With the decision on Baltic Sea quotas coming up at the October Council meeting, European anglers call on the Member States and the Commission to ensure more precautionary management of wild salmon stocks.
Following their annual General Assembly in Helsinki on 28 August, the European Anglers Alliance has adopted a resolution on Baltic wild salmon stocks, which are judged to be yet again in a critical condition. With low survival of smolt – the early life stage of salmon – and unexpectedly few spawners returning to rivers this autumn, the situation is getting very serious.
The European Anglers Alliance now urges Ministers to take a precautionary approach to salmon management, ensuring compliance with the EC Habitats Directive, Water Framework Directive and Marine Strategy Framework Directive. They would like to see quotas cut to less than 120,000 individuals for 2011 and a prohibition of commercial fishing on mixed stocks at sea, in order to protect weak stocks.