The European Commission has proposed a new multi-annual plan for demersal fish stocks in the North Sea.
It aims to ensure that stocks are fished at sustainable levels and will also bring decision-making closer to fishermen.
Karmenu Vella, commissioner for environment, maritime affairs and fisheries, said: "Multi-annual plans are an important tool to shift decision-making to the regional level.
“We are proposing to bring the North Sea, one of our richest fishing grounds, under such a multi-annual plan. Its long-term approach is not only aimed at improving the conservation of stocks, but also at increasing predictability for our fishermen in the long run."
The proposal requires the EU to set catch limits that restore and maintain fish stocks above levels that can produce the Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY).
Fishing at MSY levels allows the fishing industry to profit with the highest amount of fish from the sea, while keeping fish stocks healthy.
With the new plan, which defines ranges within which catch limits can be set, fishing opportunities in the higher part of the ranges will only be possible in conditions which are in line with the MSY approach.
It also obliges the EU to take action when the sustainability of any demersal North Sea fish stock is threatened.
The proposal for the North Sea will replace the current cod recovery plan as well as the current plan in place for plaice and sole.
It aims to build on the political compromise that the European Parliament and Council reached on the multi-annual plan for the Baltic Sea earlier this year.
