The European Commission presented relatively tough proposals on Tuesday 29 August on next year’s total allowable catches (TACs) and quotas in the Baltic Sea.
In addition to the moratorium on fishing for eel in the Baltic (see other article), Commissioner Karmenu Vella’s DG MARE proposes quite significant reductions in some catch limits, particularly those for cod, herring and plaice.
Cod. The Commission is proposing a 28% cut, to 22,275 tonnes (5,891 tonnes of which will be for Poland, with 5,184 tonnes for Sweden and 5,117 tonnes for Denmark), in the 2018 cod TAC in the eastern Baltic. Scientists recommend that catches be substantially reduced.
Western Baltic cod is an important stock for many small-scale fishermen, and has been at very low levels in recent years. In 2017, the Council reduced allowable catches by 56% compared to 2016 and additional measures, such as closure periods and limiting recreational fishing, were introduced. Currently, the stock is still below the threshold of biologically safe limits. The Commission, therefore, considers it necessary to maintain existing measures to ensure that young cod can reproduce and help rebuild the stock. It suggests keeping the TAC at 5,597 tonnes.
Herring. The Commission proposes increasing quotas for herring and sprat in the central Baltic by 25% and 0.5% respectively. However, for other herring stocks, sometimes major cuts are proposed (reductions of 54% for western herring, to 129,876 tonnes, 50% for the Gulf of Bothnia herring, to 70,617 tonnes, and 7% for Riga herring, to 28,999 tonnes).
The amount of fishing opportunities for salmon stocks expressed in number of individual fish will increase from 106,413 to 116,099 fish, an increase of 9% on 2017. There will be a reduction of 20%, to 6,272 tonnes, for plaice.
The proposals for 2018 will produce widely varying effects, depending on the type of fishery. In all, the Commission proposal would provide fishing opportunities of approximately 647,000 tonnes for the Baltic Sea, a reduction of 7% compared to 2017.
The Commission wants all five pelagic stocks (four stocks of herring and one sprat stock), western cod, plaice and main basin salmon in the Baltic Sea to be fished at MSY (maximum sustainable yield) levels in 2018. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)