The Council of the European Union has reached an agreement on total allowable catches in the Baltic Sea for 2027.
The E.U. Council said the TAC will allow for increases in the catches of sprat, central Baltic herring, Bothnian herring, Riga herring, and plaice – all in line with scientific advice. That means every targeted fishery in the Baltic Sea, aside from Gulf of Finland salmon, saw some form of TAC increase over catch levels for 2026.
The council set the TAC for sprat at 291,590 metric tons (MT), an increase of 44 percent over the 201,975 MT set for the 2026 season. That number was in line with the European Commission’s original proposal.
For central Baltic herring, the E.U. Council set a TAC of 165,228 MT, an increase of 71 percent compared to the 96,463 MT TAC set for 2026. That TAC is higher than the 143,860 MT suggested by the European Commission, but still within advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). ICES forecasts a positive development to the stock size due to high estimated recruitment.
The council set the TAC for Bothnian herring at 62,500 MT, an increase of 12 percent compared to the 55,869 MT TAC set for 2026. That TAC is higher than the 57,308 MT recommended by the European Commission, but also within ICES advice. The commission originally set its TAC based on the existing stock size, and said that the lower TAC would have helped increase stock size over time.
The TAC for Riga herring is set to 38,183 MT, an increase of 11 percent over the 34,367 MT TAC set for 2026. That number is also in line with the European Commission proposal.
The TAC for plaice was also increased to 11,237 MT, up 2 percent over the 10,973 MT TAC for 2026. The European Commission had recommended no changes in TAC year over year “due to the bad condition of individual fish,” but the slight increase is aligned with ICES advice .
The last targeted fishery, Gulf of Finland salmon, saw no TAC increase and will remain 10,232 individual specimens.
Several other TACS are bycatch only, and the E.U. Council decided to make no changes despite the European Commission proposal calling for reductions. The TAC for Western Herring will remain 788 MT despite a commission recommendation of 437 MT; the TAC for Eastern cod will remain 430 MT despite a commission recommendation of 211 MT; Western cod will remain 266 MT despite a much lower recommendation of 31 MT; and Main basin salmon will continue to have a TAC of 25,537 specimens – in line with the commission’s recommendations.
European fishing representative body Europêche applauded the council’s decisions, and called them an improvement over the European Commission’s original proposal.
“The E.U. fishing sector has shown responsibility and resilience, implementing substantial reductions and restrictions in recent years to support stock recovery,” the organization said. “The positive developments suggest these efforts are beginning to bear fruit. Europêche stresses that future decisions should continue to follow the best available scientific advice while supporting sustainable fisheries and the viability of Baltic fishing communities.”
