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Regulation (EU) 2023/2053 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 September 2023 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

article annex_VIII

CELEX: 02023R2053-20250503

Observer programmes I. NATIONAL OBSERVER PROGRAMME

1. The national observer tasks shall be, in general, to monitor the compliance of fishing vessels and traps with this Regulation.

2. When deployed on board a catching vessel, the national observer shall record and report on the fishing activity, including in particular, the following:

(a) the national observer’s estimation of the number and weight of bluefin tuna individuals caught (including by-catch);

(b) disposition of the catch, such as retained on board, discarded dead or released alive;

(d) measure of fishing effort (e.g. number of sets, number of hooks), as defined in the ICCAT Manual for different gear types;

(e) date of catch;

(f) verification of the consistency of entries made in the logbook with the national observer’s own catch estimation.

3. When deployed on a towing vessel the national observers shall:

article annex_VIII

CELEX: 02023R2053-20250503

(a) in case of a further transfer involving movement of fish between two transport cages:

(i) without delay, analyse the video record of the further transfer, to estimate the number of bluefin tuna individuals being transferred;

(ii) immediately notify the competent authorities of the flag Member States of the donor towing vessels of the national observer’s observations, including the number of bluefin tuna individuals estimated by the national observer and the corresponding number of bluefin tuna individuals reported on the ITDs by the master of the donor towing vessel; and (iii) include the results of the analysis of the national observer in the observer reports to the competent authorities of the flag Member States of the donor towing vessels;

(b) record and report in the observer reports all bluefin tuna individuals observed during the transport trip to be dead;

(c) sight and record vessels that are suspected to be fishing contrary to ICCAT conservation measures; and (d) notify the competent authorities of the flag Member States of the donor towing vessels without delay of the observer reports at the end of the towing trip.

article annex_VIII

CELEX: 02023R2053-20250503

4. When deployed on a trap the national observer shall:

(a) verify the harvesting authorisation issued by the competent authorities of the trap Member State;

(b) validate the information in the processing and/or harvesting declarations made by the master of the processing vessel, or the master’s representative, or by the trap operator.

5. The national observer shall also carry out scientific work, such as collecting all the necessary data required by the Commission, based on recommendations of the SCRS. II. ICCAT REGIONAL OBSERVER PROGRAMME 1. Each Member State shall require operators of farms and traps, and masters of purse seine vessels, or the masters’ representatives, under its jurisdiction to deploy an ICCAT regional observer, as set out in Article 39.

2. The ICCAT regional observers shall be appointed before 1 April, or as soon as practical, each year, and shall be placed in farms, on traps and on board the purse seine vessels flying the flag of Member States that implement the ICCAT regional observer programme. An ICCAT regional observer card shall be issued for each observer.

article annex_VIII

CELEX: 02023R2053-20250503

3. A contract listing the rights and duties between the ICCAT regional observer and the master of the fishing vessel or operator of the farm or trap shall be signed by both parties involved.

4. An ICCAT observer programme manual shall be established. A. Qualifications of ICCAT regional observers The ICCAT regional observers shall have the following qualifications to accomplish their tasks:

(a) sufficient experience to identify species and fishing gear;

(b) satisfactory knowledge of the ICCAT conservation and management measures, and of ICCAT training guidelines;

(d) the ability to analyse video records;

(e) to the extent possible, a satisfactory knowledge of the language of the flag, farm or trap Member State or CPC where they are conducting their tasks. B. Obligations of ICCAT regional observers 1. ICCAT regional observers shall:

(a) have completed the technical training required by the guidelines established by ICCAT;

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CELEX: 02023R2053-20250503

(b) be nationals of one of the Member States or CPCs and, to the extent possible, not nationals of the flag Member State or CPC of the purse seine vessel, of the farm Member State or CPC, or of the trap Member State or CPC observed;

(d) be included in the list of ICCAT regional observers maintained by the ICCAT Secretariat;

(e) not have current financial or beneficial interests in bluefin tuna fishery.

2. ICCAT regional observers shall treat as confidential all information with respect to the fishing and transfer operations conducted by the purse seine vessels, the farms and the traps, and shall accept this requirement in writing as a condition to be appointed as an ICCAT regional observer.

3. ICCAT regional observers shall comply with the requirements established in the laws and regulations of the flag or farm Member State or CPC which exercises jurisdiction over the vessel, farm or trap to which the ICCAT regional observers are assigned.

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4. ICCAT regional observers shall respect the hierarchy and general rules of behaviour which apply to all vessel, farm and trap personnel, provided that such rules do not interfere with the duties of the ICCAT regional observer under this programme, or with the obligations of vessel, farm and trap personnel set out in this Annex. C. Tasks of the ICCAT regional observer 1. The ICCAT regional observer tasks shall be, in particular, to:

(a) as a general task:

(i) observe and monitor compliance of the bluefin tuna fishing and farming operations with the relevant ICCAT conservation and management measures;

(ii) carry out such scientific work, such as collecting samples or Task II data, as required by the Commission, based on the recommendations of the SCRS;

(iii) sight and record vessels suspected to be fishing in contravention of ICCAT conservation and management measures, and verify and record the name of the fishing vessel concerned and its ICCAT number;

(iv) exercise any other tasks as determined by the Commission;

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CELEX: 02023R2053-20250503

(b) as regards purse seine vessels or trap catching activity:

(i) observe and report on the fishing activities carried out;

(ii) observe and estimate catches and verify entries made in the logbook;

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CELEX: 02023R2053-20250503

(i) record and report on the transfer activities carried out;

(ii) verify the position of the vessel when engaged in a transfer;

(iii) review and analyse all the video records related to the transfer operation concerned, where applicable;

(iv) estimate the number of bluefin tuna individuals being transferred and record the result in the ITD;

(v) issue a daily report of the transfer activities of purse seine vessels;

(vi) record and report on the result of the analysis carried out;

(vii) verify entries made in the prior transfer notification referred to in Article 40, in the ITD referred to in Article 42 and in the eBCD; (viii) verify that the ITD referred to in Article 42 is transmitted to the master of the towing vessel or to the operator of the farm or trap;

(ix) in relation to control transfers, verify the seals’ identification number and ensure that the seals are placed in such a way to prevent the opening of the doors without the seals being broken;

article annex_VIII

CELEX: 02023R2053-20250503

(d) as regards caging operations, review the camera video records at caging to determine the number of bluefin tuna individuals caged, in due time to allow the farm operator to complete the related caging declaration;

(e) as regards verification of data:

(i) verify and certify the data contained in the ITDs, the caging declarations and the eBCD, including through the analysis of video records;

(ii) issue a daily report on the transfer activities of the purse seine vessels, farms and traps;

(iii) where the relevant operation is in accordance with the ICCAT conservation and management measures and the information contained within those documents is consistent with the observations made by the ICCAT regional observer, sign the ITDs, the caging declarations and the eBCD, with the name and ICCAT number clearly written; or in case of disagreement, indicate his/her presence on the relevant ITD and caging declarations or the eBCD concerned, or both, and the reasons of disagreement, quoting specifically the rules or procedures that, in the view of the ICCAT regional observer, have not been respected;

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CELEX: 02023R2053-20250503

(f) as regards releases:

(i) as regards releases before caging, observe and report on the release operation from the purse seine or the transport cage, in accordance with the release protocol in Annex XII;

(ii) as regards releases after caging, observe and report on the prior segregation of fish and the subsequent release operation, in accordance with the release protocol in Annex XII, including by verifying that the quality of the video record of the prior segregation satisfies the minimum standards for video recording procedures set out in Annex X and determining the number of bluefin tuna individuals released;

(iii) in both cases, verify the release order issued by the competent authority of the Member State or CPC concerned and validate the information in the release declaration made by the donor or farm operator;

(g) as regards harvesting operation in farms:

(i) verify the harvesting authorisation issued by the competent authority of the farm Member State or CPC;

(ii) validate the information in the processing and harvesting declarations made by the master of the processing vessel, or its representative, or by the farm operator;