The European Commission is currently drafting new multiannual management plans for a number of stocks in order to put into effect the rules of the reformed common fisheries policy (CFP).
Discussions are continuing among the EU institutions on the management plan for demersal species in the North Sea (see EUROPE 11667) and the Commission is currently working to draft proposals on management plans for other fish stocks, with the aim of ensuring fishing in line with maximum sustainable yield (MSY).
The Commission could, in the next few weeks, adopt a proposal on the multiannual management plan for pelagic species in the Adriatic Sea (see EUROPE 11696). This plan will be for anchovy, sardine, mackerel and horse mackerel and could set catch limits (total allowable catches or TACs) for sardine and anchovy. Italian and Croatian fishermen would be the most affected by this plan.
The Commission is also preparing two further multiannual plans: one for western waters and the other for stocks in the western Mediterranean. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)