On Monday 26 August, the European Commission adopted its proposals on fishing opportunities for 2025 in the waters of the Baltic Sea, aimed in particular at reducing catches of cod and certain herring stocks.
The proposals on the table, which will be negotiated on 21 and 22 October by the European fisheries ministers, concern total allowable catches (TACs) and quotas for nine of the ten stocks managed by the EU in the Baltic Sea. The remaining proposal, on Bothnian herring, will be presented at a later date.
Cod. The Commission is proposing to reduce the quotas allocated to unavoidable by-catches of cod in the Western Baltic (-73% to just 93 tonnes) and cod in the Eastern Baltic (-68% to 191 tonnes).
Herring. Some good news: the Commission is proposing to increase fishing opportunities for herring in the central Baltic (+108%) and herring in the Gulf of Riga (+10%).
The size of the Western Baltic herring stock remains well below minimum levels. The Commission is proposing to abolish the exemption for small-scale coastal fishing and to reduce by 50% (394 t for 2025) the TAC reserved solely for unavoidable by-catches.
Salmon. The Commission is proposing to reduce salmon catches in the main basin (-36% to 34,787 fish) and in the Gulf of Finland (-20% to 8,117 fish). It also proposes to ban recreational fishing of farmed salmon.
The size of the sprat stock has fallen considerably as a result of persistently low reproduction rates. Scientists warn that the size of the stock could fall below healthy levels. The Commission is proposing a 42% reduction, to 117,070 tonnes, in the TAC for sprat in the Baltic.
Plaice catches (11,313 t) were unchanged.
The proposed TACs are based on the best available scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) and comply with the rules of the multi-annual management plan for the Baltic Sea adopted in 2016.
The European Commission is concerned about the poor state of fish stocks in the Baltic Sea. “The importance of taking measures to remedy the disastrous situation of the main commercial species is becoming more and more obvious each year”, according to the institution.
Link to proposals: https://aeur.eu/f/d82 (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)