The decisions have been taken on fishing opportunities for 2022 for fish stocks exclusively managed by the EU in the Atlantic, Kattegat and Skagerrak and for stocks shared with Norway bilaterally and with Norway and the United Kingdom trilaterally.
While industry associations around Europe were less than cheerful over this year’s outcomes, according to Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius, the decisions are “very good news for all the stocks that we are managing sustainably, guaranteeing that they remain at maximum sustainable yield (MSY) levels.”
“I am very pleased that Member States have followed the Commission’s proposal. We have agreed ten TACs in line with the levels advised by the scientists to guarantee MSY yields,’ he stated, referring to stocks managed solely by the EU.
“As proposed by the Commission, the Council has set ten TACs in line with MSY advice, including two stocks in the lower range of MSY for plaice and for Norway lobster in Skagerrak and Kattegat. For cod in Kattegat, the Council has agreed on a package of measures with a limit of 97 tonnes for unavoidable catches taken in other fisheries and an allowance given to fishermen and women who are taking part in remote electronic monitoring projects to bring fisheries control into the 21st century.”
In the Bay of Biscay, the Council has agreed to the reopening of the Norway lobster fishery in Functional Unit 31 to 14 tonnes and to a 36% reduction for sole. In the Iberian waters, the megrim TAC will be raised by 13%, the anglerfish TAC by 5% and the horse mackerel TAC by 12%.
“These increases show that conservation efforts pay off,” the Commissioner said.
On the stocks shared between the EU, Norway and the United Kingdom, 15 out of 18 TACs have been set in line with MSY.
Since the negotiations regarding stocks shared bilaterally with the UK are still ongoing, the Council has adopted temporary contingency TACs for those stocks for the first quarter of 2022. This contingency plan ensures that fishing can continue into the new year, if an agreement with the UK is not reached before the end of December. The contingency TACs are generally set at 25% of the 2021 TACs. Exceptions include stocks fished disproportionately in the early part of the year.
