1.   This Regulation establishes a Community system to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

2.   For the purposes of paragraph 1, each Member State shall take appropriate measures, in accordance with Community law, to ensure the effectiveness of that system. It shall place sufficient means at the disposal of its competent authorities to enable them to perform their tasks as laid down in this Regulation.

3.   The system laid down in paragraph 1 shall apply to all IUU fishing and associated activities carried out within the territory of Member States to which the Treaty applies, within Community waters, within maritime waters under the jurisdiction or sovereignty of third countries and on the high seas. IUU fishing within maritime waters of the overseas territories and countries referred to in Annex II of the Treaty shall be treated as taking place within maritime waters of third countries.

1.   A fishing vessel shall be presumed to be engaged in IUU fishing if it is shown that, contrary to the conservation and management measures applicable in the fishing area concerned, it has:

2.   The activities set out in paragraph 1 shall be considered as serious infringements in accordance with Article 42 depending on the gravity of the infringement in question which shall be determined by the competent authority of the Member State, taking into account the criteria such as the damage done, its value, the extent of the infringement or its repetition.

1.   The importation into the Community of fishery products obtained from IUU fishing shall be prohibited.

2.   To ensure the effectiveness of the prohibition established in paragraph 1, fishery products shall only be imported into the Community when accompanied by a catch certificate in conformity with this Regulation.

3.   The catch certificate referred to in paragraph 2 shall be validated by the flag State of the fishing vessel or fishing vessels which made the catches from which the fishery products have been obtained. It shall be used to certify that such catches have been made in accordance with applicable laws, regulations and international conservation and management measures.

4.   The catch certificate shall contain all the information specified in the specimen shown in Annex II, and shall be validated by a public authority of the flag State with the necessary powers to attest the accuracy of the information. In agreement with flag States, within the framework of the cooperation set out in Article 20(4), the catch certificate may be established, validated or submitted by electronic means or be replaced by electronic traceability systems ensuring the same level of control by authorities.

5.   The list in Annex I of the products excluded from the scope of implementation of the catch certificate may be reviewed each year on the basis of the results of the information gathered under Chapters II, III, IV, V, VIII, X and XII, and amended in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 54(2).

1.   Catch documents, and any related documents, validated in conformity with catch documentation schemes adopted by a regional fisheries management organisation which are recognised as complying with the requirements laid down in this Regulation, shall be accepted as catch certificates in respect of the fishery products from species to which such catch documentation schemes apply and shall be subject to the check and verification requirements incumbent upon the Member State of importation in accordance with Articles 16 and 17 and to the provisions on refusal of importation laid down in Article 18. The list of such catch documentation schemes shall be determined in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 54(2).

2.   Paragraph 1 shall apply without prejudice to the specific regulations in force whereby such catch documentation schemes are implemented into Community law.

1.   In order to import fishery products constituting one single consignment, transported in the same form to the Community from a third country other than the flag State, the importer shall submit to the authorities of the Member States of importation:

2.   In order to import fishery products constituting one single consignment and which have been processed in a third country other than the flag State, the importer shall submit to the authorities of the Member State of importation a statement established by the processing plant in that third country and endorsed by its competent authorities in accordance with the form in Annex IV:

Where the species concerned are subject to a regional fisheries management organisations catch documentation scheme which has been recognised under Article 13, the statement may be replaced by the re-export certificate of that catch documentation scheme, provided that the third country of processing has fulfilled its notification requirements accordingly.

3.   The documents and the statement set out in paragraphs (1)(b) and (2) of this Article respectively may be communicated by electronic means within the framework of the cooperation laid down in Article 20(4).

1.   The exportation of catches made by fishing vessels flying the flag of a Member State shall be subject to the validation of a catch certificate by the competent authorities of the flag Member State, as established in Article 12(4), if required within the framework of the cooperation laid down in Article 20(4).

2.   Flag Member States shall notify to the Commission their competent authorities for the validation of the catch certificates referred to in paragraph 1.

1.   The validated catch certificate shall be submitted by the importer to the competent authorities of the Member State in which the product is intended to be imported at least three working days before the estimated time of arrival at the place of entry into the territory of the Community. The deadline of three working days may be adapted according to the type of fishery product, the distance to the place of entry into the territory of the Community or the transport means used. Those competent authorities shall, on the basis of risk management, check the catch certificate in the light of the information provided in the notification received from the flag State in accordance with Articles 20 and 22.

2.   By way of derogation to paragraph 1, importers who have been granted the status of approved economic operator may advise the competent authorities of the Member State of the arrival of the products within the deadline referred to in paragraph 1 and keep the validated catch certificate and related documents as referred to in Article 14 available to the authorities for the purposes of checks in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article or verifications in accordance with Article 17.

3.   The criteria for granting the status of approved economic operator to an importer by the competent authorities of a Member State shall include:

Member States shall communicate to the Commission the name and address of the approved economic operators as soon as possible after having granted this status. The Commission shall make available this information to the Member States by electronic means.

The rules relating to the status of approved economic operator may be determined in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 54(2).

1.   The competent authorities of the Member States may carry out all of the verifications they deem necessary to ensure that the provisions of this Regulation are correctly applied.

2.   Verifications may, in particular, consist in examining the products, verifying declaration data and the existence and authenticity of documents, examining the accounts of operators and other records, inspecting means of transport, including containers and storage places of the products and carrying out official enquiries and other similar acts, in addition to the inspection of fishing vessels at port under Chapter II.

3.   Verifications shall be focused towards risk identified on the basis of criteria developed at national or Community level under risk management. Member States shall notify to the Commission their national criteria within 30 working days after 29 October 2008 and update this information. The Community criteria shall be determined in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 54(2).

4.   Verifications shall be carried out, in any case, where:

5.   Member States may decide to carry out verifications at random, in addition to the verifications referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4.

6.   For the purpose of a verification, the competent authorities of a Member State may request the assistance of the competent authorities of the flag State or of a third country other than the flag State as referred to in Article 14, in which case:

7.   The release of the products onto the market shall be suspended while awaiting the results of the verification procedures referred to in paragraphs (1) to (6). The cost of storage shall be borne by the operator.

8.   Member States shall notify to the Commission their competent authorities for the checks and verifications of the catch certificates in accordance with Article 16 and paragraphs (1) to (6) of this Article.

1.   The competent authorities of the Member States shall, where appropriate, refuse the importation into the Community of fishery products without having to request any additional evidence or send a request for assistance to the flag State where they become aware that:

2.   The competent authorities of the Member States shall, where appropriate, refuse the importation of any fishery products into the Community, following a request for assistance pursuant to Article 17(6), where:

3.   In the event that the importation of fishery products is refused pursuant to paragraphs 1 or 2, Member States may confiscate and destroy, dispose of or sell such fishery products in accordance with national law. The profits from the sale may be used for charitable purposes.

4.   Any person shall have the right to appeal against decisions taken by the competent authorities pursuant to paragraphs 1, 2 or 3 which concern him. The right of appeal shall be exercised according to the provisions in force in the Member State concerned.

5.   The competent authorities of the Member States shall notify the flag State and, where appropriate, the third country other than the flag State as referred to in Article 14 of refusals of importation. A copy of the notification shall be sent to the Commission.

1.   Where, at the point of entry into the territory of the Community, fishery products are placed under a transit procedure and transported to another Member State where they shall be placed into another customs procedure, the provisions of Articles 17 and 18 shall be implemented in that Member State.

2.   Where, at the point of entry into the territory of the Community, fishery products are placed under a transit procedure and transported to another place in the same Member State where they shall be placed under another customs procedure, that Member State may implement the provisions of Articles 16, 17 and 18 at the point of entry or at the place of destination. Member States shall, as soon as possible, notify to the Commission the measures adopted for the implementation of this paragraph and update this information. The Commission shall publish these notifications on its website.

3.   Where, at the point of entry into the territory of the Community, fishery products are transhipped and transported by sea to another Member State, the provisions of Articles 17 and 18 shall be implemented in that Member State.

4.   The Member States of transhipment shall communicate to the Member States of destination the information taken from the transport documentation on the nature of the fishery products, their weight, the port of loading and the shipper in the third country, the names of the transport vessels and the ports of transhipment and destination, as soon as possible this information is known and prior to the anticipated date of arrival in the port of destination.

1.   The acceptance of catch certificates validated by a given flag State for the purposes of this Regulation shall be subject to the condition that the Commission has received a notification from the flag State concerned certifying that:

2.   The information to be given in the notification laid down in paragraph 1 is set forth in Annex III.

3.   The Commission shall inform the flag State of the receipt of the notification sent pursuant to paragraph 1. If all elements mentioned in paragraph 1 are not provided by the flag State, the Commission shall indicate to the flag State which elements are missing and request that it provide a new notification.

4.   The Commission shall, where appropriate, cooperate administratively with third countries in areas pertaining to the implementation of the catch certification provisions of this Regulation, including the use of electronic means to establish, validate or submit the catch certificates and, where appropriate, documents referred to in Article 14(1) and 14(2).

Such cooperation shall aim to:

5.   The cooperation laid down in paragraph 4 shall not be construed as a precondition for the application of this Chapter to imports originating from catches made by fishing vessels flying the flag of any State.

1.   The re-exportation of products imported under a catch certificate in accordance with this Chapter shall be authorised through the validation by the competent authorities of the Member State from which the re-exportation is to take place of the section ‘re-export’ of the catch certificate or a copy thereof where the fishery products to be re-exported are a part of the products imported.

2.   The procedure defined in Article 16(2) shall apply mutatis mutandis where the fishery products are re-exported by an approved economic operator.

3.   Member States shall notify to the Commission their competent authorities for the validation and the verification of the section ‘re-export’ of catch certificates in accordance with the procedure defined in Article 15.

1.   The Commission shall keep a record of States and their competent authorities notified in accordance with this Chapter which shall include:

2.   The Commission shall publish on its website and in the Official Journal of the European Union the list of States and their competent authorities referred to in paragraph 1, and shall regularly update this information. The Commission shall make the details of the flag States authorities in charge of the validation and the verification of catch certificates available by electronic means to the authorities in the Member States responsible for the validation and verification of catch certificates.

3.   The Commission shall publish on its website and in the Official Journal of the European Union the list of the catch documentation schemes which are recognised in accordance with Article 13 and shall update it on a regular basis.

4.   Member States shall keep originals of the catch certificates submitted for importation, the catch certificates validated for exportation and the validated re-export sections of catch certificates for a period of three years or longer, in accordance with national rules.

5.   Approved economic operators shall keep the original of the documents referred to in paragraph 4 for a period of three years or longer, in accordance with national rules.

1.   Where information obtained in accordance with Chapters II, III, V, VI, VII, VIII, X or XI raises well-founded doubt as to the compliance, by fishing vessels or fishery products from certain third countries, with applicable laws or regulations, including applicable laws or regulations communicated by third countries under the administrative cooperation referred to in Article 20(4), or with international conservation and management measures, the Commission shall publish an alert notice on its website and in the Official Journal of the European Union to warn operators and to ensure that Member States take appropriate measures in respect of the third countries concerned pursuant to this Chapter.

2.   The Commission shall communicate the information referred to in paragraph 1 without delay to the Member States' authorities and to the flag State concerned and, where appropriate, to a third country other than the flag State as referred to in Article 14.

1.   Upon receipt of the information communicated pursuant to Article 23(2), Member States shall, where appropriate, and in accordance with risk management:

2.   Member States shall communicate to the Commission as soon as possible the conclusions of their verifications and requests for verification and the actions taken where non-compliance with applicable laws, regulations or international conservation and management measures has been established.

3.   Where the Commission decides that in light of the conclusions of verifications carried out pursuant to paragraph 1, the well-founded doubt which motivated the alert notice no longer exists, it shall, without delay:

4.   Where the Commission decides that in light of the conclusions of verifications carried out pursuant to paragraph 1, the well-founded doubt which motivated the alert notice remains, it shall, without delay:

5.   Where the Commission decides that in light of the conclusions of verifications carried out pursuant to paragraph 1, there are sufficient grounds to consider that the facts established might constitute a case of non-compliance with applicable laws, regulations or international conservation and management measures, it shall, without delay:

1.   The Commission, or a body designated by it, shall compile and analyse:

2.   Member States may, at any time, submit to the Commission any additional information which might be relevant for the establishment of the Community IUU vessel list. The Commission, or a body designated by it, shall circulate the information, together with all the evidence provided, to the Member States and to the flag States concerned.

3.   The Commission, or a body designated by it, shall keep a file in respect of each fishing vessel reported as allegedly involved in IUU fishing which shall be updated as new information is obtained.

1.   The Commission shall identify fishing vessels for which sufficient information has been obtained in accordance with Article 25 to presume that such fishing vessels may be engaged in IUU fishing, warranting an official enquiry with the flag State concerned.

2.   The Commission shall notify flag States whose fishing vessels are identified pursuant to paragraph 1 of an official request for an enquiry into the alleged IUU fishing of their flagged vessels concerned. The notification shall:

3.   The Commission shall notify flag Member States whose fishing vessels are identified pursuant to paragraph 1 of an official request for an enquiry into the alleged IUU fishing of their flagged vessels concerned. The notification shall:

4.   The Commission shall circulate the information on fishing vessels presumed to be engaged in IUU fishing to all Member States in order to facilitate the implementation of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93.

1.   The Commission shall, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 54(2), establish a Community IUU vessel list. The list shall include the fishing vessels in relation to which, further to the measures taken pursuant to Articles 25 and 26, the information obtained in accordance with this Regulation establishes that they are engaged in IUU fishing and whose flag States have not complied with the official requests referred to in Article 26(2)(b) and (c) and Article 26(3)(b) and (c), in response to such IUU fishing.

2.   Before placing any fishing vessel on the Community IUU vessel list, the Commission shall provide the owner and, where appropriate, the operator of the fishing vessel concerned with a detailed statement of reasons for the intended listing and with all elements supporting the suspicion that the fishing vessel has carried out IUU fishing. The statement shall mention the right to ask for or to provide additional information, and give the owner, and, where appropriate, the operator the possibility of being heard and to defend their case, leaving them adequate time and facilities.

3.   When a decision is taken to place a fishing vessel on the Community IUU vessel list, the Commission shall notify that decision, and the reasons for it, to the owner and, where appropriate, the operator of the fishing vessel.

4.   The obligations imposed on the Commission by paragraphs 2 and 3 shall apply without prejudice to the primary responsibility of the flag State over the fishing vessel, and only in so far as the relevant information on the identification of the fishing vessel owner and operator is at the disposal of the Commission.

5.   The Commission shall notify the flag State of the inclusion of the fishing vessel on the Community IUU vessel list and shall provide the flag State with the detailed reasons for listing.

6.   The Commission shall request flag States with fishing vessels on the Community IUU vessel list to:

7.   This Article shall not apply to Community fishing vessels if the flag Member State has taken action in accordance with paragraph 8.

8.   Community fishing vessels shall not be included in the Community IUU vessel list if the flag Member State has taken action pursuant to this Regulation and Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 against breaches constituting serious infringements as laid down in Article 3(2), without prejudice to the action taken by regional fisheries management organisations.

1.   The Commission shall remove a fishing vessel from the Community IUU vessel list, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 54(2), if the fishing vessel's flag State demonstrates that:

2.   The owner or, where appropriate, the operator of a fishing vessel placed on the Community IUU vessel list may submit a request to the Commission to review the status of that vessel in case of inaction by the flag State under paragraph 1.

The Commission shall only consider removing the fishing vessel from the list if:

3.   In all other cases, the Commission shall only consider removing the fishing vessel from the list if the following conditions are fulfilled:

1.   The Community IUU vessel list shall contain the following details for each fishing vessel:

2.   The Commission shall publish the Community IUU vessel list in the Official Journal of the European Union and shall take any measure necessary to ensure its publicity, including by placing it on its website.

3.   The Commission shall update every three months the Community IUU vessel list and shall provide for a system to automatically notify updates to Member States, regional fisheries management organisations and any member of the civil society that should so request. Furthermore, the Commission shall transmit the list to the FAO and to regional fisheries management organisations for the purposes of enhancing cooperation between the Community and these organisations aimed at preventing, deterring and eliminating IUU fishing.

1.   In addition to the fishing vessels referred to in Article 27, fishing vessels included in the IUU vessel lists adopted by regional fisheries management organisations shall be included in the Community IUU vessel list, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 54(2). Removal of such vessels from the Community IUU vessel list shall be governed by the decisions taken with regard to them by the relevant regional fisheries management organisation.

2.   The Commission shall each year, on receiving from regional fisheries management organisations the lists of fishing vessels presumed or confirmed to be involved in IUU fishing, notify them to the Member States.

3.   The Commission shall notify promptly to the Member States any addition to, any deletion from and/or any modification of the lists referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article at any time such changes occur. Article 37 shall apply in respect of the vessels appearing on the regional fisheries management organisations IUU vessel lists so modified as of the time of their notification to Member States.

1.   The Commission, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 54(2), shall identify the third countries that it considers as non-cooperating third countries in fighting IUU fishing.

2.   The identification set out in paragraph 1 shall be based on the review of all information obtained pursuant to Chapters II, III, IV, V, VIII, X and XI, or, as appropriate, any other relevant information, such as the catch data, trade information obtained from national statistics and other reliable sources, vessel registers and databases, catch documents or statistical document programmes and IUU vessel lists adopted by regional fisheries management organisations, as well as any other information obtained in the ports and on the fishing grounds.

3.   A third country may be identified as a non-cooperating third country if it fails to discharge the duties incumbent upon it under international law as flag, port, coastal or market State, to take action to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing.

4.   For the purposes of paragraph 3, the Commission shall primarily rely on the examination of measures taken by the third country concerned in respect of:

5.   For the purposes of paragraph 3, the Commission shall take into account:

6.   For the purposes of paragraph 3, the Commission shall also consider the following elements:

7.   Where appropriate, specific constraints of developing countries, in particular in respect to monitoring, control and surveillance of fishing activities, shall be duly taken into consideration in the implementation of this Article.

1.   The Commission shall, without delay, notify countries concerned of the possibility of being identified as non-cooperating third countries in accordance with the criteria laid down in Article 31. It shall include in the notification the following information:

2.   The Commission shall also include in the notification referred to in paragraph 1 a request that the third country concerned take any necessary measures for the cessation of the IUU fishing activities in question and the prevention of any future such activities, and rectify any act or omission referred to in Article 31(6)(c).

3.   The Commission shall, by more than one means of communication, transmit its notification and request to the third country concerned. The Commission shall seek to obtain confirmation from that country that it has received the notification.

4.   The Commission shall give to the third country concerned adequate time to answer the notification and a reasonable time to remedy the situation.

1.   The Council, acting by qualified majority on a proposal from the Commission, shall decide on a list of non-cooperating third countries.

2.   The Commission shall, without delay, notify the third country concerned of its identification as a non-cooperating third country and of the measures applied in accordance with Article 38, and shall request it to rectify the current situation and to advise on the measures taken to ensure compliance with conservation and management measures by its fishing vessels.

3.   Following a decision taken pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article, the Commission shall, without delay, notify it to the Member States and shall request them to ensure the immediate implementation of the measures laid down in Article 38. Member States shall notify the Commission of any measures they have taken in response to this request.

1.   The Council, acting by qualified majority on a proposal from the Commission, shall remove a third country from the list of non-cooperating third countries if the third country concerned demonstrates that the situation that warranted its listing has been rectified. A removal decision shall also take into consideration whether the identified third countries concerned have taken concrete measures capable of achieving a lasting improvement of the situation.

2.   Following a decision taken pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article, the Commission shall, without delay, notify Member States of the lifting of the measures laid down in Article 38 in respect of the third country concerned.

1.   If there is evidence that the measures adopted by a third country undermine the conservation and management measures adopted by a regional fisheries management organisation, the Commission shall be entitled to adopt, in line with its international obligations, emergency measures which shall last no more than six months. The Commission may take a new decision to extend the emergency measures for no more than six months.

2.   The emergency measures referred to in paragraph 1 may include, inter alia, that:

3.   Emergency measures shall have immediate effect. They shall be notified to the Member States and to the third country concerned and published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

4.   The Member States concerned may refer the Commission's decision set out in paragraph 1 to the Council within 10 working days of receipt of the notification.

5.   The Council, acting by qualified majority, may take a different decision within one month of the date of receipt of the referral.

1.   Nationals subject to the jurisdiction of Member States (nationals) shall neither support nor engage in IUU fishing, including by engagement on board or as operators or beneficial owners of fishing vessels included in the Community IUU vessel list.

2.   Without prejudice to the primary responsibility of the flag State, Member States shall cooperate amongst themselves and with third countries and take all appropriate measures, in accordance with national and Community law, in order to identify nationals supporting or engaged in IUU fishing.

3.   Without prejudice to the primary responsibility of the flag State, Member States shall take appropriate action, subject to and in accordance with their applicable laws and regulations with regard to nationals identified as supporting or engaged in IUU fishing.

4.   Each Member State shall notify to the Commission the names of the competent authorities responsible for coordinating the collection and verification of information on activities of nationals referred to in this Chapter and for reporting to and cooperating with the Commission.

1.   Member States shall encourage nationals to notify any information pertaining to legal, beneficial or financial interests in, or control of, fishing vessels flagged to a third country which they hold and the names of the vessels concerned.

2.   Nationals shall not sell or export any fishing vessel to operators involved in the operation, management or ownership of fishing vessels included in the Community IUU vessel list.

3.   Without prejudice to other provisions laid down in Community law pertaining to public funds, Member States shall not grant any public aid under national aid regimes or under Community funds to operators involved in the operation, management or ownership of fishing vessels included in the Community IUU vessel list.

4.   Member States shall endeavour to obtain information on the existence of any arrangement between nationals and a third country allowing the reflagging of fishing vessels flying their flag to such third country. They shall inform the Commission thereof by submitting a list of the fishing vessels concerned.

1.   For the purpose of this Regulation, serious infringement means:

2.   The serious character of the infringement shall be determined by the competent authority of a Member State taking into account the criteria set out in Article 3(2).

1.   Where a natural person is suspected of having committed or is caught in the act while committing a serious infringement or a legal person is suspected of being held liable for such an infringement, Member States shall start a full investigation of the infringement and, in conformity with their national law and depending on the gravity of the infringement, take immediate enforcement measures such as in particular:

2.   The enforcement measures shall be of such nature as to prevent the continuation of the serious infringement concerned and to allow the competent authorities to complete its investigation.

1.   Member States shall ensure that a natural person having committed or a legal person held liable for a serious infringement is punishable by effective, proportionate and dissuasive administrative sanctions.

2.   The Member States shall impose a maximum sanction of at least five times the value of the fishery products obtained by committing the serious infringement.

In case of a repeated serious infringement within a five-year period, the Member States shall impose a maximum sanction of at least eight times the value of the fishery products obtained by committing the serious infringement.

In applying these sanctions the Member States shall also take into account the value of the prejudice to the fishing resources and the marine environment concerned.

3.   Member States may also, or alternatively, use effective, proportionate and dissuasive criminal sanctions.

1.   Legal persons shall be held liable for serious infringements where such infringements have been committed for their benefit by any natural person, acting either individually or as part of an organ of the legal person, and having a determining position within the legal person, based on:

2.   A legal person may be held liable where the lack of supervision or control, by a natural person referred to in paragraph 1, has made possible the commission of a serious infringement for the benefit of that legal person by a natural person under its authority.

3.   Liability of a legal person shall not exclude proceedings against natural persons who are perpetrators, instigators or accessories in the infringements concerned.

1.   The provisions of this Chapter shall apply to fishing activities subject to the rules on sightings at sea adopted within regional fishery management organisations which are binding to the Community.

2.   In the event that a Member State's competent authority responsible for inspection at sea sights a fishing vessel engaged in activities that may be considered as IUU fishing, it shall forthwith issue a report of the sighting. Such report and the results of investigations carried out on that fishing vessel by that Member State shall be considered evidence for use in the implementation of the identification and enforcement mechanisms provided in this Regulation.

3.   In the event that the master of a Community or a third country fishing vessel sights a fishing vessel engaged in activities referred to in paragraph 2, the master may document as much information as possible on such sighting, for instance:

4.   Sighting reports shall be sent without delay to the competent authority of the flag Member State of the sighting fishing vessel, which shall transmit them as soon as possible to the Commission or to the body designated by it. The Commission or the body designated by it shall then immediately inform the flag State of the fishing vessel sighted. The Commission or a body designated by it shall thereupon transmit the sighting report to all the Member States and, as appropriate, to the Executive Secretary of the relevant regional fisheries management organisations for further action in accordance with the measures adopted by those organisations.

5.   A Member State which receives a sighting report reporting the activities of a fishing vessel flying its flag from the competent authority of a contracting party of a regional fisheries management organisation shall notify the report and all relevant information as soon as possible to the Commission or to the body designated by it, which shall thereupon forward this information to the Executive Secretary of the regional fisheries management organisation concerned for further action in accordance with the measures adopted by this organisation, as appropriate.

6.   This Article shall apply without prejudice to stricter provisions adopted by regional fisheries management organisations to which the Community is a contracting party.

1.   Member States which obtain suitably documented information regarding sighted fishing vessels shall transmit this information without delay to the Commission or to the body designated by it with the format determined in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 54(2).

2.   The Commission or the body designated by it shall also examine suitably documented information regarding sighted fishing vessels submitted by citizens, civil society organisations, including environmental organisations, as well as representatives of fisheries or fish trade stakeholder interests.

1.   Member States shall, as soon as possible, initiate an investigation on the activities of fishing vessels flying their flag which have been sighted in accordance with Article 49.

2.   Member States shall notify, where possible by electronic means, to the Commission or the body designated by it the details of the initiation of the investigation and of any action taken or intended in respect of the sighted fishing vessels flying their flag, as soon as practicable and in any case within two months of the notification of the sighting report pursuant to Article 48(4). Reports on the progress of the investigations on the activities of the sighted fishing vessel shall be provided to the Commission or to the body designated by it at appropriate regular intervals. A final report on the outcome when the investigations are completed shall be provided to the Commission or to the body designated by it.

3.   Member States other than the flag Member State concerned shall, where appropriate, verify whether the sighted fishing vessels reported have carried out activities in maritime waters under their jurisdiction or if fisheries products stemming from those vessels have been landed or imported into their territory and shall investigate their record of compliance with relevant conservation and management measures. Member States shall notify without delay to the Commission, or to the body designated by it, and to the flag Member State concerned the outcome of their verifications and investigations.

4.   The Commission or the body designated by it shall communicate to all the Member States the information received in accordance with paragraphs 2 and 3.

5.   This Article shall apply without prejudice to the provisions of Chapter V of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 and to the provisions adopted by regional fisheries management organisations to which the Community is a contracting party.

1.   The administrative authorities responsible for implementation of this Regulation in the Member States shall cooperate with each other, with administrative authorities of third countries and with the Commission in order to ensure compliance with this Regulation.

2.   For the purposes of paragraph 1, a system for mutual assistance shall be established, which shall include an automated information system, the ‘IUU fishing information system’, which shall be managed by the Commission or a body designated by it, to assist competent authorities in preventing, investigating and prosecuting IUU fishing.

3.   Detailed rules for the application of this Chapter shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 54(2).

1.   The Commission shall be assisted by the Committee set up under Article 30 of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002.

2.   Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 4 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply.

The period laid down in Article 4(3) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at one month.

1.   Every two years, Member States shall transmit a report to the Commission on the application of this Regulation not later than 30 April of the following calendar year.

2.   On the basis of the reports submitted by the Member States and its own observations, the Commission shall draw up a report every three years to be submitted to the European Parliament and to the Council.

3.   An evaluation of the impact of this Regulation on IUU fishing shall be undertaken by the Commission by 29 October 2013.