The cod war in Poland is heated and the Polish government continues attempts to convince the European Commission that there is plenty of cod in the sea. Starting in October, counts of cod stocks in the Baltic will begin at the request of the Polish Fisheries Minister, Marek Gróbarczyk.
According to a polish daily, Dziennik, the counts will be conducted by the Marine Fisheries Institute (Morski Instytut Rybacki) and scientists from the European Commission. This is an economic fight to sustain the future of the Polish fisheries, rather than to mitigate environmental impacts and save cod for cod’s sake.
On 26 September Marek Gróbarczyk’s hopes to lift the cod fishing ban dwindled after a personal phone conversation with Joe Borg, responsible for European Union Fisheries and Maritime Affairs.
Gróbarczyk submitted documentation to Brussels in mid-September to convince Borg that the cod ban was based on misguided evidence. After detailed revision of the information, the Commission did not find anything new which could negate scientific fundamental facts that cod is on the verge of extinction in the Baltic, and therefore did not substantiate lifting the ban as proposed by the Polish Minister.
The European Commission demanded that the Polish fishermen obey the ban. Cod has been fished, and the Polish government did not penalize any of the boats with cod landings and did not discourage such transgressions either. According to Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland will be called to the European Justice Tribunal if it continues breaking the ban, and heavy fines will be imposed.
The European Union understands the plight of the Polish fisheries and is ready to talk to the Polish government but only about subsidies for the fishermen and not about lifting the ban. Gazeta Wyborcza reports that the precarious position of the Polish government and ignorance of law by the Polish fishermen is creating a rift not only in Brussels. The Danish Minister of Fisheries, Eva Kjer Hansen, is angered that the Polish fishermen are completely disregarding the common rules of the European Union, while the Danish fisheries are abiding by the law. As a result, the Polish Maritime Economy Minister Marek Gróbarczyk announced that the fishing of immature cod will be penalized (up to 50,000 zloty or €13,500 ) and the loss of fishing licenses will be implemented. He did not mention anything about penalties for those who are fishing against the European Union ban.