Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2066 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1022 regarding details of implementation of the landing obligation for certain demersal stocks in the western Mediterranean Sea for the period 2022-2024.

The landing obligation provided for in Article 15(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 shall apply in Union waters of the Western Mediterranean Sea to demersal fisheries in accordance with this Regulation. This Regulation lays down survivability exemptions for species for which scientific evidence demonstrates high survival rates that apply to: scallop (Pecten jacobaeaus) caught with mechanised dredges until 31 December 2023; carpet clams (Veneupis spp.) caught with mechanised dredges until 31 December 2023; venus shells (Venus spp.) caught with mechanised dredges until 31 December 2024; Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) caught with all bottom trawls during the months of January to June and September to December, each year until 31 December 2024; Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) caught with pots and traps until 31 December 2024; red sea bream (Pagellus bogaraveo) caught with hooks and lines until 31 December 2023; lobster (Homarus gammarus) caught with nets, pots and traps until 31 December 2023; lobster (Homarus gammarus) caught with nets, pots and traps until 31 December 2023; crawfish (Palinuridae) caught with nets, pots and traps until 31 December 2023. This Regulation states that scallop, carpet clams, Venus shells, Norway lobster, red sea bream, lobster and crawfish caught in the circumstances referred to above shall be released immediately in the area where it has been caught. It also lays down de minimis exemptions for the quantities of species specified in Article 4.