At the Council meeting in Luxembourg on 9 October, EU fisheries ministers will hold an exchange of views on the annual consultations between the EU and Norway and a discussion on the position to be taken by the EU at the annual meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) but dominating proceedings will be efforts to come to a political decision on fishing opportunities in the Baltic Sea in 2018.
Cod. The European Commission is proposing to reduce fishing opportunities by 7% compared with 2017. It is on cod that discussions are likely to be most complicated. For Western Baltic cod, Commissioner Karmenu Vella’s fisheries directorate general is proposing the same total allowable catch (TAC) of 5,597 tonnes as last year (Council decided to reduce the 2017 TAC by 56% compared with 2016) and, for Eastern Baltic cod, a 28% reduction to 22,275 tonnes in 2018 (with 5,891 tonnes for Poland, 5,184 tonnes for Sweden and 5,117 tonnes for Denmark). Some member states indicated at the meeting of permanent representatives to the EU (Coreper) on 4 October that they would like to see greater coherence between the two approaches.
The NGO Oceana is calling for TACs “to be in line with scientific advice and with the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) commitments, in particular, ending overfishing latest by 2020”. It believes that the Commission proposal for Western Baltic cod would set the catch limits much higher than what is considered sustainable. It argues that total commercial catches from the stock should be between 1,376 and 3,541 tonnes in 2018.
EEL. A further important topic for negotiation is the proposal for the first time from the Commission for a ban on fishing for sea eel in the Baltic next year. Most delegations are of the opinion that this is a wider problem and that it would be better to put in place a pan-European solution rather than totally ban eel fishing in the Baltic.
The other Commission proposals are on herring and sprat (an increase of 25% and 0.5% respectively in the Central Baltic, a 54% reduction for Western herring, a 50% cut for Gulf of Bothnia herring and a 7% cut for Riga herring), salmon (up 9% compared with 2017) and plaice (20% reduction).
Norway and Atlantic tunas. Ministers will exchange views on the annual consultation between the EU and Norway in 2018. The first negotiation meeting is scheduled to be held in Bergen from 27 November until 1 December.
The Council will also discuss its position ahead of the annual ICCAT meeting, to be held in Marrakesh, Morocco, from 14 to 22 November (see EUROPE 11875). Discussions will focus on two species in particular: eastern little tuna and swordfish.
Lastly, the Commission will update Council on implementation of the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF).