A report on iUU fishing of Baltic Sea cod - Fisheries Secretariat

Outside of the 12 mile limit, the Ministry isgenerally responsible for the surveillance, monitoringand control of fisheries. Within 12 miles,monitoring and control is the responsibility ofthe coastal states or Länder (Schleswig-Holstein,Niedersachsen/Bremen and Micklenburg-Vorpommern).The Federal Customs Administration (Zoll) mayalso undertake fisheries inspections at sea orashore while the Federal Border Guard (Bundesgrenzschutz)may undertake surveillance but donot undertake physical inspections.ResourcesThe Ministry has approximately 20 inspectorswho are involved in offshore inspections with afurther 5 inspectors based in Hamburg. The Länderhave approximately 30 inspectors who havea dual sea going and shore based role. While notdedicated fisheries inspectors, Customs Officersare also considered inspectors in the scope oftheir designated competencies.A total of 42 patrol vessels are capable of inspectionsat sea. Of these, 3 are operated by theMinistry, 8 by the Border Guard, 12 by Customsand 19 by the Länder within the 12 nautcial milelimit.In total, 30% of the Customs’ vessel time is spenton fisheries control. They are trained by theMinistry inspectors and are able to make inspectionsand conduct investigations. Border Guardscan be used to monitor protected areas such asspawning areas and they <strong>report</strong> any apparent offencesto the Ministry for follow-up action.Monitoring, control and enforcement: VMSData is centralised in the Fisheries MonitoringCentre in Hamburg and the large Ministryinspection vessels have access and can use thisdata while at sea. Data is exchanged automaticallywith Denmark, Finland and Sweden and theCommission can access recorded data on-line.LicensingAll registered vessels are required to be licensed.There are two types of licence and a special permitfor cod. The licences allow fishing for quotaand non-quota species, respectively.Catch recordingThe collection of logbooks, landing declarationsand sales notes is mainly carried out by theLänder fisheries inspectors. Landings into portswithin Mecklenburg-Vorpommern are crosscheckedand processed by the Länder authorities,whereas landings into other Länder are crosscheckedand then sent to the Ministry offices inHamburg for data processing.Producer Organisations (POs) have some responsibilitiesfor catch restrictions and they areexpected to use internal management measuresto discipline any over-shooting of quotas. POsmay be fined or have the equivalent over quotafish removed from their allocation the followingyear.InspectionsInspections are normally documented in aninspection <strong>report</strong>, a copy of which is provided tothe skipper of the vessel or owner of any premisesthat may be inspected. The control of landingsis the responsibility of the Länder.Ministry and Länder Fisheries Inspectors andCustom Officers, when acting as Fisheries Inspectors,are entitled to seize and search vesselsand premises in the normal course of their duties.They also have powers to search vehicles whenthey are stationary while only the police have theauthority to stop a vehicle in transit.Dealing with infringementsAn administrative sanctioning system is appliedin Germany. Inspection <strong>report</strong>s that establish thatan infringement has taken place are forwardedto either the Ministry’s or Länder’s Headquartersfor further investigation and a decision onwhether to impose a sanction. It is only at thestage of appeal that the prosecution authoritiesare involved.Maximum federal fines are €76,600 if the offenceis considered to be intentional; if the offenceis considered to be a result of negligence themaximum is half this value. The sanction is setaccording to the seriousness of the offence andthe economic circumstances of the offender. However,the legislation states that the fine shouldexceed any economic benefit from the offence. If– 67 –