The European Commission has tabled its proposal on fishing opportunities in the Baltic Sea for 2014. This is the annual proposal for the amount of fish which can be caught by EU fishermen from the main commercial fish stocks in the Baltic Sea next year. The proposals are based on scientific advice and aim to make fisheries in the Baltic Sea environmentally and economically sustainable in the short and long term. This is in line with the key principles of the recently agreed reform of the Common Fisheries Policy.
The latest scientific advice indicates that more stocks are now managed at sustainable levels – the so-called maximum sustainable yield (MSY) level - in the Baltic Sea. For 2014, the number of known stocks that can be fished at MSY level increased from three to five compared with 2013. The cuts in Total Allowable Catches (TACs) adopted in previous years have proved to be an efficient measure to support sustainability in the Baltic fishery.
The Commission proposes to increase TACs this year for eastern cod and stocks of herring in the Central Baltic and Gulf of Bothnia. Decreases for the remaining stocks either reflect the natural fluctuations within the MSY range or are linked to the improved perception of stocks’ status as a result of recent data revision. The Commission also proposes to reduce the number of days at sea for vessels fishing for cod in accordance with the Baltic cod management plan.
The proposed measures would result in an overall increase by 10 % up to 644 000 tones in fishing opportunities for Union vessels in the Baltic Sea for all species except salmon stocks. This would increase the value of fishing opportunities for 2014 by 12 million euros to a total value of approximately 412 million euros.
The present proposal shall be discussed by the Member States' ministers at the October Fisheries Council and will apply from 1 January 2014.