in question.

L 248/22 Official Journal of the European Union 22.9.2007

Article 13

Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal

of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 18 September 2007.

For the Council

The President

R. PEREIRA

22.9.2007 Official Journal of the European Union L 248/23