In a letter to Commissioner Maria Damanaki, the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation (FANC) rings the alarm on the dire situation of the Baltic salmon.
Recent research has shown that spawn migration to the rivers of the Gulf of Bothnia has decreased dramatically from last year, the letter says, pointing to the fact that the number of migrating salmon from the Torne River, part of the border to Sweden and by far the most important salmon river in the Baltic Sea, has dropped by half in just one year.
“The deteriorating situation of Salmon should be taken into account when finalising the Salmon Action Plan. The level of allowed fish mortality should be reduced by all necessary regulatory means”, FANC says.
The Salmon Action Plan of 1997, with the goal to reach 50 percent of the potential salmon production in each salmon river by 2010, is currently in the process of being replaced. The presentation of the new plan has been postponed several times, reportedly due to uncertainty how it would be processed under the new Lisbon treaty.
“First and foremost, the fishing of mixed Salmon populations in sea should be banned”, FANC’s letter suggests.
The catch quotas for Baltic salmon in 2011 will be decided when the EU fisheries ministers meet in Luxembourg on 25-26 October. In its advice published last may, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) recommended a 59 percent decrease from the final TAC for 2010.