27.1.2012 Official Journal of the European Union L 25/55 COUNCIL REGULATION (EU) No 44/2012 of 17 January 2012 fixing for 2012 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: 1 ©) Article 43(3) of the Treaty provides that the Council, on a proposal from the Commission, is to adopt measures on the fixing and allocation of fishing opportunities. 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 by fishery or by group of fisheries, 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. In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implemen- tation of this Regulation relating to revising quotas for capelin available to the Union in Greenland waters of ICES subareas V and XIV under the Fisheries Partnership Agreement with Greenland, powers should be conferred on the Commission. In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implemen- tation of catch limits for certain stocks of short-lived (") OJ L 358, 31.12.2002, p. 59. O] O] species, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission relating to revising the TAC in the light of scientific information collected during the first half of 2012. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by the Member States of the Commission’s exercise of implementing powers (?). The Commission should adopt immediately applicable implementing acts relating to revising the TAC of these stocks of short-lived species where, in duly justified cases relating to the need for the Union to comply with its international obligations, imperative grounds of urgency SO require. Certain TACs allow Member States 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 to avoid discards and the waste of otherwise usable fish resources it entails. Uncontrolled discards of fish are a threat to the long term sustain- ability 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 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 obli- gation to ensure the use of close circuit television cameras (CCTV) associated to a system of sensors. This should enable to record in detail 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 is at this time a prerequisite for the achievement of discard reduction schemes such as fully documented fisheries, provided that 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 (°) are complied with. The TACs should be established on the basis of available scientific advice, taking into account biological and L 55, 28.2.2011, p. 13. L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 31.