In Luxembourg on Monday 17 October, the fisheries ministers of the EU Member States reached a political agreement on the levels of the total allowable catches (TACs) and quotas for 2023 for fish stocks in the Baltic Sea.
The compromise, which is very close to the European Commission’s proposals, provides for a reduction in the following TACs: herring in the Gulf of Bothnia (-28%), herring in the Gulf of Riga (-4%) and sprat (-11%; the Commission had originally proposed -20%).
The EU Council decided to extend the 2022 measures for cod: TACs only for cod by-catches in the Eastern and Western Baltic. The same restrictions apply to Western Baltic herring and salmon in the main basin.
EU ministers have foreseen TAC increases of 32% (+14% in the proposal) and 25% for central Baltic herring and plaice respectively (see EUROPE 13043/3).
The work of BALTFISH (the Baltic Sea Regional Fisheries Forum), chaired by Lithuania, contributed to a political agreement in the EU Council.
Recreational fishing. The following measures are foreseen for recreational fishing: a limit of one ‘adipose fin-clipped salmon’ per angler per day. After catching the first specimen, recreational anglers will have to stop fishing for salmon for the rest of the day.
The EU Council also decided on fishing opportunities for Norway pout between the EU and the UK: 30,000 tonnes applicable from 1 November to 31 December 2022. The delegations agreed to continue consultations on Norway pout fishing for the period 1 January to 31 October 2023 in the framework of the annual EU-UK consultations on the 2023 fishing quotas, scheduled for November and December 2022.
Finally, the agreement guarantees a TAC of 14 429 tonnes for southern hake in EU waters.
For more details: https://aeur.eu/f/3nb (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)