Baltic Sea: Council decides on how much can be fished in 2019

On 15 October 2018 the Council agreed on next year’s total allowable catches (TACs) and member states’ quotas for the ten commercially most important fish stocks in the Baltic Sea.

The Council decided to increase fishing opportunities for plaice (+43%), sprat (+3%), Western cod (+70%), and herring in the Gulf of Riga (+7%). The Council also rolled-over the TACs for main basin salmon, and decided to decrease the future amounts to be fished for Central herring (-26%), Bothnian herring (-7%), Western herring (-48%), Eastern cod (-15%), and salmon in the Gulf of Finland (-3%).

Thanks to this agreement, 7 out of 8 stocks for which complete scientific advice was available will be fished in line with the principle of maximum sustainable yield (MSY), covering 98% of fish landings in volume.

The 2020 deadline we set ourselves for achieving the sustainability of our fisheries resources is getting closer. Today’s decision is another important step towards meeting this goal, whilst at the same time respecting the socioeconomic viability of our coastal communities.

Elisabeth Köstinger, Austrian federal minister for sustainability and tourism and president of the Council

The agreement in detail

Based on a Commission proposal, the agreed quantities take into account the commitment to meeting the objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), including the achievement of MSY, as well as scientific advice provided in particular by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). The provisions of the multiannual management plan for the Baltic sea have also been closely followed.

In addition to setting TACs and national quotas on some species, the Council confirmed the extension to 2019 of some management measures currently in place to improve the state of the stock Baltic cod (bag limitations in recreational fisheries for the Western cod and closure period from 1 to 31 July, with derogations for small coastal fisheries for the Eastern cod).

In the context of discussions on fishing opportunities in the Baltic Sea, the Council also:

• introduced an inter-area flexibility for salmon from subdivisions 22-31 (main basin) to 32 (Gull of Finland) for those member states requesting it, together with measures to address misreporting of catches
• fixed the EU quota for Norway pout for the next fishing season running from 1 November 2018 to 31 October 2019 to 50 000 tonnes, thereby guaranteeing continuity in the fisheries of this short lived species
• agreed on an in-year amendment to the TAC for anchovy and the modification of the TAC period that will now last until 30 June 2019

Preparatory work conducive to finding swift agreement was carried out at regional level through BALTFISH, a body providing a platform for discussion on important fisheries issues in the Baltic Sea, currently under Swedish chairmanship.

Council agreement on 2018 catch limits in the Baltic Sea

2019 EU TOTAL ALLOWABLE CATCHES (TACs) IN THE BALTIC SEA
		COMMISSION proposal			COUNCIL agreement
Name Latin name	ICES FISHING ZONES	TACs 2018	2019	2019	TACs 2019	variation
		in tonnes	in tonnes	variation	in tonnes	in %
Bothnian herring Clupea harengus	Baltic Sea subdivisions 30-31	84 599	88 703	-7%	88 703	-7%
Western herring Clupea harengus	Baltic Sea subdivisions 22-24	17 309	6 404	-63%	9 001	-48%
Central herring Clupea harengus	Baltic Sea subdivisions 25-27, 28.2, 29, 32	229 355	170 360	-26%	170 360	-26%
Riga herring Clupea harengus	Baltic Sea subdivision 28-1	28 999	31 044	+7%	31 044	+7%
Eastern cod Gadus morhua	Baltic Sea subdivisions 25-32	28 388	24 112	-15%	24 112	-15%
Western cod Gadus morhua	Baltic Sea subdivisions 22-24	5 597	7 340	+31%	9 515	+70%
Plaice Pleuronectes platessa	Baltic Sea subdivisions 22-32	7 076	10 122	+43%	10 122	+43%
Main basin salmon Salmo salar	Baltic Sea subdivisions 22-31	91 132	104 996	+15%	91 132	Roll over
Gulf of Finland salmon Salmo salar	Baltic Sea subdivision 32	10 003	9 879	-1%	9 703	-3%
Sprat Sprattus sprattus	Baltic Sea subdivisions 22-32	262 310	270 772	+3%	270 772	+3%

Legend: Latin name – English name/ Nom français/ Deutsche name
Clupea harengus –  herring/ hareng/ Hering
Gadus morhua –  cod/ morue/ Dorsch
Pleuronectes platessa – plaice/ plie/ Scholle
Salmo salar – Atlantic salmon/ saumon atlantique/ Lachs
Sprattus sprattus –  sprat/ sprat/ Sprotte 

Next steps

This item will be adopted by the Council by written procedure to ensure that the fishing season for Norway pout and anchovy is not interrupted. 

Background

Today’s discussions were based on a Commission proposal with article 43(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) as a legal basis.
Under such article, it is for the Council to adopt measures on the fixing and allocation of fishing opportunities within the framework of the common fisheries policy. The European Parliament’s participation and the Economic and Social Committee’s opinion are therefore not required for the adoption of this regulation.

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