On 25 October, the BS RAC met to discuss the situation of the Baltic cod fishery and the recent closures. The meeting resulted in a statement on the issue of non-compliance, highlighting the need for rapid action, as well as a more harmonised and harsher system for punishing those that break the law.
The Baltic Sea Regional Advisory Council (BS RAC) held an extraordinary Executive Committee meeting in Warsaw on 25 October to discuss compliance and sustainability of the Baltic cod fishery. The meeting was prompted by recent developments, leading to fishing bans in several countries, but also a direct follow-up of the conference on control and compliance and the ministerial meeting arranged by the BS RAC in March.
At the end of this year’s summer ban, the Polish, Swedish and German cod fisheries in the Baltic Sea remained closed because estimates of IUU fishing indicated that they had already exhausted this year’s quotas. In Sweden and Germany, closures were implemented by the national authorities, while in Poland the European Commission legally enforced a ban. It is well-known that the levels of IUU fishing on Baltic cod are high, at least 37 per cent according to ICES. Commmission inspections of national vessels earlier this year indicated levels for the different countries, exploiting the eastern stock in particular, that led to the fishing bans.
The bans have upset fishermen around the Baltic, as all now have to suffer because some break the rules. Poland has also contested the figures and the Government openly supported further illegal activities. The issue was a focal point of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting, taking place just a few days before the RAC meeting, that also decided on next year’s quotas for all of the Baltic Sea fish stocks. All was set up for a heated debate.
The meeting attracted a crowd with high Polish participation, among them representatives of the industry, the former government, the newly appointed government and no less than six Polish NGOs. Polish fishermen were also protesting on the street outside. Interest from most of the other countries was also high. The European Commission was represented by staff from both DG Fisheries and Maritime Affairs and the Community Fisheries Control Agency (CFCA).
Much of the meeting was characterised by a loud debate between the Polish fishermen who had chosen to abide by the law and stay in port and the fishermen going against the ban, who were backed up by the out-going Vice Fisheries Minister Grzegorz Halubek, also present at the meeting. Most of the Polish fishermen have respected the ban and now feel it is unfair that they will have to pay the price for the irresponsible behaviour of the former Polish Government and a minority of the fishermen.
Other Polish voices raised during the meeting were Dr Zbigniew Karnicki, who recently resigned from his post as science director at the Polish Sea Fisheries Institute (MIR) after feeling pressured to fabricate science in favour of the fishing industry; Radek Gawlik from the Polish environmental NGO Eko Unia, who emphasized the importance of stakeholder collaboration in order to achieve a healthier Baltic Sea environment; as well as Mr Plocke, a representative of the incoming Polish government, who indicated significant changes in the way that Poland will be collaborating with the EU in the future.
Another important comment to the meeting came from Olle Hagström, head of the unit for Fisheries conservation in the Mediterranean, Baltic and Black seas and Environmental issues at DG Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, who stressed the current favourable conditions of recruitment in the eastern Baltic cod stock, providing further incentive to take action now rather than later.
– If we can eliminate illegal cod fishing in the Baltic, we are standing at a turning point. There is a window of opportunity to get the cod stocks back to the same levels as ten years ago, if the cod is left to spawn, said Olle Hagström.
The BS RAC members present at the meeting extended a strong support to all fishermen who follow the rules – a requirement for any long-term sustainable fishery. Issues on compliance, control and enforcement were debated and it was agreed that in order to punish only those who break the rules many improvements still have to be made. Member States were seen as an obstacle in this process, as few efforts have been made to strengthen and harmonise the system. They were called upon to take further action.
The meeting also discussed concrete actions to combat IUU, and there was consensus among RAC members that more severe sanctions are needed for those who do not abide to the rules. For example, fines need to be much higher than today and for recurring offences fishing licenses should be withdrawn. The BS RAC members also advocated for increasing the Commission and CFCA powers, enabling them to carry out inspections without prior notification in Member State waters. At the end of the meeting a statement was agreed that has been sent to the European Commission and the relevant Member States.