Brussels, 02/09/2015 (Agence Europe) - Under proposals for total allowable catches (TACs) and quotas for the Baltic Sea in 2016 adopted by the European Commission on Wednesday 2 September catches for all stocks, except salmon, would decrease by about 15% compared to 2015, to 565,692 tonnes. The catch limit for salmon, which is measured in numbers of individual fish rather than tonnes, would increase by 6%, to 115,874.
This is the Commission's annual proposal for the amount of fish that EU fishermen may catch from the Baltic Sea's 10 main commercial fish stocks. The proposals on quotas in the Baltic will be discussed by European fisheries ministers on 22 October.
For seven of the ten stocks - an unprecedented number - the available data from the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee on Fisheries (STECF) and the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) have allowed the Commission to propose catch limits at sustainable levels, or within what is known as the maximum sustainable yield (MSY). The EU aims to achieve MSY for all fish stocks by 2020 at the latest.
The Commission proposes to increase the catch limits for herring in the Western and Central Baltic, and also for Baltic Main Basin salmon, and plaice. Decreases in the remaining Baltic Sea fish stocks either reflect the natural fluctuations within the MSY range or are linked to the improved perception of stocks' status as a result of recent data revision.
Herring. Under the Commission's proposals, all four Baltic herring stocks would continue to be fished at MSY levels, as was already the case in 2015. Continuing improvement in Western and Central herring stocks has allowed the Commission to propose increased catch limits for both stocks. The quota for Western herring would increase by 12% to 24,797 tonnes, and for Central herring by 9% to 177,505 tonnes.
In contrast, Bothnian Sea herring would decrease by 35% in 2016, to 103,254 tonnes. This reduction reflects the ICES decision to change the way this stock is assessed. The Commission expects that this change will improve the quality of ICES' assessment of fishing stocks in the coming years. The Commission also proposed to decrease the TAC for Riga herring by 21%, to 30,623 tonnes.
Cod. In line with ICES advice, the Commission has proposed a decrease in the TAC for Eastern Baltic cod of 20%, to 41,143 tonnes. Data show that Western cod stocks are overfished and have fallen below sustainable biological limits. The Commission expects member states within the Council to agree on effective and adequate additional measures in order to improve the status of this stock. As the Commission is still awaiting additional data from ICES, it has not yet proposed a quota for this stock.
Salmon. The Commission proposes to increase the TAC for Baltic Main Basin salmon by 10%, to a total catch of 105,850 fish. This is in line with the MSY approach. Following ICES advice, the Commission has proposed a 24% decrease for salmon in the Gulf of Finland, corresponding to a quota of 10,024 for this stock.
Sprat. This year, ICES has updated fishing mortality rates for sprat. As a result, catch limits will decrease by 14%, to 184,336 tonnes. This proposal is also in line with MSY.
Plaice. The Commission has proposed an 18% increase in the TAC for Baltic plaice. The increase is the result of the conservative TAC setting practice in the past and also of an improved stock assessment methodology that have allowed the Commission to propose a quota in line with the MSY approach.
The countries which fish in the Baltic are Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden. (Lionel Changeur)