Brussels, 19/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - EU fisheries ministers will meet in Luxembourg on Thursday 22 October to try to come to a political agreement on next year's total allowable catches (TACs) and quotas in the Baltic Sea.
Under the presidency of Luxembourg Agriculture Minister Fernand Etgen, ministers will thrash out a political agreement on the fishing opportunities for a number of fish stocks in the Baltic Sea in 2016. The European Commission brought forward its proposals on 2 September (see EUROPE 11380) and, since then, the opinion on cod fished in the western waters has been received. The Commission is proposing a 35% cut in catches of western cod. Several of the countries concerned have called for a less draconian cut. The Commission is proposing a reduction of 20% in catches of cod in the eastern waters. While Poland has called for a less drastic cut, the other countries (Finland, Estonia, Denmark and Germany) would seem to have accepted the proposal (which follows on from implementation of the cod recovery plan in the Baltic).
For herring, the Commission's proposed increases for the western waters zones (+12% to 24,797 tonnes) and the central stock (+9% to 177,505 tonnes) are unlikely to encounter any difficulty. Germany and Poland, however, have called for an 18% increase (rather than 12%) for herring caught in the western part of the Baltic. Under the proposal, the herring catch in the Bothnian Sea will be cut by 35%. Finland, Estonia and Sweden are calling for a less swingeing cut - of the order of 25%. The Commission is also proposing a 21% reduction in the herring TAC in the Gulf of Riga, taking it down to 30,623 tonnes. Finland and the Baltic States are seeking a lesser cut. For plaice, the Commission, to the satisfaction of all, is recommending an 18% increase, though Denmark would have liked to have seen a 20% increase.
The Commission is proposing a 10% increase in the salmon TAC in the main basin, to a total of 105,850 fish. Finland has called for the TAC to remain unchanged at 95,928, and is supported in this by Estonia and Sweden. Poland, however, wants the proposed 10% increase. For Gulf of Finland salmon, the Commission is proposing a 24% reduction (to 10,024 fish). Estonia wants to keep the TAC unchanged but the other countries accept the cut.
The cut proposed by the Commission in the sprat TAC is 14%, to 184,336 tonnes. Finland and Denmark are seeking less of a reduction with a view to achieving the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) in 2017. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are calling for no change in the TAC and Poland wants a more gradual approach to reducing catches. Discussions on Baltic Sea quotas look as if they are going to be rather tense this year.
Norway. The Council will hold an exchange of views on the annual consultations between the EU and Norway under their bilateral fisheries agreement. The first round of consultations will take place from 16 to 20 November 2015 in Copenhagen (Denmark) and the second round from 30 November to 4 December 2015 in Bergen (Norway). The main issues for the consultations this year are: - detailed management arrangements for the seven jointly managed fish stocks in the North Sea (cod, haddock, plaice, whiting, herring, mackerel and saithe) and Skagerrak (cod, haddock, whiting, plaice, shrimp, herring and sprat); - possible adjustments to the long-term management plans for North Sea stocks of haddock and herring; - the exchange of reciprocal fishing possibilities (the EU exchanges, for example, blue whiting for fishing opportunities for Arcto-Norwegian cod in Norwegian waters). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)