European Union fisheries ministers meeting at the Agrifish Council in Luxembourg have agreed on next year’s total allowable catches (TACs) and member states’ quotas for the 10 most commercially important fish stocks in the Baltic Sea.
The council decided to increase fishing opportunities for plaice ( up43 percent to 10,122 metric tons), sprat (up three percent to 270,772 MT), Western cod ( up 70 percent to 9,515), and herring in the Gulf of Riga (up seven percent to 31,044 MT).
It also rolled-over the TACs for main basin salmon (91,132 MT), and decided to decrease the future amounts to be fished for Central herring (down 26 percent to 170,360 MT), Bothnian herring (down seven percent to 88,703 MT), Western herring (down 48 percent to 9,001 MT), Eastern cod (down 15 percent to 24,112 MT), and salmon in the Gulf of Finland (down three percent to 9,703 MT).
Following this agreement, seven out of eight stocks for which complete scientific advice was available will be fished in line with the principle of maximum sustainable yield (MSY), covering 98 percent of fish landings in volume.
European Commissioner for the Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Karmenu Vella said that these decisions should mean nearly EUR 1 billion (USD 1.2 billion) worth of landings with “a very healthy” average gross profit margin of above 30 percent.
Additionally, nine of the top 10 most profitable fleets are going to be small-scale, he said.
Regarding two specific stocks of interest – western cod and western herring – Vella said that he was pleased that things were looking better for western cod in 2019, but he acknowledged that the stock is not yet seeing a sustained recovery.
“It is a good story that rests entirely on one good year in 2016," Vella said. "This is why it was important to limit the increase to levels that will still leave enough of that good year in the sea so that this fish can fill up the stock and produce more fish for the years to come.”
While the council decided to increase the catch limits by more than that proposed by the commission, Vella said the increase would still keep the catch limit in the lower half of the lower MSY-range.
“This should still help us to stay at sustainable levels also in the coming years,” he said. “This takes me to the fishery which has now become our biggest worry in the Baltic: western herring. Here, the council agreed to a reduction by 48 percent and additional conservation measures to be taken by the member states. This is less than what the commission has proposed. However, it is still below the lowest point of MSY range based on the latest scientific information and it will allow the biomass to increase by around four percent. This was an essential criterion for me to be able to support the compromise.”
The decision to set TACs that exceed the scientific advice has been slammed by a number of fisheries campaign groups. Andrew Clayton, project director of The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Ending Overfishing in Northwestern Europe Campaign, criticized the move.
“With only a year to go until the CFP deadline to end overfishing, ministers have again ignored the science and allowed overfishing of key stocks in 2019," Clayton said. "These adverse decisions will put further pressure on fish stocks and damage the livelihoods of those who depend on them. Ministers must start accepting facts or the future consequences for fish stocks and fishers will be dire.”
Rebecca Hubbard, Our Fish program director, said that E.U. fisheries ministers had made matters worse by discarding the best available scientific advice for conservation of Baltic fish stocks.
“The fishing limits set today for Western Baltic cod are clearly intended to exploit as many fish as possible, quickly, and not to rebuild this chronically overfished and fragile stock – despite warnings from scientists," she said. "Scientists had recommended zero catch for western herring; while EU ministers cut the limits by 48 percent, this is still 9,001 MT above the scientific (ICES) advice. Yet, ministers are calling this a ‘win,’ claiming that their cut will promote a four percent growth in the fish stock. Meanwhile, the commission’s proposal and the final agreed fishing limit agreed for eastern Baltic cod, is so far above scientific advice, it is difficult to understand the point of even setting a limit."
Ahead of the decision, Our Fish was in Luxembourg offering chocolate herring in return for a commitment to end overfishing.
