The European Commission proposed, on Friday 28 August, to further reduce Total Allowable Catches (TACs) and quotas in 2021 in the waters of the Baltic Sea.
EU ministers will decide on catch possibilities in the region at the EU Council meeting on 19 and 20 October. The Commission has yet to present its proposals on catch limits in Atlantic, Channel and North Sea waters, which will be debated in December during the traditional end-of-year 'fishing marathon'.
According to Virginijus Sinkevičius, European Commissioner Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, “multiple factors influence the state of fish stocks in the Baltic sea: fisheries is one, but factors like marine pollution or climate change are seriously affecting the health of the stocks”.
He announced that he had taken the initiative to convene a Ministerial Conference of all EU Baltic States to address “all factors comprehensively to ensure a long-term future for the Baltic”.
For eastern Baltic Cod a by-catch TAC of 595 tonnes is foreseen for 2021, with Denmark getting 137, Poland 159 and Sweden 138. This is a 70% reduction compared to the 2020 TAC.
“As the situation of the stock has not improved, the Commission proposes, based on scientific advice, to reduce the TAC by 70% and to maintain all accompanying measures”, the Commission explained.
By 2019, scientists had discovered that the size of the stock had declined significantly. The Commission had therefore banned fishing for this stock during the second half of 2019.
In 2020, the EU Council reduced the TAC, limited its use to by-catches only, extended the closed period (for spawning) and banned recreational fishing in areas where eastern Baltic Cod is most abundant.
For western Baltic Cod, the Commission expects a TAC of 3,395 tonnes of which 1,481 will be for Denmark, 725 for Germany, 396 for Poland, 528 for Sweden and 123 for Latvia.
This is an 11% reduction compared to the TAC for 2020. The Commission proposes to reduce the total allowable catches by 11% and to maintain all the accompanying measures adopted for 2020: a spawning closure period in the entire area and a limit for recreational fishermen of five specimens per day and two specimens during the closure period.
In addition, in the deeper waters of the eastern part, the TAC use is limited to by-catches and recreational fishing is forbidden. These measures are necessary because of the mixed presence of both western and eastern Baltic cod and the exceptionally bad condition of the eastern stock.
The stock size of the western herring remains below safe biological limits. The Commission therefore proposes to reduce the TACs by 50%, to 1,575 tonnes.
For central herring, the Commission proposes a reduction of 36% to 97,551 tonnes (32,626 for Sweden, 24,304 for Poland and 21,393 for Finland) as the size of the stock has fallen below healthy levels.
The Commission proposes to maintain the level of the TAC for Gulf of Bothnia herring (at 65,018 tonnes), while the situation of Riga herring allows for a 15% increase (39,446 tonnes).
The TAC for sprat is estimated at 210,147 tonnes, as in 2020, of which 61,697 is for Poland and 40,074 is for Sweden.
Plaice catches would remain at 6,894 tonnes (of which 4,939 for Denmark).
ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea) estimates that previous issues with substantial misreporting of salmon catches in the main basin have ended. The Commission therefore proposes an increase in the TAC by 9% to 94,496 (individuals), of which 19,582 for Denmark, 24,417 for Finland and 26,469 for Sweden.
On the other hand, the Commission proposes to reduce salmon fishing levels in the Gulf of Finland by 10% (to 8,714 individuals).
To consult the Commission proposal (annex with TACs): https://bit.ly/3gD4IPE (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)