After tough discussions, EU fisheries ministers, meeting in Luxembourg, reached unanimous political agreement late in the evening of Monday 10 October on sizeable cuts of up to 56% in cod catches in the waters of the Baltic Sea in 2017.
The agreement reached on total allowable catches (TACs) and quotas was nonetheless a disappointment for NGOs. They would have liked to have seen, for example, a temporary closure of the cod fishery in the western Baltic to allow the stock, which is in very poor condition, a period of respite. Scientists recommended a 93% reduction for this TAC.
Germany and Denmark enjoyed success in their hard fought battle to limit as far as possible the reduction in the cod catch in the western Baltic, while Poland and the Baltic states backed the restrictions proposed by the European Commission. The compromise reached is for a 56% cut (to 5,597 tonnes) in the TAC for cod in the western section of the Baltic. Initially, the Commission had called for a reduction of 88%.
European Fisheries Commissioner Karmenu Vella was somewhat disappointed in the decision reached. “After listening to the arguments from the member states and the impact on the various fleets, in particular the small-scale fleet, the Council agreed on a lower reduction (than that proposed by the Commission) of 56%, which is well below what was recommended by the scientists”, he stated.
Limiting recreational fishing. It is important, therefore, that, along with this smaller cut in the TAC, a comprehensive raft of conservation measures be put in place to improve the state of the vulnerable western Baltic cod stock, Vella said. For the first time, a catch limit of five fish per day will be imposed on recreational fishing, as a way of compensating for the lesser cut in the TAC. In addition, the western Baltic cod fishery will be closed for a period of eight weeks in 2017 to allow the fish to spawn. During this closure, recreational fishers will be allowed to catch only three cod per day. “This set of measures, combined with the TAC cut agreed today, ensures that our decisions are fully consistent with the multiannual management plan for the Baltic”, said Vella.
Eastern Baltic cod. Next year’s TAC for cod in the eastern section of the Baltic will be reduced by 25% (to 30,857 tonnes). Here again, this cut is much less than the Commission’s initial proposal (39%).
The 2017 TAC for herring in the Gulf of Riga will be cut by 11%, to 31,074 tonnes. The Commission had proposed 21% reduction.
The Commission proposed a 40% increase in the TAC for sprat but the Council agreed to limit the increase to 29%, taking the TAC to 260,993 tonnes. The Council also set a TAC of 9,403 tonnes for salmon in the Gulf of Finland, a reduction of 20% on 2016. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)