On Tuesday 15 October in Luxembourg, the EU fisheries ministers reached a political agreement on significant reductions in 2020 in certain total allowable catches (TACs) and quotas in the Baltic Sea (see EUROPE 12346/21).
The EU Council adopted most of the Commission's proposals, while adjusting certain measures accompanying TACs and quotas, such as fishing closures or certain technical measures (see EUROPE 12317/6).
They decided to reduce the TAC for cod in the Western Baltic by 60% (to 3,806 tonnes in 2020) (the Commission proposed a 68% reduction). Recreational fishing will be limited to five fish per fisherman per day.
For Eastern Baltic cod, the Commission proposes to allow only by-catches in 2020, i.e. only 2,000 tonnes, which corresponds to a 92% decrease in catches of this species.
Cod fishing in the Eastern Baltic is already prohibited until the end of 2019 (see EUROPE 12302/3).
Closures. In addition to setting TACs, the Council of the EU agreed on additional measures for cod stocks, such as: - longer closure periods in subdivisions 25 and 26 (1 May to 31 August), subdivisions 22 to 23 (1 February to 31 March) and subdivision 24 (1 June to 31 July).
As the agreed significant reductions in fishing opportunities will have adverse socio-economic consequences for the affected fisheries, Member States bordering the Baltic Sea and the Commission have stressed the importance of ensuring adequate crisis management.
The EU Council decided to reduce the TAC (to 3,150 tonnes) for herring in the Western Baltic by 65%. The sprat TAC is down by 22%.
NGOs such as Our Fish, Oceana and Pew have criticised the EU Council for ignoring scientific advice by setting quotas too high and failing to meet the 2020 deadline to stop overfishing, while cod and herring resources are on the verge of collapse in the Baltic.
To consult the quotas decided by the EU Council: https://bit.ly/35BafC4 (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)