Brussels, 24/08/2011 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission adopted a proposal on 12 August establishing a multiannual plan for the sustainable management of Baltic salmon. Scientific opinion indicates that stocks in some of the approximately 30 wild salmon rivers in the Baltic are outside safe biological limits and are, therefore, at risk of genetic depletion. A non-binding management plan, put in place by the International Baltic Sea Fisheries Commission in 1997, expired in 2010.
In response, the European Commission is proposing a new multi-annual management plan for Baltic salmon. The new regulation specifically seeks to ensure that: - the Baltic salmon stock is exploited sustainably in line with the principle of maximum sustainable yield (MSY); - the genetic integrity and diversity of the Baltic salmon stock is safeguarded.
“Once in force, this regulation will pave the way towards the exploitation of the Baltic salmon stock at the level of MSY”, said Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki. “With the necessary management measures in place, the Baltic salmon fishery will continue to provide jobs and income in the region for years to come”, she added.
The main points in the multi-annual plan are: - clear objectives and targets (for example, to reach 75% of potential smolt production in each wild salmon river within 10 years of the regulation's coming into force); - a total allowable catch (TAC) covering all marine fisheries, including catches by non-fishing vessels used for recreational fishing; - a requirement for member states to define and implement technical conservation measures, such as closed areas and seasons, to protect migrating spawners in their coastal waters, within 24 months of the plan's coming into effect; - a phasing out of the release of salmon into rivers that have man-made obstacles and that do not have the potential for the re-establishment of self-sustaining wild salmon populations, this in order to protect the genetic diversity of the wild stocks; - financial assistance from the European Fisheries Fund (EFF) for direct restocking of rivers with the potential for self-sustaining wild salmon populations as a conservation measure for the wild salmon stock.
It is expected that the proposal, which is consistent with the European Union's environmental policy, in particular with the Habitat Directive, the Water Framework Directive and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, will restore the Baltic salmon stock and ensure its sustainable exploitation. The proposal is based on the scientific advice of ICES for the environmental parameters and of the Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute for social and economic assessments, and on assessments and advice from the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF). (L.C./transl.rt)