Danish Fisheries Minister Eva Kjer Hansen spoke out on Thursday 25 April in favour of stopping ‘targeted’ cod fishing in Eastern Baltic waters in 2019 on the grounds that the “stock is on the verge of collapse”.
“In recent years, the cod quota in the Eastern Baltic has been significantly reduced, but more drastic measures are needed”, said Eva Kjer Hansen. She believes that there is every reason to believe that biologists will recommend that the fishery be closed next year.
The Danish Minister intends to raise the subject with her counterparts in the Baltic States “with a view to finding a common solution for the whole Baltic Sea”.
70% decrease in catches. Denmark will therefore suggest a 70% reduction in the total allowable catch (TAC) of cod in the Eastern Baltic in 2019. “This would mean a halt to targeted fishing for cod, while allowing a percentage of by-catches of this species when fishing for species other than cod”, the Danish Minister explained.
“Far too little, far too late”. For the NGO Our Fish, the measures proposed by Denmark “go in the right direction”, but they come “far too late” and are very “insufficient”.
At the end of 2018, the EU Council decided to reduce the TAC for cod in the Eastern Baltic (see EUROPE 12118/18) by 15% to 24,112 tonnes. Our Fish was calling with other NGOs for a full moratorium. However, the Danish proposal would allow 7,200 tonnes of cod as by-catch (see EUROPE 12234/17). “This will not save eastern Baltic cod, and only serves to perpetuate overfishing by an industry that is renowned for failing to transition to a sustainable model”, criticises Our Fish. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)