Title IV, Article 60 · Council Regulation (EU) 2026/249

Contents

Article 60Amendment to Regulation (EU) 2025/202#

Regulation (EU) 2025/202, is amended as follows:

(1)in Article 19, the title is replaced by the following:‘Article 19Remedial measures for cod in the Kattegat in 2025’;

(2)the following Article is inserted:‘Article 19aRemedial measures for cod in the Kattegat in 20261.Union fishing vessels fishing in the Kattegat with bottom trawls and seines^note with minimum mesh size of 70 mm shall use one of the following selective gears:

(a)sorting grid with maximum 35 mm bar spacing, with an unblocked fish outlet;

(b)sorting grid with maximum 50 mm bar spacing separating flatfish and roundfish, with an unblocked fish outlet for roundfish;

(c)seltra panel with 300 mm square mesh size; or

(d)highly selective gear, the technical attributes of which shall result, according to a scientific study assessed by the STECF, for fishing vessels exclusively carrying on board such a gear, in a proportion of cod catches of less than 1,5 % of total catches.

2.Union fishing vessels participating in a project run by a Member State and having functioning equipment for fully documented fisheries may use a gear that complies with the requirements set in Part B of Annex V, to Regulation (EU) 2019/1241, except for the gears that comply with the alternative requirement set in the second sentence of the footnotes in point 1.1 of that Part. By 31 March, the Member State concerned shall communicate a list of such vessels to the Commission.3.This Article does not apply to fishing operations conducted for the exclusive purpose of scientific investigations, provided that those investigations are carried out in compliance with Article 25 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1241.

(3)in Article 63, point (e) is replaced by the following:

(e)Article 19 shall apply from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025;’

;

(4)in Article 63, the following point is inserted:

(ea)Article 19a shall apply from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2026 or until the date on which a delegated act adopted in accordance with Article 15(2) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1241 and amending Annex V of that Regulation regarding remedial measures for cod in the Kattegat becomes applicable, whichever is earlier;’

;

(5)in Annex IA, Part B, Table 59 is replaced by the following:Table 59Species: | Blue whiting | Zone: | 8c, 9 and 10; Union waters of CECAF 34.1.1Micromesistius poutassou | (WHB/8C3411)Spain | 44604 | | Analytical TACArticle 7(2) of this Regulation appliesPortugal | 11151 |Union | 55755 |TAC | 1447054 |

Source: EUR-Lex, © European Union, 1998-2026. Reuse authorised under Decision 2011/833/EU.

Key facts

Type

Regulation · Council Regulation (EU) 2026/249

In force

1 Jan 2025

Applies from

1 Dec 2025

Text current to

1 Jan 2026

Applies from

1 Jan 2026

Adopted

26 Jan 2026

Applies from

30 Jan 2026

Applies from

1 Feb 2026

Applies from

1 Apr 2026

Applies from

1 Jun 2026

Applies from

1 Jul 2026

Applies from

1 Nov 2026

Applies from

15 Apr 2027

Made by

Council of the European Union

Official

EUR-Lex 32026R0249 · ELI

Defined terms · 32

Show every defined term

analytical assessment
means a quantitative evaluation of trends in a given stock, based on data about the stock’s biology and exploitation, including based on proxies, which scientific review has indicated to be of sufficient quality to provide scientific advice;
analytical TAC
means a TAC for which an analytical assessment is available;
current management period
means the period from 1 February 2026 to 31 January 2027.
fishing logbook
means the logbook referred to in Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009;
functional unit 16 of ICES subarea 7
means the geographical area bounded by rhumb lines sequentially joining the following positions:
functional unit 25 of ICES division 8c
means the geographical sea area bounded by rhumb lines sequentially joining the following positions:
functional unit 26 of ICES division 9a
means the geographical area bounded by rhumb lines sequentially joining the following positions:
functional unit 27 of ICES division 9a
means the geographical area bounded by rhumb lines sequentially joining the following positions:
functional unit 30 of ICES division 9a
means the geographical area under the jurisdiction of Spain in the Gulf of Cádiz and in the adjacent waters of ICES division 9a;
functional unit 31 of ICES division 8c
means the geographical sea area bounded by rhumb lines sequentially joining the following positions:
gear grouping
means the grouping consisting of the following two gear categories:
Gulf of Cádiz
means the geographical area of ICES division 9a east of longitude 7° 23' 48″ W;
high seas of the Bering Sea
means the geographical area of the high seas of the Bering Sea beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial seas of the coastal States of the Bering Sea is measured;
instrumented buoy
means a buoy clearly marked with a unique reference number allowing identification of its owner and equipped with a satellite tracking system to monitor its position;
international waters
means waters outside the sovereignty or jurisdiction of any State;
Kattegat
means the geographical area bounded on the north by a line drawn from the Skagen lighthouse to the Tistlarna lighthouse and from that point to the nearest point on the Swedish coast and on the south by a line drawn from Hasenøre to Gnibens Spids, from Korshage to Spodsbjerg and from Gilbjerg Hoved to Kullen;
mesh size
means the mesh size of fishing nets as defined in Article 6, point (34), of Regulation (EU) 2019/1241 of the European Parliament and of the Council;
Netgrid device
means a selectivity device consisting of a four-panel section inserted into a two-panel trawl with an inclined sheet of diamond mesh netting with a mesh size of at least 200 mm leading to an escape hole in the top of the trawl.
Nordmøre sorting grid
means a selectivity device which:
operational buoy
means any instrumented buoy, previously activated, switched on and deployed at sea on a drifting fish aggregating device (FAD) or log, which transmits positions and other available information such as echo-sounder estimates.
otter trawls
means trawls held open by otter boards towed on the seabed;
overlap area between IATTC and WCPFC Convention areas
means the geographical area defined by the following limits:
precautionary TAC
means a TAC for which an analytical assessment is not available but rather an assessment based on the precautionary approach is available or no assessment is available;
quota
means a proportion of a TAC that is allocated to the Union, a Member State or a third country;
recreational fisheries
means non-commercial fishing activities exploiting marine biological resources in the context of recreation, tourism or sport;
regulated gear
means any of the two gear categories belonging to the gear grouping;
seltra 300 mm square mesh sorting box
means a selectivity device which:
Skagerrak
means the geographical area bounded on the west by a line drawn from the Hanstholm lighthouse to the Lindesnes lighthouse and on the south by a line drawn from the Skagen lighthouse to the Tistlarna lighthouse and from that point to the nearest point on the Swedish coast;
the area
means ICES division 7e;
third country fishing vessel
means a fishing vessel flying the flag of, and registered in, a third country;
total allowable catch
(TAC) means:
Union fishing fleet register
means the register maintained by the Commission pursuant to Article 24(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013;