Joe Borg welcomes 'balanced Council agreement on fish quotas for 2007 in the Baltic Sea'

The deal reached by Fisheries Ministers involves reductions in both the number of days spent at sea and fishing possibilities in all Baltic cod fisheries as well as strengthened control measures. Fishing days will be further reduced by 10%. The cuts in cod quotas have been set as an incentive for the rapid adoption of a long-term cod recovery plan. Thus, the cod quotas will be reduced by 10% and 6% subject to an agreement on the setting up of the cod recovery plan by 30 June 2007. If such agreement is not reached by that date, the reductions will automatically increase to 15% for the two stocks concerned. Sprat has been increased by 8% while catch possibilities on herring remain more or less the same. There is a 5% reduction in the number of salmon that can be caught. The package of measures adopted will provide the necessary provisions and incentives to rebuild Baltic cod and to protect healthy fish stocks.

Joe Borg commented: “This agreement confirms the EU gradual and steady approach to securing sustainability in all its aspects: biological, economic and social. The agreement on cod has been made conditional to the adoption of a long-term cod recovery plan for the Baltic Sea by the end of June 2007. I also welcome the efforts being made by the sector to combat illegal catches of cod as they will make a crucial contribution to the recovery of the Baltic cod stocks.”

Total allowable catches for 2007

The fishing possibilities agreed reflect the changes proposed by the Commission. In short, there are decreases in cod and salmon quotas which need protection and increases in sprat and herring which are in good biological condition.

For cod, there will be a reduction of 10% in catches from the eastern stock and of 6% for the western stock. The number of days that fishermen can spend at sea will be further reduced by 10% for all vessels concerned. It must be noted, however, that these levels of cuts on fishing possibilities will be maintained throughout 2007 only if Council reaches agreement on a long-term cod recovery plan. If this were not to be the case, the reductions for both cod stocks would be set for the remainder of 2007 at 15%, which was the level proposed by the Commission.

As illegal landings of cod remain a problem in the Baltic Sea, control and monitoring measures have been strengthened. Also important in this respect is the initiative taken by the Regional Advisory Council for the Baltic Sea to organise a conference next spring on how best to tackle illegal and unreported catches of cod. Both the Commission and the Council registered their support for this welcome development.

The quota for salmon in the main Baltic Basin will be cut by 5% while, as proposed by the Commission, that for plaice will remain the same as this year.

Catches of sprat, which is in good biological state, will be increased by 8% while quotas of herring, also in good condition, will be slightly increased.

Background

This agreement marks the successful start of the application of the so-called 'front-loading' approach involving the tabling of the proposals on fishing possibilities for the following year at a much earlier stage. This provides more time for consultation with stakeholders and will also result in a lighter package to be discussed at the notoriously intense December Council.

The decisions taken on 25 October were based on the Commission's proposal tabled on 5 September 2006. As is always the case, this proposal was based on the scientific advice supplied by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) and the opinion of Commission's own Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee on Fisheries (STECF). It also took account of input from stakeholders, in particular from the Regional Advisory Council for the Baltic.

The next Council discussions on fishing possibilities will take place in November when Fisheries Ministers will decide on the quotas and related measures for deep sea stocks for the next two years. The decision on the bulk of the quotas will be taken at the December Council. Consultation with stakeholders on these various fishing possibilities started before the summer. They have continued on the basis of a policy statement, issued by the Commission on 15 September this year, setting out the general principles that the Commission is applying in its proposals for 2007. From now on, such statements of principles will be tabled by the Commission each spring so as to provide maximum time for reflection and consultation thus improving the decision making on such important issues.

To download the comparative table on TACs 2006 and 2007 please go to:

http://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/press_corner/press_releases/com06_73_en.htm