Baltic cod stocks: Quotas up, fishing effort down

In a statement released yesterday, the Commission says: “While the state of most Baltic fish stocks is fairly good, allowing for stable or even increased fishing possibilities to be proposed, the cod stocks continue to give cause for concern. The objective is therefore to rebuild these cod stocks and protect those in a sound biological state while maintaining, as far as possible, the economic activities of the fleets concerned.”

The Commission proposes to increase fishing possibilities for cod but only as a step towards a long-term recovery plan which will present for the Council in December. Fishing effort will be reduced by 10 per cent in 2006 and some temporary closures are also on the way.

Commenting on this proposal, Joe Borg, Commissioner for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, said : “Our common aim is to ensure the recovery of the Baltic cod stocks while keeping the economic constraints on the fleets concerned as low as possible. For this gradual approach to succeed, fishing possibilities and reduction of effort must go hand in hand.”

Fishing possibilities on other stocks would remain more or less the same except for an increase in herring and a decrease in sprat. Traditionally, Total Allowable Catches (TACs) and quotas have been implemented through a single Council Regulation. This year, however, in support of the Commission's commitment to simplification and clarification, fishing opportunities will be set through two separate Regulations, this one covering the Baltic Sea, and the other, to be tabled shortly, all other areas. The two proposals will be discussed at the December Council.

The long-term recovery plan for Baltic cod, which it intends to present to the Council in December would not be applicable before January 2007. Meanwhile, in setting the fishing opportunities for 2006, the Commission has opted for a TAC which is close to current catch figures, “in order to provide economic stability for the industry”. At the same time, and as a condition for a TAC which is higher than that recommended by scientific opinion, the Commission is seeking the immediate introduction of an effort limitation scheme. This scheme will be close to that which will form the backbone of the future recovery plan, and can be extended in future until fishing mortality reaches a level that is sustainable in the long term.

Effort limitations will take two different forms: closed periods of two months in the Western Baltic, and three months in the East, as agreed by the International Baltic Sea Fisheries Commission (IBSFC); and an additional closure for 10% of the remaining days of the year, over and above the IBSFC agreement. This second closure could be implemented in a number of different ways. For these closures to be effective, they must cover all fishing activities which are catching cod. Additional control measures are included in the proposal, which will be crucial to ensuring its success.

The Commission says that it proposal takes account of the latest scientific advice from the independent International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) and the Commission's own Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee on Fisheries (STECF), as well as input from stakeholders. According to ICES, cod stocks in both the Eastern and the Western Baltic are outside safe biological limits. The eastern stock in particular is close to a historic low, and fishing mortality is well above long-term sustainable levels.

The proposal also reflects the agreement reached with Russia in the context of the last meeting of the International Baltic Sea Fisheries Commission last September. Following enlargement, in May of last year, the IBSFC was effectively reduced to two members, the European Union and Russia. The Union has therefore withdrawn from the IBSFC effective from the end of 2005.