On Friday 30 August, the European Commission adopted its proposals, which are quite restrictive, on fishing opportunities in the Baltic Sea for next year. The proposed reductions for cod (-68% in the western Baltic) and herring (-71% in the western Baltic) are severe.
As there is still a long way to go to achieve stock management in 2020 in line with the principle of maximum sustainable yield (MSY), the Commission has made sometimes drastic proposals on total allowable catches (TACs) and quotas for 2020 in the waters of the Baltic Sea.
“Progress is therefore still needed to rebuild all stocks, as some are still below safe biological limits, and to bring all stocks back to MSY levels”, the Commission's proposal states. On 14 or 15 October, in Brussels, the European Fisheries Ministers will set the TAC and quota levels in the Baltic for next year.
The Commission's proposal would reduce fishing opportunities for many species: a 71% reduction for western Baltic herring (to 2,651 tonnes), a 10% reduction for central Baltic herring (to 153,384 tonnes), a 27% reduction for Gulf of Bothnia herring (to 65,018 tonnes) and 32% reduction for plaice (to 6,894 tonnes), 5% for main basin salmon (to 86,575 individuals) and 25% for sprat (to 203,027 tonnes).
For cod, the Commission advocates a 68% reduction in the TAC for cod caught in the western Baltic. It also suggested reintroducing a spawning closure period and reducing the limit for recreational fishermen to two specimens per day.
For eastern Baltic cod, the Commission proposes to allow only by-catches in 2020, to extend the closure period and to prohibit recreational fishing in areas where cod is very prevalent. Through an emergency measure, cod fishing in the eastern Baltic is banned until the end of 2019 in an attempt to save the stock (see EUROPE 12302/3).
Not much good news. The Commission proposes a single increase in catches, +11% for Gulf of Riga herring and a renewal of the 2019 levels for Gulf of Finland salmon.
The economic impact of the 2020 proposals will therefore be “a reduction for the fleets of all Member States”. In total, the Commission's proposal results in a volume of fishing opportunities for the Baltic Sea of about 469,000 tonnes, a reduction of 23.6% compared to 2019.
To consult the details of the proposal: https://bit.ly/32gXI4c (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)