On Wednesday 9 February, the European Commission adopted fisheries conservation measures to protect six areas under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and five Natura 2000 sites in the Danish and Swedish waters of the Kattegat in the North Sea.
Based on a joint initiative by Denmark, Sweden and Germany, this action is “a positive step towards reducing the impact of fishing activities on the seabed and habitats”, says the Commission.
The overall objective is to protect soft seabed and reef structures from fishing with mobile contacting gears.
The planned measures are aimed at: - closing certain areas to fishing activities; - prohibiting the use of mobile contacting gears in certain areas covered by the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and in Natura 2000 sites; - allowing only selective fishing gears in certain marine protected areas; - providing control and enforcement measures.
The measures implemented have received a positive evaluation from the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF). Link to the Regulation in question: https://bit.ly/3387fAw (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)