Polish fisheries stakeholders, reaching from environmentalists to government and industry interests, have met to bring new life to the “Partnership for the Baltic” project.
A board of 15 members has crystallized from the original informal working group of some 60 scientists, NGO and fisheries representatives and local and government officials. As part of the larger “The Baltic is in Poland, the Baltic is in Europe” project under the leadership of Radoslaw Gawlik, that board now gathered in Hel on the Polish Baltic coast off Gdynia in December for a kick-off for the group’s future activities.
An important result of both the meeting and activities leading up to it, has been the increased involvement of the fisheries in the work for better management of the Baltic fish stocks. At the meeting in Hel, Gawlik invited the fisheries to report back to the board their view on the distribution of quotas, and was told they would do so at the next meeting.
All parties involved also expressed a wish to have the fishermen themselves more involved in the scientific research concerning Baltic fisheries. The fishermen representatives at the meeting supported the idea, and Krzysztof Skóra from the Hel Marine Station said he would look into how this could be utilised.
In a speech to the gathering, Krzysztof Skóra also lined up the challenges of the 21st century in protecting the environment of the Baltic Sea and pursuing scientific research there. He stressed the importance of creating public awareness in Poland regarding EU legislation that the nation is obligated to implement, mentioning the Habitat and Bird directive, as well as the Natura 2000 network. Skóra also took up The EU Maritime Strategy and the HELCOM action plan, both of which also need to be implemented, but need stronger binding rules. The focus for the board, he said, should be the fight for integration into important policy areas such as fisheries and agriculture of the ecosystem approach. He added that there is also a need for greater data availability, in order to ensure better protection of the marine environment.
In another speech, Katarzyna Roszkowska, chief fisheries expert at the Polish ministry of agriculture, lined out her government’s strategy for a sustainable fishery up to 2012, when a new Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) will be in force. The goal is to lower the fishing pressure by using EU funds, to implement the relevant EU directives, to limit bycatches, and increase the use of selective gears.
The ministry is in favour of a reform of the CFP and Ms. Roszkowska wished to meet all stakeholders to involve them in this reform process.
A fisherman representative stressed that according to a report from the Polish Sea Fisheries Institute, Polish fisheries need three times higher quotas in order to survive financially. He added, however, that he and his colleagues are very hopeful that the recently established cod management plan will improve the economic situation for Polish fishermen. The Polish fishing fleet consists of vessels of very different sizes, and he claimed that most fishermen want to have small vessels. The greatest challenge will be to look over the fleet and put aside the biggest and still most effective vessels, as well as creating new markets for fish species that not are threatened by overfishing.