EU fisheries ministers will meet in Brussels on Monday 12 and Tuesday 13 December to come to a political agreement on the levels of the total allowable catches (TACs) and quotas in the waters of the Atlantic, the Channel and the North Sea (see EUROPE 11656).
Monday will be given over to trilateral meetings (member state-Presidency of the Council- Commission) to prepare an initial compromise package, which could be presented on Tuesday morning.
The most controversial issues are likely to be: - southern hake: Spain and Portugal oppose the proposal for a 36% cut in the TAC; - cod in the Celtic Sea: the Commission is proposing a TAC reduction of 68.3%, a cut which France and Ireland find excessive; - sea bass: the Commission has presented measures to protect the stock in both the north and the south (part of the Bay of Biscay). Denmark’s priority is cod in the Kattegat. France and Spain are resisting the 12% cut in anglerfish catches.
Black Sea. The Council will also set the TACs for the Black Sea. The Commission has proposed keeping the 2017 TAC for sprat at 11,475 tonnes (70% allocated to Bulgaria and 30% to Romania). The proposed turbot TAC is the same as in 2016 (86.4 tonnes, shared equally between the two countries). The Commission has praised the work done by Romania and Bulgaria to reduce illegal and unreported fishing in the Black Sea. In 2016, “both countries increased the controls on catches of turbot and imposed stricter monitoring, control and surveillance measures onto their vessels. Romania and Bulgaria have committed to implementing additional control measures in 2017”. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)