On Thursday 21 May, the European Parliament called for an evaluation and possible revision of the regulation establishing a multiannual plan for fish stocks in the Baltic Sea, with a view to improving its clarity, coherence and practical application, as well as assessing its environmental and socio-economic results (see EUROPE 13870/14).
The report by Isabella Lövin (Greens/EFA, Swedish) was adopted with 337 votes in favour, 178 against and 44 abstentions. It assesses the future of this stock management plan in Baltic Sea. With this adoption MEPs are calling on the European Commission, as part of a possible revision, to assess and, where appropriate, “propose the inclusion of salmon and trout stocks” among the specific stocks covered by the scope of the regulation as regards by-catch.
By adopting (290 votes in favour, 165 against and 112 abstentions) an amendment tabled by the ECR, the European Parliament acknowledges that small and medium-sized fishing enterprises in the Baltic have not received adequate economic compensation for losses incurred since the closure of targeted cod fishing in 2019. The Commission is called on to “establish a dedicated Baltic fisheries recovery and transition fund to support fleet restructuring, technology modernisation, compensation for losses caused by species-specific fishing prohibitions, and the preservation of coastal fishing communities and their cultural heritage”.
In adopting another amendment from the ECR, the European Parliament calls on the Commission and Member States to assess and, where appropriate, implement “differentiated access rules” to Baltic Sea fisheries according to vessel length and type of gear used, in particular in order to “limit competitive pressure exerted by largescale industrial vessels on small and medium-scale family enterprises and coastal communities”.
Through an amendment from the EPP approved in plenary, the European Parliament stresses the need for the Commission to take urgent and effective measures in response to the pressures exerted by large populations of cormorants on fish stocks in the Baltic Sea, while ensuring that these measures are proportionate and adapted to regional specificities. At same time, Member States should be able to apply practical and situation-specific mitigation measures where necessary.
By adopting an amendment from the Greens/EFA group, the European Parliament calls on the Commission and Member States to closely monitor whether measures to restore populations of the Baltic harbour porpoise, a critically endangered species, are being effectively implemented and, where necessary, to take additional measures in order to avert threats to its survival.
According to MEPs, setting multiannual quotas on basis of best available scientific data could give Baltic Sea marine ecosystems time to recover and businesses the stability needed to plan their investments and maintain employment.
Report: https://aeur.eu/f/lzu (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)