(1)

Council Regulation (EU) 2016/72 (1) fixes for 2016 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks applicable in Union waters and, for Union vessels, in certain non-Union waters.

(2)

For the purposes of the management of the fishing opportunities of sandeel in ICES divisions IIa, IIIa and ICES subarea IV, Annex IID of Regulation (EU) 2016/72 defines seven management areas within which specific catch limits apply.

(3)

Pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2016/72, as amended by Council Regulation (EU) 2016/458 (2), the total allowable catch (TAC) for sandeel in the Union waters of ICES divisions IIa, IIIa and ICES subarea IV is set at 87 219 tonnes, whilst the catch limit for sandeel in management area 1 is set at 13 000 tonnes in order to allow Denmark to conduct a real-time monitoring exercise to get a better indication of the actual stock size, based on ICES special request advice.

(4)

It transpires from the analysis of the results of the real-time monitoring of the stock size that the catch limit for sandeel in area 1 should have been maintained at a catch limit of 5 000 tonnes as originally advised by ICES for this area.

(5)

In those circumstances, the TAC should be decreased by 8 000 tons. Based on a commitment made by Denmark prior to the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2016/458, that reduction should be operated in respect of Denmark's subquota in management area 3. That reduction constitutes an ad hoc solution in view of the unexpected substantive decrease in the fishing opportunities for sandeel indicated in the ICES scientific advice and in view of specific commitments made by the Member State concerned. It is without prejudice to the relative stability key and will not set a precedent for future cases.

(6)

The stock biomass and recruitment of anchovy in the Bay of Biscay are among the highest in the historical time series, thus allowing a higher precautionary TAC in 2016 in accordance with the management strategy assessed by the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) in 2014.

(7)

Regulation (EU) 2016/72 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(8)

Since the modification of catch limits has an influence on the economic activities and the planning of the fishing season of Union vessels, this Regulation should enter into force immediately after its publication.

(9)

The catch limits provided for in Regulation (EU) 2016/72 apply from 1 January 2016. The provisions of this Regulation concerning catch limits should therefore also apply from that date. Such retroactive application is without prejudice to the principles of legal certainty and protection of legitimate expectations as the fishing opportunities concerned have not yet been exhausted,

(a)

the fishing opportunities table for sandeel in Union waters of IIa, IIIa and IV is replaced by the following:

(b)

the fishing opportunities table for anchovy in VIII is replaced by the following: