MEPs on the European Parliament's Committee on Fisheries approved (26 votes in favour, one against and one abstention) on Monday 12 October the text resulting from a compromise between EU institutions on aid for cod fishermen in the Baltic Sea (see EUROPE 12565/4, 12473/11).
The compromise extends the scope of the proposal (cod fishermen in the Eastern Baltic) to cod and herring fishermen in the Western Baltic. Member States affected by the closure of the Baltic cod fisheries will be able to provide financial support for permanent cessation of fishing activities under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) 2014-2020.
This support (permanent cessation) will have to be accompanied by a reduction in the size of the fleet involved in these activities.
The live weight threshold for cod above which a fishing vessel is required to land its catches in a designated port shall be 250 kg. The Regulation will enter into force one day after its publication in the Official Journal of the EU.
Link to the text of the agreement: https://bit.ly/2H18d6s (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)