Brussels, 23/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - It was not without difficulty that EU fisheries ministers came to a unanimous decision at the end of the day in Luxembourg on Thursday 22 October on a political agreement on 2016 total allowable catches (TACs) and quotas in the Baltic Sea, including a 20% reduction in cod catches.
The European Commission had proposed a 35% cut in catches of cod in the western waters of the Baltic and a 20% in eastern waters. The compromise that was reached was not at all to the liking of the NGOs active in fisheries protection. It provides for a 20% reduction in catches of cod in the two zones (a total of 41,143 tonnes in the eastern zone and 12,720 tonnes in the western zone). To compensate for a less dramatic cut that was initially proposed, ministers agreed to measures to protect the western stock, including closing the fishery for six weeks during the cod spawning period (from mid-February to the end of March).
Council agreed an 18% increase in the herring TAC in the western zone (to 26,274 tonnes), as Germany and Poland wanted, and a 9% increase for the central stock (to 177,505 tonnes). However, herring catches in the Bothnian Sea will be cut by 24% to 120,872 tonnes (rather than the 35% reduction initially proposed). Finland, Estonia and Sweden had all called for a smaller reduction (of the order of 25%). The Commission proposed a 21% reduction in the herring TAC in the Gulf of Riga but, under the compromise reached, the cut will be 10% (to 34,915 tonnes).
In its proposals, the Commission had recommended increasing the salmon TAC in the main basin by 10%, to a total of 105,850 tonnes). At the request of Finland and Sweden in particular, Council decided to keep the TAC at the 2015 level of 95,928 tonnes. The Commission proposed a 24% cut for salmon in the Gulf of Finland to 10,024 fish, but ministers agreed to retain the 2015 TAC of 13,106 tonnes.
The reduction proposed by the Commission in sprat catches was 14% to 184,336 tonnes. Finland and Denmark were successful in holding the cut to 5% (to 202,320 tonnes), achieving maximum sustainable yield (MSY) in 2017. The TAC for plaice has been increased by 18%, to 4,034 tonnes.
European Fisheries Commissioner Karmenu Vella said the agreement was a step towards a sustainable fisheries policy in Europe. “We are still moving towards MSY, but for some stocks less quickly than we had hoped. Some stocks go straight to MSY in 2016, for others, member states have shown themselves less ambitious than the Commission. Still, we are on course to reach MSY in 2017”, he stated.
Since 1 January 2015, vessels fishing in the Baltic Sea have been required to land all catches.
In 2015, in view of the embargo imposed by Russia on the import of certain agricultural and fisheries productions from the EU, a degree of flexibility in terms of carrying forward unused fishing opportunities has been introduced for the stocks that were the most severely or directly affected by the embargo. As the Russian embargo has been extended, a similar measure will be applied and some fishing opportunities for certain stocks which have not been used in 2015 will be carried over to 2016.
At the request of Germany a statement was also adopted on recreational fishing in the Baltic.
The NGO Oceana regrets that ministers had, this year again, decided to ignore scientific advice on cod, “setting the fishing limits well above sustainable levels”. “By doing so, ministers are not only undermining fish recovery, but also seriously endangering future jobs and growth in the fishing industry”, it argues. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)