In a joint declaration in Stockholm, eight Baltic Sea fisheries ministers and Commissioner Joe Borg have announced plans to develop a road map for a ban on discards.
The road map, to be worked out in 2010, would aim at banning discards in the Baltic cod fishery, a measure that has been in force for years in neighbouring Norway.
The meeting between the ministers – non-member Russia did not participate – and the Commissioner took place in connection with a two-day conference on “Baltic Sea Fisheries: Lessons Learned and Future Perspectives”, arranged by the Baltic Sea Regional Advisory Council (BS RAC) and the Swedish EU Presidency at the Baltic Sea resort of Saltsjöbaden near Stockholm.