Bruxelles, 03/09/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 3 September, the European Commission adopted its proposals on 2015 total allowable catches (TACs) and quotas for the Baltic Sea.
These proposals bring good news on herring but not on the other stocks (cod, sprat and salmon). The countries which fish in the waters of the Baltic Sea are Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Finland and the Baltic States.
Since some of the fish stocks are now fished at sustainable levels in the Baltic, the total allowable catch will increase by 12% when compared to 2014 and will be set at approximately 629,000 tonnes, the Commission says. The situation varies considerably from one stock to another, however.
An average increase of 31% is proposed for four herring stocks, while decreases are proposed for the western cod stock (-48%), sprat (-17%) and two salmon stocks (-15%). If, in its October meeting, the Council adopts the catch limits as proposed by the Commission, “the number of stocks fished at sustainable level (MSY - Maximum Sustainable Yield) could double in the Baltic in 2015 from three to six stocks, according to scientists”, notes the Commission.
Herring. After a reduction of western herring catch limits in 2014, the Commission is able to propose a TAC increase of 12% for this stock, making a TAC of 22,220 tonnes to be shared among the countries. Western herring is expected to be at MSY level and will join the group of three other herring stocks which were at MSY already last year. Since Baltic member states last year adopted lower TACs than the levels proposed by the Commission, the Commission is able to propose an increase in fishing opportunities for 2015 for the two largest stocks of the Baltic Sea - herring in Central Baltic (up 51%, to 170,185 tonnes) and herring in the Gulf of Bothnia (up 35%, to 186,534 tonnes) - for the second consecutive year. The TAC for herring in the Gulf of Riga will be increased by 26%, to 38,780 tones. On the basis of this proposal, the value of fishing opportunities for herring stocks in 2015 could increase by almost €80 million to a total value of €164 million.
Cod. The Commission proposes to decrease the TAC for western Baltic cod by 48%, to 8,793 tonnes. This reduction reflects the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) decision to change the underlying data for establishing the TAC. It also corresponds to a TAC at MSY level and would follow the provisions of the Baltic cod management plan. Due to changes in the eastern cod stock biology, ICES was unable to provide full assessment of the stock, hence its advice is based on methods applied to limited data of stocks. As a consequence, the Commission is not in a position to propose figures for 2015 yet. A proposal is still expected in September.
Salmon. After catch limits had to be reduced in the past years for two salmon stocks - in the main basin and in the Gulf of Finland - the Commission is proposing further reductions by 8% and 23% respectively for next year in order to preserve the stocks. The reduction in fishing mortality will lead towards reaching 75% of the potential smolt production capacity in rivers which is considered to be MSY level for salmon stocks. The TACs for both salmon stocks are fully in line with scientific advice and are based on the harvest control rule proposed in the Baltic salmon management plan.
Sprat. The Commission proposes to decrease the TAC for sprat by 17%, to 199,622 tonnes in line with scientific advice to reach MSY.
Plaice. Scientists have developed a methodology that allows estimating the size of the plaice stock for which limited data is available. Based on this methodology, which has been applied for several years, it is proposed to reduce the TAC for plaice by 5%, to 3,249 tonnes.
The Fisheries Council on 13-14 October will discuss these proposals.