During the debate in the European Parliament, on Monday 18 May, on the management plan for fish stocks in the Baltic, the rapporteur, Isabella Lövin (Greens/EFA, Swedish), regretted that some MEPs had tried to weaken the text in order to preserve policies “that have led to the collapse of the two cod stocks” in the area (see EUROPE 13849/10).
“Remaining stocks of herring and sprat are under extreme pressure. Ninety percent of their biomass has disappeared”, she added, criticising the fact that large industrial trawlers can continue to fish mainly for animal feed.
The Commissioner for Fisheries, Costas Kadis, called for a “more global and integrated approach, based on coordinated cross-border action between all the sectors and policy areas concerned”.
He pointed out that other instruments under the common fisheries policy (CFP) can help to meet these challenges, such as the control regulations, improved scientific advice, quota flexibility and the protection of certain species.
These issues will be addressed in the follow-up to the evaluation of the CFP Regulation, in particular in the preparation of the ‘Vision 2040 for fisheries and aquaculture’, scheduled for this autumn.
The European Parliament is calling on the Commission to evaluate and possibly revise the multiannual plan for the Baltic Sea. “We will carefully examine all the options”, said Mr Kadis, adding that his services were already working with scientists and Member States to identify stocks that could benefit from multiannual advice.
The vote in Parliament will take place on Thursday 21 May. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)