L 23[54 Official Journal of the European Union 25.1.2013 COUNCIL REGULATION (EU) No 40/2013 of 21 January 2013 fixing for 2013 the fishing opportunities available in EU waters and, to EU vessels, in certain non- EU waters for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks which are subject to international negotiations or agreements THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 43(3) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, Whereas: Council Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 of 20 December 2002 on the conservation and sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources under the Common Fisheries Policy (?) requires that Union measures governing access to waters and resources and the sustainable pursuit of fishing activities be established taking into account available scientific, technical and economic advice and in particular reports drawn up by the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF), as well as in the light of any advice received from Regional Advisory Councils. It is incumbent upon the Council to adopt measures on the fixing and allocation of fishing opportunities, including certain conditions functionally linked thereto, as appropriate. Fishing opportunities should be distributed among Member States in such a way as to assure each Member State relative stability of fishing activities for each stock or fishery and having due regard to the objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy established in Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002. For certain total allowable catch (TACs) Member States should be allowed to grant additional allocations for vessels participating in trials on fully documented fisheries. The aim of those trials is to test a catch-quota system, i.e. a system where all catches should be landed and counted against quotas in order to avoid discards and the waste of otherwise usable fish resources they entail. Uncontrolled discards of fish are a threat to the long term sustainability of fish as a public good and thus to the Common Fisheries Policy objectives. By contrast, catch-quota systems inherently present the fishers with an incentive to optimise the catch selectivity of their operations. In order to achieve a rational management of discards, a fully documented fishery should cover () OJ L 358, 31.12.2002, p. 59. every operation at sea, rather than what is landed at port. The conditions for Member States to grant such additional allocations should therefore include an obligation to ensure the use of close circuit television cameras (CCTV) associated to a system of sensors (jointly referred to as "CCTV system"). This should enable the recording, in detail, of all retained and discarded parts of catches. A system based on human observers operating in real time on board would be less efficient, more costly, and less reliable. Consequently, the use of CCTV systems is, at this time, a prerequisite for the achievement of discard reduction schemes such as fully documented fisheries. In the use of such system, the requirements of Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (?) should be complied with. In order to ensure that trials of fully documented fisheries can effectively evaluate the potential of catch- quota systems to control the absolute fishing mortality of the stocks concerned, it is necessary for all fish caught in those trials, including those under minimum landing size, to be counted against the total allocation assigned to the participating vessel, and for fishing operations to cease when that total allocation has been fully utilised by that vessel. It is also appropriate to allow transfers of allo- cations between vessels participating in the fully docu- mented fisheries trials and non-participating vessels provided that it can be demonstrated that discards by non-participating vessels do not increase. The TACs should be established on the basis of available scientific advice, taking into account biological and socio- economic aspects whilst ensuring fair treatment between fishing sectors, as well as in the light of the opinions expressed during the consultation of stakeholders, in particular at the meetings of the Regional Advisory Councils concerned. For stocks subject to specific multiannual plans, the TACs should be established in accordance with the rules laid down in those plans. Consequently, the TACs for stocks of sole in the North Sea, of plaice in the North Sea, of cod in the North Sea, Skagerrak and the eastern Channel, of bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and the Mediter- ranean and of herring in the West of Scotland should be () OJ L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 31.