§       Mission Evaluation Factor

§       Observations and Remarks

§       National Control action plan

·         A control action plan has been produced and was forwarded to the Commission on 2^nd   September 2005. The plan contains sampling benchmarks.

§       Special permit for cod

·         A special permit scheme has been implemented. A number of adjustments have been made to the existing licensing system in order to comply with this requirement.

·         All vessels over 8 m fishing for cod are required to hold a special permit issued. In practice the main part of the Danish Baltic Sea fleet has been issued a special fishing permit. When the vessel is leaving the Baltic Sea the licence has to be exchanged.

§       Designated port scheme

·         There is a designated port scheme in place. 32 ports have been designated; the list of designated ports has been communicated.

§       Logbook requirements

·         All vessels down to 8 m with a permit were issued an EC logbook. Logbooks are issued by the local inspection office.

·         Submission of log sheets prior to landing was not enforced.

§       Pre notification system

·         By national order all vessels landing more than 300 kg cod should pre-notify.

·         Masters have to communicate the prior notification messages via an automated central system (keying, SMS, e-mail).

·         For vessels fishing close to port pre-notification can be given two hours before landing and at least before arrival in port.

§       Landing declaration requirements

·         The submission of landing declarations is not required for Danish vessels landing in Denmark because the authorities are of the opinion that the information contained in the landing declaration is the same as what is recorded on the sales note. Denmark has implemented an alternative system which involves the communication of the sales notes in an electronic format.

§       Sales notes requirements

·         Sales notes are mainly transmitted online by the buyer. ( or by post for small companies)

§       Transport of catches

·         Direct transport of catches after landing to processing plants or to auctions on the west coast is common practice. The marketing of fish is based on direct sales to registered buyers and transport of catches

·         The requirements for transport documents are implemented. A copy of the log sheet can be used as a transport document.

§       Inspection organisation and resources

·         In Denmark the responsibility for monitoring and surveillance of fishery activities (quota management and data entry, inspection policy and the physical inspections in the harbours and at sea) are the responsibility of a single authority.

·         Denmark has a large number of possible landing places which requires considerable human resources to assure an adequate level of inspection.   Budgetary constraints appears to limit, in some areas, the number of inspectors available for inspection and the possibility’s to do inspections outside office hours.

·         Pre-notification messages are stored on a webpage and are therefore accessible for all inspectors in the inspection offices and on the road (mobile phone/laptop). In addition the catch registration database is also accessible for inspectors.

§       Weighing of landings

·         It is common practice to weigh the fish on board and to land the catch in standardised boxes.

·         Most landings are made in standardised boxes. The Danish authorities accept a 5 % weighing tolerance based on Reg. (EEC) No 3703/85 (marketing standards).

·         Although equipped with a mobile weighing scale, sample weighing of catches seems not to be a standard practice (or at least not a priority) during landing controls.

·         A sampling plan based on the 2004 statistics and a 95 % accuracy has been produced to achieve the 20% sample weighing benchmark.

§       Margin of tolerance

·         Although the requirements regarding the margin of tolerance are implemented approximately, 58 % of the log sheets collected show a difference over 8 % between the estimated weight and the weight actually landed. The main reason for this seems to be that fishermen are still declaring logbook estimates in gutted weight.

§       Cross checking of data

·         The Fisheries Directorate (Copenhagen) runs a daily validation system. There is a 100 % cross checking between sales note data and log sheet data. When a problem is detected the regional office is notified and is requested to carry out an investigation/follow up.

·         A target is set to run an expanded cross check for each vessel one’s per month.

§       Data management

·         An integrated and centralised database is available. The methodology for data entry is at a high level.

·         Noteworthy is the fact that the database is accessible for the local inspectors, in the port offices as well as on the field (wireless laptop access) and gives feedback on missing catch registration documents. Log sheets are scanned and are available on screen.

·         The use of log sheets and sales notes is well integrated. New Logbooks are issued by the regional inspection offices.

·         Upon inspection logbooks are collected by the inspectors. Masters issue the completed log sheets to the local office.

·         The log sheets are screened for any inconsistencies or incomplete information. Masters are contacted for clarification if needed.

·         The original documents always stored in the office were the data is entered.

·         Normally data is entered within 2 to 3 days after receipt. In order to facilitate document transfers between offices the original log sheets are scanned. The data entry work can be shared between offices according to the fishing and landing activity in a certain area.

·         Catch registration is based on the sales note data.

§       Verification using VMS data

·         Inspectors operating at sea and on land have real time access to VMS data which is routed from the FMC to the Fishery Protection Vessel via a permanent satellite communication link. Shore-based inspectors can access the system through a dial-up facility over the mobile-phone network.

§       Results of data analyses

·         During the mission 57 landings were monitored.(13 vessels < 10 m and 44 vessels > 10 m)

·         Analyses of the collected data sets (recorded catch data from the inspected and non inspected landings) resulted in a 12,79 % suspected under recording.

·         Some logbook sheets of the landings that were monitored by Commission inspectors were altered.

§       Landing obligations

·         Notwithstanding the provisions of the transitional measures, landing times and places are not restricted.

§       Follow up

·         There is a scheme of administrative sanctions available for apparent infringements related to catch registration.

·         Unregistered catches can sometimes be an issue for special investigations by a specialist team.

·         Upon detection of an apparent infringement, the infringement is recorded on the inspection report and an official report is transmitted to the police for further follow up. No immediate enforcement action has been observed.

§       Mission Evaluation Factor

§       Observations and Remarks

§       National Control action plan

·         A control action plan was forwarded to the Commission. However, the plan does not specify any inspection targets.

§       Special permit for cod

·         All vessels over 8 m fishing for cod are required to hold a special permit issued by the Bundesamt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährunh (BLE).

·         In practice almost all German Fishing vessels, including some vessels mainly active in the   North Sea, have been issued a permit.

§       Designated port scheme

·         In total 13 ports were designated, including two ports on the North Sea coast. The list was communicated.

§       Logbook requirements

·         The inspection authorities accept that vessels observed record several trips on one log sheet.

·         It was observed that in some cases EC-logbooks are distributed by the PO.

·         All vessels carrying a special permit were issued an EC-logbook.

·         In 3 occasions during the missions vessels were found discharging cod without a completed logbook on board.

·         Submission of log sheets prior to landing was not enforced.

§       Pre notification system

·         There is a pre-notification system in place.

·         The vessels are allowed to pre-notify by telephone (answering machine) and by fax. The messages have to be sent to the harbour inspection office responsible for the port of landing. The messages are registered.

·         National regulation requires that vessels over 15 m pre-notify irrespective of the catch composition on board.

§       Landing declaration requirements

·         Landing declarations are not completed, instead the weighing note issued by the commune or PO is attached.

§       Sales notes requirements

·         Sales notes are issued by private buyers or PO’s.

·         The landing of catches and the taking over of those catches by the PO for transport to auctions and processing plants in other Member States seems to be considered 'first sale'. Most auctions in other Member States (notably in The Netherlands) consider the arriving catches 'second sale fish'. However, it was observed that the catches are only then properly sorted weighed and graded. The detailed sale note produced by the receiving auction is transmitted to the German authorities. However this sale note does not specify the vessel name but only the total quantity of the catches transported by the PO.

§       Transport of catches

·         Transport of catches to processing plants, buyers and auctions in other Member States is common practice. These transports are mainly organised by the producers' organisations. Transports can consist of collected fish from small coastal vessels.

·         The enforcement of the transport document requirements is very low.

·         It was observed that catches are directly transported after discharge to other Member States without being weighed, graded or sorted.  The catches transported are considered to be second sale and are therefore only accompanied by a basic transport document.

§       Inspection organisation and resources

·         The BLE has the overall responsibility for quota management and enforcement of the requirements of the common fisheries policy. However, the monitoring and surveillance of fishery activities (landing inspections in the ports) is the responsibility of the Regional Government (Länder). Inspection methodologies and priority’s differ from region to region.

·         The inspectors (2-3) posted in the main fishing ports are involved in a broad range of administrative tasks (60%).

·         Each port office has the responsibility to monitor the landings in several harbours along the coast.  The limited number of inspectors, the distances to be travelled between ports and the other tasks assigned leave very limited scoop for landing inspections, in particular outside office hours and in the week-ends.

·         The observed landing inspections showed that the local inspectors have the necessary technical and legal background for carrying out landing inspections.

§       Weighing of landings

·         The German authority’s claim that only catches of vessels that make fishing trips on a daily base can be sample weighed. Hygienic requirements and the lack of appropriate market or weighing infrastructures do not allow the German authorities to sample weigh catches of bigger vessels (iced fish).

·         It is common practice that fishermen weigh the fish on board and land the catch in boxes ready for transport.

·         Landing inspections of vessels returning with catches that are ready boxed and iced on board are only based on a box count. When the catches are transported to auctions in other Member State (Dutch and Danish) it is considered the responsibility of the inspectors in the auction to establish the catch composition.

·         Inspectors in the Sassnitz area are dependent on the weighing facilities of the commune. For these services the inspectorate has to pay a weighing fee.

·         Mobile weighing equipment is available for inspectors since summer 2005 in the Heiligenhafen region.

·         The sample weighing indicated that there is only a limited under declaration at the level of the unit box weights declared.

§       Margin of tolerance

·         The 8% margin of tolerance is implemented. According to the national control action plan the margin of tolerance will be checked during sea and port inspections.

§       Cross checking of data

·         A manual cross check is carried out in the port offices between the collected log sheets and the attached weighing notes (take over declarations). When discrepancies are detected the master is contacted for clarification.

·         Sales notes are not cross checked (submitted later) but immediately transmitted to the catch registration input offices (BLE / Rostock) for input.

·         The fact that direct sales may be combined with sales trough the PO makes cross checking complicated.

·         When the data is keyed in at the data input offices (BLE or Rostock) an automated cross check is carried out between the log sheet data and the sales notes.

·         The use of catch registration documents and the collection and cross checking of them seems to be considered more an administrative requirement rather than an inspection tool.

§       Data management

·         An integrated and centralised database is in place. Data input is done at Länder level (Rostock) for Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and at the BLE (Hamburg) for Schleswig Holstein.

·         Completed log sheets, with the weighing note attached are submitted to the local port offices.

·         In some ports the PO collects all catch registration documents and, according to local inspectors, do a preliminary cross-check before submitting them to the local port office. The fact that PO’s are assigned to manage the quota of it’s members and at the same time take care of the catch registration requirements, could undermine the reliability of the quota uptake figures and the use of catch registration documents as an inspection tool by fishery inspectors.

·         Sales notes are submitted to the local port offices by the private buyer or the PO.

·         The catch registration documents are forwarded by regular post from the local port office to the catch registration input offices (BLE / Rostock) for data input.

·         Catch registration is based on the sales note data.

§       Verification using VMS data

·         Germany has restricted the access to the VMS system for security reasons. Only a handful of individuals at four port offices in autonomous Länder have access to the VMS system. Therefore there is very limited use of VMS information for targeting inspections.

·         The German officials demonstrated that cross-checking of data is carried out to some extent and methodologies are being developed to further explore the potential of the VMS.

§       Results of data analyses

·         During the mission 26 landings were monitored.(7 vessels < 10 m and 19 vessels > 10 m)

·         Analyses of the collected data sets (recorded catch data from the inspected and non inspected landings) resulted in a 13,59 % suspected under recording.

§       Landing obligations

·         Notwithstanding the provisions of the transitional measures there are no restrictions for vessels when to land and where to land.

§       Follow up

·         A scheme of administrative sanctions is available. However, in order to set a fine for a certain infringement, the particular legal reference has to be listed in the so called ‘Seefischerei-Buβgeldverordnung’. The level of the fines for certain infringements differs between the Länder.

·         Upon detection of an infringement, the infringement is noted on the inspection report and the report forwarded to the main regional office for further follow up.

·         There seem to be limited powers to implement immediate enforcement actions. (seizure, prohibition of landing…)

§       Mission Evaluation Factor

§       Observations and Remarks

§       National Control action plan

·         A basic control action plan has been produced and forwarded to the Commission. The plan does not specify an inspection target.

§       Special permit for cod

·         All vessels over 8 m fishing for cod require a special permit.

·         A permit is issued by the Ministry of environment for one calendar year.

·         22 vessels have been issued a permit, later the list has been extended with another 10 vessels.

§       Designated port scheme

·         Initially 4 ports were designated. Although no cod landings were expected by the local inspectors 1 vessel landed over more than 2 tons of cod in the non designated port of “Nasva". This port was later added to the list which was communicated to the Commission.

§       Logbook requirements

·         New Logbooks are issued by regional inspection offices.

·         All vessels carrying a special permit (all above 10 m) have an EC-logbook on board.

·         Submission of log sheets prior to landing was not enforced.

§        

§       Pre notification system

·         A pre notification system is implemented as a general provision for marine fisheries in Estonia.

·         A central call centre is manned 24 hours and forwards pre-notification information to the regional inspectorates.

·         A prior notification system is in place as required by Community law. A central call service managed by the Environmental Inspectorate is operational 24 hours a day to record the incoming pre notification messages and to forward them to the relevant regional inspection service.

§       Landing declaration requirements

·         The requirements regarding the landing declaration are implemented and enforced. The landing declaration provided for on the EC-logbook format is completed.

§       Sales notes requirements

·         Sales notes are completed by the buyers on a standardised sales note template.

§       Transport of catches

·         The requirements regarding transport documents are implemented. A copy of the log sheet may be used as transport document.

·         The transport of fish has to be notified to the regional office by fax.

§       Inspection organisation and resources

·         The Fishery Resources Department of the Ministry of Environment is responsible for the enforcement of the requirements of the CFP. In practice the Environmental Inspectorate and it’s regional offices are responsible for the landing inspections and monitoring of the fishing activity.

·         There are approximately 15 inspectors available for landing inspections of marine fisheries spread over three regional inspection offices. The working scheme of the inspectors guarantees 24 hour coverage.

·         There are very few cod landings in Estonian ports. Landing inspections and sample weighing of pelagic vessels are the main inspection target.

§       Weighing of landings

·         The marketing of fish is based on direct sales to registered buyers at the point of landing.

·         On board bigger vessels, it is common practice to weigh the fish on board and to land the catch in boxes ready for transport.

·         Mobile weighing equipment is available for inspectors. However, it is expected that the     number of cod landings will be very low.

§       Margin of tolerance

·         The 8 % margin of tolerance is implemented. For the calculation the conversion factor of the country of landing is used.

§       Cross checking of data

·         A manual quality check of the submitted catch registration documents is carried out before data entry.

·         The database has an integrated cross checking tool for the catch registration data. When discrepancies are detected the relevant catch registration documents are sent to the regional inspection office for further investigation.

§       Data management

·         There is an integrated and centralised catch registration system data base in place.

·         Completed log sheets and landing declarations have to be submitted by the master to the Environmental Inspectorate in Tallinn. Sales notes have to be submitted by the buyer to the same office.

·         Input of the catch registration data is centralised at the Environmental Inspectorate (Tallinn).

·         Because of the fact that most Estonian vessels targeting cod are landing catches in other Member States ports a delay of 72 hours is accepted for transmission of log sheets.

·         Catch registration is based on the landing declaration.

·         The quota uptake calculation is only based on the landing declaration figures submitted by the fishermen. Most cod of Estonian vessels is landed in other Member States ports. The Estonian authorities receive aggregated data from Denmark and Sweden.

·         Only recently sales note data are being received from other Member States.

§       Verification using VMS data

·         Currently a limited amount of cross-checking of logbook data against VMS information is taking place.

·         Cross-checking is carried out by the FMC by consulting VMS information against catch registration information.

·         Port inspectors have no direct access to VMS data. Occasionally request VMS information to target landings.

§       Results of data analyses

§       In 2005 only two vessels landed cod in an Estonian port. The number of available log sheets collected for Estonian vessels was too limited to carry out analyses to assess the possible level of under recording of catches.

§       Landing obligations

·         Notwithstanding the provisions of the transitional measures there are no restrictions for vessels where to land or when to land.

§       Follow up

·         Inspectors have the powers to impose fines. There is a scheme of sanctions in place (maximum level for certain infringements).

·         When the fine exceeds a certain level, the inspector has to start a criminal procedure.

·         The licence can be withdrawn when a second infringement is detected in the same calendar year.

§       Mission Evaluation Factor

§       Observations and Remarks

§       National Control action plan

·         A control action programme was produced and forwarded to the Commission on 15 Feb.2005; the plan specifies a 100% cod landing inspection.

·         The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (Department of fisheries and Game monitors and manages the quota uptake.

·         The regional Inspection units (TE-Keskus Centres) are responsible for the catch registration and the monitoring of landings.

·         All basic catch registration measures have been implemented.

·         The use of log sheets, landing declarations and sales notes is enforced.

§       Special permit for cod

·         Permits are granted on request for a period of one year. A limited number of vessels (active in the Southern part of the Baltic Sea) carry a permit.

§       Designated port scheme

·         Although it seems unlikely that a vessel would land more than 750 kg of cod in a Finnish port, the Finnish authorities designated 14 ports in order to meet the requirements of the Regulation. This list had been communicated to the Commission.

§        

§       Logbook requirements

·         New logbooks are issued by the Regional Inspection Units. Finish log sheets have an additional table for details concerning the first buyer to be completed by the master.

·         All vessels carrying a special permit (all above 10 m) have an EC-logbook on board. Log sheets are distributed by the local inspection offices. Submission of log sheets prior to landing was not enforced.

§       Pre notification system

·         The pre-notification requirements are imbedded in a national regulation. Pre-notification messages have to be communicated via Turku Radio to the local inspection office.

§       Landing declaration requirements

·         The landing declaration provided for on the EC-logbook format is completed.

§       Sales notes requirements

·         The sale notes requirements are implemented. However, because of the fact that most cod landings are landed and sold in other Member States, the Finnish authorities are very much dependent from the sales notes that are been received from other Member States' authorities.

§       Transport of catches

·         The requirements for transport documents are enforced. A special transport document is used. However, the monitoring and enforcement of these requirements seems to be low.

§       Inspection organisation and resources

·         All landings of Finnish vessels targeting cod are in other Member States ports.

·         An inspectors exchange was organised with other Member States (Denmark in particular) in order to assist on the inspection of landings of Finnish fishing vessels in other Member States' ports.

·         The cod recovery measures had a limited impact on the day to day inspection work in Finnish ports However, only a limited number of inspectors are dealing with sea fisheries inspection. Taking into account the number of possible landing places the available human resources for fisheries inspection can be considered insufficient.

·         There is a hypothetical 100% inspection target set for vessels landing over 300kg of cod in Finnish ports.

§       Weighing of landings

·         Cod is only landed as a by-catch in Finnish ports. (Approx. 200 kg in 2005). Mobile weighing equipment is available for inspectors. If big landings would occur, the weighing methodology would be based on the methodology applied for pelagic landings.

§       Margin of tolerance

·         The 8 % margin of tolerance is implemented.

·         The Finnish authorities claim that catch registration documents are cross checked. All the logbook sheets collected for verification had a difference of more than 8 % between the figure recorded in the logbook and the declared landed weight.

§       Cross checking of data

·         Upon entry of the catch data, the catch registration data base provides for an automated cross-check between the estimated log book weights and the recorded landing weights.

§       Data management

·         All catch registration documents are to be submitted to the Regional Inspection Unit of the port of registration. (TE-Keskus Centres). At the Regional Inspection Unit the data is keyed in to the catch registration database of the Department of Fisheries and Game.

·         Because of the fact that most Finish vessels are landing the catch in other Member States waters, log sheets are faxed to the inspection office. However, by doing this some vessels seem to keep the original log sheets on board for several months.

·         There is an integrated and centralised catch registration system in place.

·         Catch registration is based on the landing declaration.

§       Verification using VMS data

·         VMS is available in the port offices of Turku, Vaasa, Cotka and Helsinki. According to Finnish officials, VMS is consulted on a daily basis and forms an integral part of the inspection duties, as it compliments the strategy to target efforts on landings.

§       Results of data analyses

·         Because there are very few landings in Finnish ports of vessels targeting cod, no landings could be monitored in order to collect sample data. However, all logbook sheets collected of landings in other Member States ports demonstrated discrepancies of the 8% margin of tolerance.

§       Landing obligations

·         Notwithstanding the provisions of the transitional measures there are no restrictions for vessels where to land or when to land.

§       Follow up

·         There are no provisions for an administrative sanction scheme. All infringements against the Common Fisheries Policy have to be sanctioned using a criminal procedure. This criminal procedure can be long and cumbersome providing for a limited deterrent effect.

§       Mission Evaluation Factor

§       Observations and Remarks

§       National Control action plan

·         A control plan was produced and received by the Commission on 11 Feb. 2005 There was an inspection target fixed at 40 % of cod landings.

§       Special permit for cod

·         A special permit regime is in place for vessels fishing for cod, the permit scheme also includes the coastal fleet.

§       Designated port scheme

·         There is a designated port scheme in place.

·         3 ports were designated in Latvia. The list was transmitted to the Commission.

§       Logbook requirements

·         All basic catch registration measures have been implemented.

·         The use of log sheets, landing declarations and sales notes is enforced. However, masters of coastal vessels issued with a permit and therefore required to carry a logbook, seem to ignore the obligation for the recording of daily estimates.

·         The coastal fleet has been issued with a coastal logbook.

·         All vessels issued with a special permit have to carry an EC-logbook. According to the national control action plan the master has to submit the appropriate logbook sheet to the local inspection office before commencement of the landing.

§       Pre notification system

·         There is a pre-notification system in place. Pre-notification messages have can be communicated by SMS text message or by e-mail to the Fisheries Monitoring Centre (FMC) operational 24 hours a day. Messages are registered and immediately forwarded to the inspector on duty in the appropriate inspection region.

§       Landing declaration requirements

·         The landing declaration provided for on the EC-logbook format is completed.

·         The quality of the landing declaration can in some cases be questioned; some landing declarations were completed before the landing was actually finished.

§       Sales notes requirements

·         Sales notes are completed by the buyers on standardised forms (‘notification on first transaction’).

·         There is a high level of confidence between the masters and the buyers, the figures of the landing declaration are used as a base for the sales notes.

·         In practice the landing declaration and the sales notes are completed right after landing.

·          

§       Transport of catches

·         Catches are transported immediately after landing to processing plants inside or outside the harbour area.

·         A document ‘notification on the first transaction with fish’ to be completed by the buyer can be used as transport document.

§       Inspection organisation and resources

·         The Latvian National Board of Fisheries (NBF) has the overall responsibility for quota management. Catch registration is the responsibility of the Fisheries Monitoring centre (FMC) of the Marine and Inland Water Administration (MIWA) in Riga. Landing inspections are carried out by MIWA inspectors based in the regional control division offices at the main fishing ports.

·         The FMC is manned 24 hours and plays a central role in collecting all the information useful for targeting inspections. Based on the VMS data, pre notification data and other useful information available to the FMC operator, inspectors in the ports can target their landing inspections.

·         There are approximately 14 persons available for landing inspections (9 inspectors and 5 landing controllers) for the 2 main control sectors.

·         Inspectors and landing controllers have a range of administrative tasks (Approx. 50 %).

·         Inspection benchmarks are set at a very high level (50 % of all cod landings).

·         The observed landing inspections showed that the local inspectors have the necessary technical and legal background for carrying out landing inspections. However, the limited number of inspectors and landing controllers available for the number of possible landing places can not always assure an adequate level of inspection.

§       Weighing of landings

·         Sample weighing during the monitored landings revealed

·         Discrepancies up to 13,6 % on the standard 25 kg box weight.

·         On board bigger vessels, it is common practice to weigh the fish on board and to land the catch in boxes ready for transport. There are no public weighing facilities in the port.

·         Mobile weighing equipment is made available for inspectors. Sample weighing is not carried out systematically. However, the sample results observed during the mission would suggest the need for more sample weighing.

§       Margin of tolerance

·         In respect of the margin of tolerance between the estimated weights in the logbook and the declared landed weights most of the documents collected show a 0 % tolerance. The daily estimates declared on the log sheet are usually the declared landed weight calculated back to live weight using the conversion factor.

·         The maximum permitted margin of tolerance of 8 % is enforced by national secondary legislation.

§       Cross checking of data

·         A manual quality and cross check of the catch registration documents are carried out at the regional control office. If discrepancies are detected the master or buyer is contacted for clarification.

·         Upon data entry at the FMC an automated cross check is done between the log sheet, landing declaration and the sales notes (ICIS system).

·         Upon detection of an apparent infringement the documents are sent back to the regional control office for further investigation.

§       Data management

·         There is an integrated and centralised catch registration system in place. (Integrated control and Information system – ICIS)

·         New Logbooks are issued by the fisheries control division unit.

·         Completed log sheets and landing declarations are submitted to the regional control sector office or in a dedicated post box in the harbour area. The completed sales notes have to be submitted by the buyer.

·         Input of the catch registration data into the Central Database is done at the ‘Regional Control Sector Offices’ (Liepaja, Ventspils and Riga).

·         After input the documents are transferred once per month to the MIWA headquarters in Riga.

·         Catch registration is based on the landing declaration information.

§       Verification using VMS data

·         The FMC is operational and manned on a 24 hours/7 days a week schedule.

·         VMS is available in the port offices using a “PC Any Ware” Application. According to Latvian officials, VMS is consulted constantly and forms an integral part of the inspection duties.

§       Results of data analyses

·         During the mission 20 landings were monitored.(3 vessels < 10 m and 17 vessels > 10 m)

·         Analyses of the collected data sets (recorded catch data from the inspected and non inspected landings) resulted in a 7,56 % suspected under recording.

§       Landing obligations

·         Notwithstanding the provisions of the transitional measures there are no restrictions for vessels where to land or when to land.

§       Follow up

·         A scheme of administrative sanctions is available. Decisions about an administrative fine are the responsibility of the inspector establishing the apparent infringement. The level of the fine is set by the inspectors within a fixed range for categories of infringements.

·         The control division unit can temporarily withdraw licences or permits (fishing licence, registered buyers etc…)

·         In two cases were a problem with the 8 % tolerance was detected the inspectors advised the master to change the figures in the logbook.

·         When infringements are detected inspectors have powers to implement immediate enforcement actions. (seizure of fishery products…)

§       Mission Evaluation Factor

§       Observations and Remarks

§       National control action plan

·         A control plan was produced and forwarded to the Commission. An inspection target was set at 70 % of all cod landings.

§       Special permit for cod

·         Only vessels having cod fisheries as their main activity have been issued with a special permit. However, not all vessels over 8 m carrying on board gear that is authorised to fish for cod were issued with a special permit.

§       Designated port scheme

·         Due to the concentration of the fishing industry in the port of Klaipeda only this port had to be designated.

§       Logbook requirements

·         New logbooks are issued by the Fisheries Control Division unit.

·         The coastal fleet has been issued with a coastal logbook.

·         All vessels holding a special permit were issued an EC-logbook. Logbooks are distributed by the local inspection office.

·         Vessels of the coastal segment carrying a special permit (1 vessel) are required to carry a coastal fishing logbook. The Lithuanian authorities are of the opinion that the national coastal logbook can also be considered 'a logbook' for vessels less than 10m that have been issued a special permit as specified in the requirements of Annex III to Council Regulation (EC) No 52/2005I.

§       Pre notification system

·         There is a national requirement for all non-coastal vessels to pre notify their arrival in port (even without catch).

·         The prior notification system has been implemented. In addition a National Order requires that all non-coastal vessels pre-notify the time of arrival in port even if there are no catches on board or the vessel was targeting other species than cod.

·         Pre-notification messages have to be communicated by telephone or SMS text message directly to the inspector on duty. The notifications are registered, indicating when vessels are inspected or not.

·         There are no additional measures for coastal vessels with regards to pre-notification.

§       Landing declaration requirements

·         In general the landing declaration requirements are complied with.

·         The landing declaration provided for on the EC-logbook format is completed.

§       Sales notes requirements

·         The requirements regarding sales notes are enforced.

·         Sales notes are completed by the buyers on standardised forms.

·         There is a high level of confidence between the masters and the buyers, the figures of the landing declaration are used as a base for the sales note. Landing declarations and sales notes are completed together right after landing.

§       Transport of catches

·         The marketing of fish is based on direct sales to registered buyers at the point of landing. The catches are transported to processing plants outside the harbour area.

·         A copy of the log sheet and sale note (take over declaration) is accepted as transport document.

§       Inspection organisation and resources

·         The Ministry of Agriculture has the overall responsibility for quota management. In practice, the ‘Fisheries Control Division’ is monitoring the quota uptake and is responsible for the enforcement of the requirements of the CFP.

·         There is only one port (Klaipeda) accessible for fishing vessels. The inspection office is located in the port area.

·         The inspection targets are set at a high level. There are 4 inspectors available. 2 administrative staff also has inspection powers.

·         There is always one inspector on duty for carrying out inspections. This inspector has direct access to the pre-notification information. However, outside office hours landing inspections (and sample weighing) often have to be carried out alone.

·         Inspection benchmarks are set at a very high level (70 % of all cod landings).

·         The observed landing inspections showed that the local inspectors have the necessary technical and legal background for carrying out landing inspections.

§       Weighing of landings

·         It is common practice to weigh the fish on board and to land the catch in boxes ready for transport. There are no public weighing facilities in the port.

·         Weighing equipment is available for inspectors. Sample weighing (based on a pelagic sample scheme) is done systematically during every landing inspection.

·         Sample weighing during the monitored landings only revealed minor discrepancies on the standard 25 kg box weight.

§       Margin of tolerance

·         The requirements regarding the margin of tolerance are implemented through national order.

§       Cross checking of data

·         A manual cross check is carried out between the live weight estimates and the landing declaration.

·         An automated cross check is done between the landing declaration and the sales notes. When discrepancies are detected the master is contacted for clarification.

§       Data management

·         There is an integrated and automated catch registration system in place.

·         Completed log sheets and landing declarations have to be submitted in person by the master (or his representative) in the Fisheries control division office.

·         The completed sales notes have to be submitted by the buyer.

·         Input and archiving of the catch registration documents and data is done at the local ‘Fisheries control Division' Office.

·         Catch registration is based on the landing declaration.

§       Verification using VMS data

·         VMS is available in the port office of Klaipeda. According to Lithuanian officials, VMS is consulted on a daily basis and forms an integral part of the inspection duties.

·         Cross checks are done manually but systematically. The limited size of the fleet permits to check on fishing activity and the frequency of VMS data on a daily base.

§       Results of data analyses

·         During the mission 16 landings were monitored (all over 10m).

·         Analyses of the collected data sets (recorded catch data from the inspected and non inspected landings) resulted in a 15,64 % suspected under recording.

§       Landing obligations

·         Vessels can only land catches on dedicated places. Notwithstanding the provisions of the transitional measures there are no restrictions for vessels when to land

§       Follow up

·         A scheme of administrative sanctions is available. Decisions about an administrative fine are the responsibility of the inspector establishing the apparent infringement. The level of the fine is set by the inspectors within a fixed range for categories of infringements.

·         In addition the control division unit can temporarily withdraw licences or permits (fishing licence, registered buyers etc…).

·         When infringements are detected, inspectors have powers to implement immediate enforcement actions. (Seizure of fishery products or fishing gear etc…..)

§       Mission Evaluation Factor

§       Observations and Remarks

§       National Control action plan

·         A basic control plan has been forwarded to the Commission. The plan does not provide for a target for inspections.

§       Special permit for cod

·         The special permit scheme has been implemented. All vessels fishing for cod have been issued a special permit. In practice the main part of the fleet had been issued a permit, including vessels smaller than 8 m.

§       Designated port scheme

·         A designated port scheme is in place. The Polish authorities selected 13 ports as designated ports. The list was forwarded to the Commission.

§       Logbook requirements

·         All vessels between 8 and 10 m carrying a special permit are required to have an EC-logbook on board.

·         Poland has implemented a requirement to submit the relevant original log sheet in a dedicated post-box prior to discharge.

·         Some vessels observed recorded several trips on one log sheet.

§       Pre notification system

·         There is a pre-notification system in place. Masters are required to send pre-notifications to the Boarder Guard office (24 hour duty) of the port of landing. The notifications can be communicated by phone or VHF radio and a notification register is kept.

·         The Boarder Guard, with no competence in fisheries, does not actively inform the fishery inspectors of the received pre-notification messages. The Fishery Inspectors have to request pre-notification information from the Boarder Guard when on duty.

§       Landing declaration requirements

·         The use of landing declarations is implemented

·         The main part of the landing declarations show a landed weight based on the sum of the estimated weights in the logbook calculated back to gutted weight using the conversion factor.

·         In many cases the landing declaration was completed before the start of the landing.

§       Sales notes requirements

·         Standardised sales notes are completed by the buyers.

·         Most sales notes collected seem to be based on the calculated landing declaration figure and not the actual weight of the catch landed (established after weighing).

§       Transport of catches

·         It is common practice to transport of catches after landing, normally without weighing, to processing plants.

·         The requirements for transport documents are implemented. A copy of the log sheet can be used as a transport document. Indications were found during missions that the level of enforcement is low.

§       Inspection organisation and resources

·         The responsibility for monitoring and surveillance of fishery activities (inspection policy and the physical inspections in the harbours and at sea) is given to Regional Inspectorates with depending port offices. As a result of this, inspection methodologies and priority’s can differ from region to region.

·         The small number of inspectors (1-2) posted in the local port offices are involved in a broad range of administrative tasks (65 % of the time) giving limited scoop for inspection duties in the port.

·         Although in some cases special inspection teams have been installed that can operate in different ports, the number of inspectors available for landing inspections is limited.

·         There are no incentives for inspectors to work outside office hours although the main part of landings are in the evenings and in week-ends.

·         Inspectors have limited access to VMS and pre notification information in order to target inspections in particular outside office hours.

§       Weighing of landings

·         The inspectors are provided with weighing scales and carried out sample weighing during the main part of the landing inspections observed. The sample results suggest the need for intensified sample weighing.

·         It is common practice that fishermen weigh the fish on board and land the catch ready boxed and iced.

·         The sample weighing indicated that there is a considerable under declaration at the level of the unit weights declared.

·         The unit weights declared on the landing declaration by the master were in some cases altered by the inspectors based on the results of the sample weighing.

§       Margin of tolerance

·         The 8 % margin of tolerance is implemented.

·         11 % of the collected log sheets show a difference over 8 % between the estimated weight and the weight on the landing declaration.

§       Cross checking of data

·         A manual cross check is carried out in the port offices between the collected log sheets and sales notes is carried out. Upon detection of inconsistencies the master is contacted for clarification.

·         The main cross checking is done at the FMC. The system reports differences between log sheet and sales notes, reports missing log sheets etc…However, the FMC has no power to follow up apparent infringements. The task of the FMC is strictly limited to the management of the data base

§       Data management

·         New Logbooks are issued by the local port offices.

·         Completed log sheets (including the landing declaration) are submitted to the local port offices.

·         Sales notes are submitted to the local port offices by the buyer or master.

·         An integrated and centralised database is in place. The methodology for data entry is at a high level.

·         Approximately twice a week the catch registration documents are transmitted from the local port office to the Fishery’s Monitoring Centre in Gdynia (FMC) for data input.

·         Catch registration and data entry is centralised and is the responsibility of the FMC. The data is entered 1 to 3 days after reception of the catch registration documents.

·         Local inspectors are informed by the FMC of any missing log sheets/sales notes to be collected from the Masters.

·         Catch registration is based on the sales note data.

§       Verification using VMS data

·         Poland demonstrated that it is cross-checking and validating catch registration data with VMS data. Nevertheless, the discrepancies and inconsistencies between the VMS and the catch registration data suggest that cross-checking carried out by Poland is too sporadic and not applied diligently enough.

·         Inspectors have no direct access to VMS data. The use of VMS data to target inspections is low.

§       Results of data analyse

·         During the mission 46 landings were monitored.(11 vessels < 10 m and 35 vessels > 10 m)

·         Analyses of the collected data sets (recorded catch data from the inspected and non inspected landings) resulted in a 48,71 % suspected under recording.

·         Log sheets collected show changes and alterations. Indications can be found on some log sheets that they were prepared or completed in such a way to allow easy alterations in the case of an apparent landing inspection.

·         Unregistered landings of cod were observed during unannounced missions.

·         Based on the observations during the landing inspections and the analyses of the catch registration documents collected the overall reliability of the catch data is very questionable.

§       Landing obligations

·         Notwithstanding the provisions of the transitional measures there are no restrictions for vessels when to land and where to land.

§       Follow up

·         A scheme of administrative fines has been put in place since May 2005 for sanctioning apparent infringements. However, inspectors were reluctant to apply relative high minimum fine (520 €) for minor offences.

·         Inspectors have limited powers to implement immediate enforcement actions (seizure, and prohibition of landing).

·         A large number of infringements were detected during the missions and those infringements were reported. However, the number of cases effectively prosecuted or sanctioned seems to be low.

·         The limited investigative and operational powers assigned to the inspectors seem to have a negative influence on the deterrent results of landing inspections.

§       Mission Evaluation Factor

§       Observations and Remarks

§       National Control action plan

·         A control plan has been produced and forwarded to the Commission on 14 Feb. 2005.

§       Special permit for cod

·         All vessels fishing for cod are required to hold a special fishing permit and keep the document on board.

§       Designated port scheme

·         37 ports were designated in Sweden, covering the bigger part of possible landing places in the Baltic Sea. The list of ports was communicated to the Commission.

§       Logbook requirements

·         A stricter national logbook regulation requires that vessels record the estimated catch on a tow per tow bases immediately after every tow.

·         There is a system of coastal journals for vessels exempt of the EC logbook requirements.

·         All vessels issued with a special permit carry a logbook.  In practice approximately 100 extra vessels have been issued a logbook.

·         The requirement to submit a logbook prior to discharge was not implemented.

§       Pre notification system

·         The pre-notification system has been fully implemented in Sweden. A national order requires that Swedish vessels pre-notify 4 hours before entering port. Masters have the right to pre-notify 2 hours in advance only when a first pre-notification has been given 8 hours in advance.

·         A number of pre-notified catches of cod on board were much lower than the weight actually landed when monitored.

§       Landing declaration requirements

·         In most cases the landing declaration provided for on the EC-log- sheet is completed and transmitted.

·         Close to 20 % of the landing declarations collected show a different figure than the sales notes collected for that relevant trip.

§       Sales notes requirements

·         The sales notes requirements are implemented.

·         Sales notes have to be transmitted by the buyer. (by e-mail or by post)

§       Transport of catches

·         The marketing of fish is based on direct sales to registered buyers.

·         Direct transport of catches after landing to processing plants is common practice.

·         The requirements for transport documents are implemented. A copy of the log sheet can be used as a transport document. Indications were found during missions that the level of enforcement is low.

§       Inspection organisation and resources

·         The Swedish Board of Fisheries has the overall responsibility for fisheries control in Sweden. Inspection priorities are defined in close co-operation with the Coast Guard. However, the Coast Guard is an autonomous body and the priorities defined could be adapted in function of other Coast Guard tasks.

·         The Coast Guard is responsible for the monitoring and inspection of landings in Swedish ports. The Coast Guard has extensive means but those means are used for a broad range of Coast Guard tasks. The main task assigned to the Coast Guard officers is to man the Coast Guard vessel and to patrol the Swedish Territorial Waters and EEZ. Although, all Coast Guard officers can carry out landing inspections only a limited number of people seems to be specialised in fishery inspection.

·         Based on the observed landing inspections, the quality of the inspection methodology applied and the efficiency of targeting inspections seems to vary between inspection teams. The number of landing inspections against the reported means for landing inspection seems to be relatively low.

·         The catch registration database is not accessible for Coast Guard officers. The pre-notification information was not always directly accessible for inspectors.

§       Weighing of landings

·         The 20% weighing requirement is considered contra-productive and resources consuming.

·         4 control groups were established (with specially trained weighing controllers) Regional commands are to ensure that 20 % of landings are checked. However, It was unclear for the authorities how the 20% weighing benchmark should be interpreted.

·         It is common practice that fishermen weigh the fish on board and to land the catch in standardised boxes.

·         Sample weighing of boxes showed approximately 7 % difference between the declared unit weight and the net weight of the fish.

·         A National Regulation provides a possibility for a 5 % water content weight deduction.

§       Margin of tolerance

·         The requirements regarding the margin of tolerance are implemented.

·         Approximately 60% of the log sheets collected show problems at the level of the margin of tolerance.

§       Cross checking of data

·         There is an automated cross-checking system in place reporting differences above 5 % between sales notes and log sheets.

§       Data management

·         Management of the catch registration database and data input is the responsibility of the National Board of Fisheries in Gothenburg.

·         An integrated and centralised database is available. The methodology for data entry and the benchmarks set are at a high level.

·         The use of log sheets, landing declarations and sales notes is well integrated. Logbooks are issued by the National Board of Fisheries (Gothenburg).

·         There are no structures in place to ensure that logbooks, landing declarations or sales notes are handed over promptly in port. Masters have to send in log sheets by postal service to the National Board of Fisheries.

·         Catch registration is based on the landing declaration data.

§       Verification using VMS data

·         Direct access to VMS data by national inspectors is not possible. They must obtain this information from the central co-ordination unit or from one of the four regional centres where VMS data is part of the Coastguard surveillance system.

·         Cross-checking of logbook returns with VMS data is carried out manually and only as part of wider investigations into vessels suspected of illegal fishing. There is no systematic or automated cross checking arrangements in place.

§       Results of data analyses

·         During the mission 43 landings were monitored.(11 vessels < 10 m and 32 vessels > 10 m)

·         Analyses of the collected data sets (recorded catch data from the inspected and non inspected landings) revealed that there was a 21,42 % under recording in terms of LPUE.

·         134 of the 215 collected log sheets were in breach of the 8% tolerance requirements.

·         Only a few log sheets show apparent changes of the recorded data.

§       Landing obligations

·         There are no restrictions were or when catches can be discharged.

§       Follow up

·         There is an extensive sanction system in place. However, any kind of follow up requires considerable resources. Only a limited number of reported infringements are forwarded for prosecution.

·         When apparent infringements are detected during landing inspections the deterrent effect of the inspections seems to be limited. Apart from recording the infringement on the inspection form no other immediate follow up action has been observed.