Several NGOs working to protect marine biodiversity called on Thursday 11 April for an immediate ban on cod fishing in eastern Baltic waters.
Coalition Clean Baltic, Deutsche Umwelthilfe, Oceana, Our Fish and WWF justify their request in the light of the publication of the scientific advice of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) on cod in the Eastern Baltic.
ICES considers that the cod stock in the Eastern Baltic has reached such a low level that the species is unable to reproduce sufficiently to ensure a healthy stock in the future.
“This new ICES report, along with the data made available from last year’s Baltic international trawl surveys, provides a shocking image of how the population of Eastern Baltic cod has plunged to devastatingly low levels”, NGOs say.
They call on the EU Fisheries Ministers and the European Commission to take immediate emergency measures, including the closure of this fishing activity. This is without waiting for the October 2019 meeting, where ministers will decide on fishing quotas in the Baltic for 2020. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)