Earlier this evening, a compromise was struck on next year’s quotas for the Baltic Sea. In 2008 there will be reduced catches of cod, but not enough to give real respite for the overfished eastern stock. Salmon quotas are unchanged despite warnings of very low smolt survival in the north. On a more positive note, Ministers agreed on a resolution to tackle the high levels of illegal fishing through improved control and enforcement.
Today, EU fisheries ministers negotiated on quotas and associated measures for Baltic Sea fisheries in 2008. After long discussions, a compromise was agreed. There will be reductions in the Total Allowable Catches (TACs) for both cod stocks, -5 per cent for the eastern stock and -28 per cent for the western stock, combined with reductions in fishing effort (the so called days at sea) of 20 and 10 per cent respectively.
The International Council for Exploration of the Sea (ICES) recommended a closure of the eastern stock and a reduction of 50 per cent for the western stock. After consulting its Scientific and Technical Committee on Fisheries (STECF), the Commission proposal was 23 and 33 per cent respectively. In the end, this was only supported by Sweden, while Germany and Denmark sided with Poland and wanted a 15 per cent increase for the eastern stock.
All agreed, however, that unless something is done about the high levels of illegal catches, the new management plan as well as any reductions in quotas and effort will largely be inefficient. Therefore a resolution was made on strengthening control and enforcement measures throughout the region, and in Poland in particular. For example, 20 new inspectors will be employed to work for the Polish inspectorates. The Commission will also strengthen its control of Member State efforts.
Earlier this autumn, the Commission closed the Polish cod fishery, after inspections showing high levels of unreported catches meant the quota had already been used up. This has been disputed by Poland, but new figures submitted have not been accepted by the Commission. Today, Poland had to agree to “repay” its over-quota cod during 2008, so further reductions will have to be expected by Polish fishermen. If Poland implements the new resolution to combat illegal fishing, however, this debt can be repaid over a period of 3 years instead. The Swedish and German cod fisheries have also been closed early, based on calculations of unreported catches.
Details on the deals for other species are still scarce, but salmon quotas will remain unchanged despite warnings from ICES that smolt survival rates are very low and a proposal from the Commission to cut the TAC by 15 per cent in the main basin. Salmon is already counted in individuals rather than tonnes and the sea fishery is fairly limited. It seems as if slight increases were agreed for Baltic herring and sprat.
The Swedish Ministry was pleased to see an agreement today, even though it would have liked a lower quota for eastern cod. If the decision had been postponed until the November Council, there would have been a high risk of other issues playing into negotiations, such as quotas for other EU waters and bluefin tuna cuts.
Just as the Commission has clamped down on Member States taking more than their agreed share of Baltic cod, it has also stopped the EU fishery of bluefin tuna because of high levels of unreported catches. France and Italy, in particular, have been identified as culprits there. Bluefin tuna is highly priced and has long been overfished. Despite these recent efforts, all EU countries are likely to see further reductions next year agreed by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), which oversees tuna fishing in the Atlantic.