2005/26/EG: Beschluss des Rates vom 25. Oktober 2004 über die Unterzeichnung, im Namen der Europäischen Gemeinschaft, des Übereinkommens zur Stärkung der Interamerikanischen Kommission für Tropischen Thunfisch, die mit dem Übereinkommen aus dem Jahr 1949 zwischen den Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika und der Republik Costa Rica eingesetzt wurde („Antigua-Übereinkommen“)

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19.1.2005 DE Amtsblatt der Europäischen Union L 15/9 BESCHLUSS DES RATES vom 25. Oktober 2004 über die Unterzeichnung, im Namen der Europäischen Gemeinschaft, des Übereinkommens zur Stärkung der Interamerikanischen Kommission für Tropischen Thunfisch, die mit dem Übereinkommen aus dem Jahr 1949 zwischen den Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika und der Republik Costa Rica eingesetzt wurde („Antigua-Übereinkommen“) (2005/26/EG) DER RAT DER EUROPÄISCHEN UNION — gestützt auf den Vertrag zur Gründung der Europäischen Gemeinschaft, insbesondere auf Artikel 37 in Verbindung mit Artikel 300 Absatz 2 Unterabsatz 1 Satz 1, auf Vorschlag der Kommission, in Erwägung nachstehender Gründe: (1) Die Europäische Gemeinschaft verfügt über die ausschließliche Zuständigkeit für den Erlass von Maßnahmen zur Erhaltung und Bewirtschaftung der Fischereiressourcen und für den Abschluss von Abkommen mit anderen Staaten und internationalen Organisationen. (2) Die Gemeinschaft hat das Seerechtsübereinkommen der Vereinten Nationen unterzeichnet, das alle Mitglieder der internationalen Gemeinschaft verpflichtet, zur Erhaltung und Bewirtschaftung der biologischen Meeresschätze zusammenzuarbeiten. (3) Die Gemeinschaft hat das Übereinkommen zur Durchführung der Bestimmungen des Seerechtsübereinkommens der Vereinten Nationen vom 10. Dezember 1982 über die Erhaltung und Bewirtschaftung von gebietsübergreifenden Fischbeständen und weit wandernden Fischbeständen (1) am 19. Dezember 2003 ratifiziert. (4) Die Interamerikanische Kommission für Tropischen Thunfisch (IATTC) wurde durch das im Jahr 1949 geschlossene Übereinkommen zwischen den Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika und der Republik Costa Rica eingesetzt. Auf ihrer 61. Tagung im Juni 1998 verabschiedete die IATTC eine Entschließung über ein neues Übereinkommen zur Stärkung der IATTC und zur Aktualisierung ihres Statuts im Einklang mit den Bestimmungen des internationalen Seerechts. (5) Die Gemeinschaft wurde von Anfang an zur Teilnahme an diesem Verfahren aufgefordert und hat eine aktive Rolle dabei gespielt. Auf der 70. Tagung der IATTC vom 24. bis 27. Juni 2003 in Antigua, Guatemala, wurde das Übereinkommen zur Stärkung der Interamerikanischen Kommission für Tropischen Thunfisch, die mit dem Übereinkommen aus dem Jahr 1949 zwischen den Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika und der Republik Costa Rica eingesetzt wurde (nachstehend „Antigua-Übereinkommen“ genannt), geschlossen. (6) Das Antigua-Übereinkommen liegt seit dem 14. November 2003 in Washington DC in den Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika zur Unterzeichnung auf; gemäß seinem Artikel XXVII wird es bis zum 31. Dezember 2004 zur Unterzeichnung aufliegen. (7) Das Antigua-Übereinkommen liegt gemäß Artikel XXVII Absatz 1 Buchstabe c) für die Gemeinschaft zur Unterzeichnung auf. (8) Fischer der Gemeinschaft üben ihre Tätigkeiten im Bereich des Antigua-Übereinkommens aus. Es liegt deshalb im Interesse der Gemeinschaft, der IATTC beizutreten. Die Gemeinschaft sollte das Antigua-Übereinkommen unterzeichnen — BESCHLIESST: Artikel 1 Die Unterzeichnung des Übereinkommens zur Stärkung der Interamerikanischen Kommission für Tropischen Thunfisch, die mit dem Übereinkommen aus dem Jahr 1949 zwischen den Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika und der Republik Costa Rica eingesetzt wurde („Antigua-Übereinkommen“), wird — vorbehaltlich des Beschlusses des Rates über den Abschluss — im Namen der Europäischen Gemeinschaft genehmigt. Der Wortlaut des Antigua-Übereinkommens ist diesem Beschluss beigefügt. Artikel 2 Der Präsident des Rates wird ermächtigt, die Person(en) zu bestellen, die befugt ist (sind), das Antigua-Übereinkommen vorbehaltlich seines Abschlusses im Namen der Gemeinschaft zu unterzeichnen. Geschehen zu Luxemburg am 25. Oktober 2004. Im Namen des Rates Die Präsidentin R. VERDONK (1) ABl. L 189 vom 3.7.1998, S. 17. CONVENTION for the strengthening of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission established by the 1949 Convention between the United States of America and the Republic of Costa Rica (Antigua Convention) THE PARTIES TO THIS CONVENTION: AWARE THAT, in accordance with the relevant provisions of international law, as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) of 1982, all States have the duty to take such measures as may be necessary for the conservation and management of living marine resources, including highly migratory species, and to cooperate with other States in taking such measures; RECALLING the sovereign rights of coastal States for the purpose of exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing the living marine resources within areas under national jurisdiction as provided for in UNCLOS, and the right of all States for their nationals to engage in fishing on the high seas in accordance with UNCLOS; REAFFIRMING their commitment to the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development and Agenda 21, particularly Chapter 17, adopted by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (1992), and to the Johannesburg Declaration and Plan of Implementation adopted by the World Summit on Sustainable Development (2002); STRESSING THE NEED to implement the principles and standards of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries adopted by the Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 1995, including the Agreement to Promote Compliance with International Conservation and Management Measures by Fishing Vessels on the High Seas, 1993, which forms an integral part of the Code, as well as the International Plans of Action adopted by the FAO within the framework of the Code of Conduct; TAKING NOTE that the 50th General Assembly of the United Nations, pursuant to Resolution A/RES/50/24, adopted the Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks („the 1995 UN Fish Stocks Agreement“); CONSIDERING the importance of fishing for highly migratory fish stocks as a source of food, employment and economic benefits for the populations of the Parties and that conservation and management measures must address those needs and take into account the economic and social impacts of those measures; TAKING into account the special circumstances and requirements of the developing countries of the region, particularly the coastal countries, in order to achieve the objective of the Convention; RECOGNIZING the significant efforts and the outstanding achievements of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, as well as the importance of its work in the tuna fisheries in the Eastern Pacific Ocean; DESIROUS TO benefit from the experiences derived from the implementation of the 1949 Convention; REAFFIRMING that multilateral cooperation constitutes the most effective means for achieving the objectives of conservation and sustainable use of living marine resources; COMMITTED to ensuring the long-term conservation and the sustainable use of fish stocks covered by this Convention; CONVINCED THAT the aforementioned objectives and the strengthening of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission can best be achieved through bringing up to date the provisions of the 1949 Convention between the United States of America and the Republic of Costa Rica for the establishment of an Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission; HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS: PART I GENERAL PROVISIONS Article I Definitions For the purposes of this Convention: 1. „Fish stocks covered by this Convention“ means stocks of tunas and tuna-like species and other species of fish taken by vessels fishing for tunas and tuna-like species in the Convention Area; 2. „Fishing“ means: (a) the actual or attempted searching for, catching, or harvesting of the fish stocks covered by this Convention; (b) engaging in any activity which can reasonably be expected to result in the locating, catching, harvesting of these stocks; (c) placing, searching for or recovering any fish-aggregating device or associated equipment, including radio beacons; (d) any operation at sea in support of, or in preparation for, any activity described in sub-paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of this paragraph, except for any operation in emergencies involving the health and safety of crew members or the safety of a vessel; (e) the use of any other vehicle, air- or sea-borne, in relation to any activity described in this definition except for emergencies involving the health or safety of crew members or the safety of a vessel; 3. „Vessel“ means any vessel used or intended for use for the purpose of fishing, including support vessels, carrier vessels and any other vessels directly involved in such fishing operations; 4. „Flag State“ means, unless otherwise indicated: (a) a State whose vessels are entitled to fly its flag, or (b) a regional economic integration organization in which vessels are entitled to fly the flag of a Member State of that regional economic integration organization; 5. „Consensus“ means the adoption of a decision without voting and without the expression of any stated objection; 6. „Parties“ means the States and regional economic integration organizations which have consented to be bound by this Convention and for which this Convention is in force, in accordance with the provisions of Articles XXVII, XXIX, and XXX of this Convention; 7. „Members of the Commission“ means the Parties and any fishing entity which has expressed in accordance with the provisions of Article XXVIII of this Convention its formal commitment to abide by the terms of this Convention and comply with any conservation and management measures adopted pursuant thereto; 8. „Regional economic integration organization“ means a regional economic integration organization to which its Member States have transferred competence over matters covered by this Convention, including the authority to make decisions binding on its Member States in respect of those matters; 9. „1949 Convention“ means the Convention between the United States of America and the Republic of Costa Rica for the establishment of an Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission; 10. „Commission“ means the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission; 11. „UNCLOS“ means the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982; 12. „1995 UN Fish Stocks Agreement“ means the Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, 1995; 13. „Code of Conduct“ means the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries adopted by the 28th Session of the Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in October 1995; 14. „AIDCP“ means the Agreement on the International Dolphin Conservation Program of 21 May 1998. Article II Objective The objective of this Convention is to ensure the long-term conservation and sustainable use of the fish stocks covered by this Convention, in accordance with the relevant rules of international law. Article III Area of application of the Convention The area of application of the Convention (the Convention Area) comprises the area of the Pacific Ocean bounded by the coastline of North, Central, and South America and by the following lines: — the 50 °N parallel from the coast of North America to its intersection with the 150 °W meridian, — the 150 °W meridian to its intersection with the 50 °S parallel, and — the 50 °S parallel to its intersection with the coast of South America. PART II CONSERVATION AND USE OF THE FISH STOCKS COVERED BY THE CONVENTION Article IV Application of the precautionary approach 1. The members of the Commission, directly and through the Commission, shall apply the precautionary approach, as described in the relevant provisions of the Code of Conduct and/or the 1995 UN Fish Stocks Agreement, for the conservation, management and sustainable use of fish stocks covered by this Convention. 2. In particular, the members of the Commission shall be more cautious when information is uncertain, unreliable or inadequate. The absence of adequate scientific information shall not be used as a reason for postponing or failing to take conservation and management measures. 3. Where the status of target stocks or non-target or associated or dependent species is of concern, the members of the Commission shall subject such stocks and species to enhanced monitoring in order to review their status and the efficacy of conservation and management measures. They shall revise those measures regularly in the light of new scientific information available. Article V Compatibility of conservation and management measures 1. Nothing in this Convention shall prejudice or undermine the sovereignty or sovereign rights of coastal States related to the exploration and exploitation, conservation and management of the living marine resources within areas under their sovereignty or national jurisdiction as provided for in UNCLOS, or the right of all States for their nationals to engage in fishing on the high seas in accordance with UNCLOS. 2. The conservation and management measures established for the high seas and those adopted for areas under national jurisdiction shall be compatible, in order to ensure the conservation and management of the fish stocks covered by this Convention. PART III THE INTER-AMERICAN TROPICAL TUNA COMMISSION Article VI The Commission 1. The members of the Commission agree to maintain, with all its assets and liabilities, and to strengthen the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission established by the 1949 Convention. 2. The Commission shall be composed of sections consisting of from one (1) to four (4) Commissioners appointed by each member, who may be accompanied by such experts and advisers as that member may deem advisable. 3. The Commission shall have legal personality and shall enjoy, in its relations with other international organizations and with its members, such legal capacity as may be necessary to perform its functions and achieve its objective, in accordance with international law. The immunities and privileges which the Commission and its officers shall enjoy shall be subject to an agreement between the Commission and the relevant member. 4. The headquarters of the Commission shall remain at San Diego, California, United States of America. Article VII Functions of the Commission 1. The Commission shall perform the following functions, giving priority to tunas and tuna-like species: (a) promote, carry out and coordinate scientific research concerning the abundance, biology and biometry in the Convention Area of fish stocks covered by this Convention and, as necessary, of associated or dependent species, and the effects of natural factors and human activities on the populations of these stocks and species; (b) adopt standards for collection, verification, and timely exchange and reporting of data concerning the fisheries for fish stocks covered by this Convention; (c) adopt measures that are based on the best scientific evidence available to ensure the long-term conservation and sustainable use of the fish stocks covered by this Convention and to maintain or restore the populations of harvested species at levels of abundance which can produce the maximum sustainable yield, inter alia, through the setting of the total allowable catch of such fish stocks as the Commission may decide and/or the total allowable level of fishing capacity and/or level of fishing effort for the Convention Area as a whole; (d) determine whether, according to the best scientific information available, a specific fish stock covered by this Convention is fully fished or overfished and, on this basis, whether an increase in fishing capacity and/or the level of fishing effort would threaten the conservation of that stock; (e) in relation to the stocks referred to in subparagraph (d) of this paragraph, determine, on the basis of criteria that the Commission may adopt or apply, the extent to which the fishing interests of new members of the Commission might be accommodated, taking into account relevant international standards and practices; (f) adopt, as necessary, conservation and management measures and recommendations for species belonging to the same ecosystem and that are affected by fishing for, or dependent on or associated with, the fish stocks covered by this Convention, with a view to maintaining or restoring populations of such species above levels at which their reproduction may become seriously threatened; (g) adopt appropriate measures to avoid, reduce and minimize waste, discards, catch by lost or discarded gear, catch of non-target species (both fish and non-fish species) and impacts on associated or dependent species, in particular endangered species; (h) adopt appropriate measures to prevent or eliminate over-fishing and excess fishing capacity and to ensure that levels of fishing effort do not exceed those commensurate with the sustainable use of the fish stocks covered by this Convention; (i) establish a comprehensive program for data collection and monitoring which shall include such elements as the Commission determines necessary. Each member of the Commission may also maintain its own program consistent with guidelines adopted by the Commission; (j) ensure that, in developing measures to be adopted under subparagraphs (a) to (i) of this paragraph, due consideration is given to the need for coordination and compatibility with measures adopted pursuant to the AIDCP; (k) promote, to the extent practicable, the development and use of selective, environmentally safe and cost-effective fishing gear and techniques and such other related activities, including activities connected with, inter alia, transfer of technology and training; (l) where necessary, develop criteria for, and make decisions relating to, the allocation of total allowable catch, or total allowable fishing capacity, including carrying capacity, or the level of fishing effort, taking into account all relevant factors; (m) apply the precautionary approach in accordance with the provisions of Article IV of this Convention. In cases where measures are adopted by the Commission pursuant to the precautionary approach in the absence of adequate scientific information, as set out in Article IV, paragraph 2 of this Convention, the Commission shall, as soon as possible, undertake to obtain the scientific information necessary to maintain or modify any such measures; (n) promote the application of any relevant provision of the Code of Conduct and of other relevant international instruments including, inter alia, the International Plans of Action adopted by the FAO in the framework of the Code of Conduct; (o) appoint the Director of the Commission; (p) approve its program of work; (q) approve its budget, in accordance with provisions of Article XIV of this Convention; (r) approve the accounts for the past budgetary period; (s) adopt or amend its own rules and procedures, financial regulations and other internal administrative regulations as may be necessary to carry out its functions; (t) provide the Secretariat for the AIDCP, taking into account the provisions of Article XIV, paragraph 3 of this Convention; (u) establish such subsidiary bodies as it considers necessary; (v) adopt any other measure or recommendation, based on relevant information, including the best scientific information available, as may be necessary to achieve the objective of this Convention, including non-discriminatory and transparent measures consistent with international law, to prevent, deter and eliminate activities that undermine the effectiveness of the conservation and management measures adopted by the Commission. 2. The Commission shall maintain a staff qualified in matters pertaining to this Convention, including administrative, scientific and technical areas, under the supervision of the Director, and ensure that it shall include all personnel needed for the efficient and effective application of this Convention. The Commission should seek the most qualified staff available, and give due consideration to the importance of recruiting staff on an equitable basis to promote broad representation and participation of the members of the Commission. 3. In considering guidance for the program of work on scientific matters to be addressed by the scientific staff, the Commission shall consider, inter alia, the advice, recommendations, and reports of the Scientific Advisory Committee established pursuant to Article XI of this Convention. Article VIII Meetings of the Commission 1. The ordinary meetings of the Commission shall take place at least once a year, in such location and on such date as the Commission agrees. 2. The Commission may also hold extraordinary meetings when deemed necessary. These meetings shall be convened at the request of at least two of the members of the Commission, provided that a majority of the members support the request. 3. The meetings of the Commission shall be held only when a quorum is present. Quorum is reached when two-thirds of the members of the Commission are present. This rule shall also apply to meetings of subsidiary bodies established under this Convention. 4. The meetings shall be held in English and Spanish, and the documents of the Commission shall be produced in both these languages. 5. Members shall elect a Chairman and Vice-Chairman from, unless otherwise decided, different Parties to this Convention. Both officials shall be elected for a period of one (1) year and shall remain in office until their successors are elected. Article IX Decision making 1. Unless provided otherwise, all decisions made by the Commission at meetings convened pursuant to Article VIII of this Convention shall be by consensus of members of the Commission present at the meeting in question. 2. Decisions on adoption of amendments to this Convention and its annexes, as well as invitations to accede to the Convention pursuant to Article XXX(c) of this Convention, shall require consensus of all Parties. In such cases, the Chairman of the meeting shall ensure that all members of the Commission have the opportunity to express their views on the proposed decisions, which the Parties shall take into account in reaching the final decision. 3. The consensus of all the members of the Commission shall be required for decisions on: (a) the adoption and amendment of the Commission's budget, and those that determine the form and proportion of the contributions of the members; (b) the issues referred to in Article VII(i) of paragraph 1 of this Convention. 4. With respect to decisions referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article, if a Party or member of the Commission, as the case may be, is absent from the meeting in question and has not sent a notification in accordance with paragraph 6 of this Article, the Director shall notify such Party or member of the decision taken at the meeting. If, within thirty (30) days of the receipt by the Party or member of such notification, the Director has not received a response from such Party or member, that Party or member shall be deemed to have joined the consensus on the decision in question. If, within such 30-day period, such Party or member replies in writing that it cannot join the consensus on the decision in question, the decision shall have no effect, and the Commission shall seek to reach consensus at the earliest opportunity. 5. When a Party or member of the Co