Fisheries Ministers of the EU Member States are expected to decide on Tuesday 15 October in Luxembourg to reduce, in some cases drastically, the total allowable catches (TACs) and quotas for cod and herring for 2020 in Baltic waters.
The situation is so "critical" for the resource in this area that the EU Council should reach a political agreement including significant catch reductions for 2020, according to a diplomatic source.
Fisheries Ministers should therefore retain most of the Commission's proposals, while adjusting certain measures that accompany TACs and quotas, such as fishing closures or certain technical measures (see EUROPE 12317/6).
The Commission advocates a 68% reduction in the TAC for Western Baltic cod. It also suggested reintroducing a spawning closure period and reducing the limit for recreational fishing to two specimens per day. Denmark and Germany would try to limit the reduction in quotas a little.
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. Poland, Latvia and Lithuania reportedly requested compensatory aid to limit the socio-economic effects of the quasi-ban on fishing. Cod fishing in the Eastern Baltic is already prohibited until the end of 2019 (see EUROPE 12302/3).
A 71% reduction in the TAC for herring in the Western Baltic is also planned, which Germany and Denmark wish to make a little less severe.
A compromise would be in sight on a 22% reduction in the sprat TAC (compared to -25% at the beginning).
EMFF and other topics. The EU Council will hold an exchange of views on Tuesday on the annual EU/Norway consultation with a view to reaching an agreement on fishing quotas for 2020 and on the 22nd annual meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), to be held on 18 and 25 November in Spain.
Finally, the EU Council should consolidate, through technical provisions, in particular on indicators and the transitional period, its partial general approach of last June (see EUROPE 12277/1) on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)