In Luxembourg on Tuesday 22 October, EU fisheries ministers reached a unanimous political agreement on the 2025 total allowable catches (TACs) for species caught in the Baltic Sea, including herring, cod, plaice, sprat and salmon.
Fisheries ministers have eased some of the restrictions initially proposed by the European Commission (see EUROPE 13507/10).
Herring. The EU Council decided to increase the TAC by 108% in 2025, in line with the Commission’s proposal, for herring in the central Baltic (i.e. a total of 83,881 tonnes (t)). The EU Council followed the Commission’s proposal concerning herring in the Gulf of Riga and herring in the Gulf of Bothnia and increased catch limits by 10% and 21% respectively.
In the case of Western Baltic herring, the EU Council decided to maintain the current volume of unavoidable by-catches (788 t, whereas the Commission wanted to reduce these by 50%).
Cod. The EU Council decided to reduce by 28% (to 430 tonnes) the volume of cod by-catches in the Eastern Baltic (-22% for this fish in the Western Baltic). The EU Council accepted the proposal to ban recreational cod fishing throughout the area, while taking into account by-catches.
Sprat. The reduction in the sprat TAC will be 31% (to 139,500 t), whereas the European Commission had initially proposed a 42% cut.
Salmon. The EU Council decided to reduce the catch limits for salmon in the main basin by 36% in 2025 (to 34,787 specimens) and to maintain the 2024 TAC for salmon in the Gulf of Finland. In addition, recreational salmon fishing in the main basin will be limited to the capture of a single salmon specimen per angler per day. After catching the first specimen, recreational anglers must stop fishing for salmon for the rest of the day.
Link to the TAC table: https://aeur.eu/f/dz9 (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)