Today the environmental NGOs Greenpeace, Swedish Society for Nature Conservation and WWF left a protest list to the Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture, Eskil Erlandsson, containing 15000 signatures against the cod fishing in the Kattegat. The call is a protest against the EU cod quotas for the Kattegat hammered out in the December EU Council.
“The protest list expresses the Swedish public’s discontent with the lack of political will. The Ministers have ignored scientific advice with record low cod stocks as a consequence”, says Lasse Gustavsson General Secretary of WWF Sweden.
According to the Sea fisheries laboratory in Lysekil the situation for the Kattegat cod is worse than ever and the scientists have recommended a stop for cod fishing since 2002. Not even one cod young were caught during the autumn surveys for the 2008 assessments. Despite the alarms, EU fisheries ministers decided to make a modest 8% cut in the quota, ignoring scientific advice, as well as the Commission advice which recommended a 25% cut.
“Cod is an important food source and an important part of the ecosystem. We can therefore not accept quotas deteriorating the Kattegat cod. The cod stocks need to be allowed to recover, and a 3 year fishing moratorium may be needed in order for the stocks to reach sustainable levels”, says Mikael Karlsson, chairperson of the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation.
The December Council decision caused heavy public opinion in Sweden. Maths Björklund from Gothenburg, is one of those people who got upset over the decision, and decided to start the protest list with the message “Save the cod in the Kattegat!” on his own private initiative. The collection of names for the protest list ended today, containing 15000 signatures.
The three Swedish largest environmental NGOs demand that Erlandsson acts powerful in the future. “The Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries must act more proactively against Denmark in order to change their attitude towards fishing. An intensive dialogue is needed and possibly a bilateral agreement where long-term management of the cod is prioritised”, say Greenpeace, Swedish Society for Nature Conservation and WWF.
“Strict actions are needed in order not to completely deplete the cod stocks. The depletion of cod does not only affect the ecosystems, but also those fishermen living in the area. We need marine reserves completely closed to fishing activities, in order to restore the fish stocks and to make sure that this never happens again”, says Staffan Danielsson, Green peace Oceans Campaigner.
The environmental NGOs demands to the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries:
- Follow scientific advice
- Minimise the over capacity of the fishing fleet
- Introduce harder actions on IUU fishing in the EU
- Implement management plans for all fish stocks in EU waters, enabling fish stocks to recover to sustainable levels
- Establish no fishing zones