Yesterday, the HELCOM Heads of Delegation meeting in Copenhagen made good progress on the outstanding issue on fisheries and actually strengthened the wording of the declaration, but several key issues remain for the ministers to resolve today.
On fisheries and biodiversity, we were pleased to see improvements in yesterday’s negotiations. The targets for recovery of fish stocks now include the 2015 deadline for reaching levels of above Maximum Sustainable Yield, reflecting the agreement earlier this year in the reform of the EU Common Fisheries Policy. The declaration also reconfirms the need to restore an age and size distribution indicative of a healthy fish and shellfish population.
Environment Ministers in the Baltic Sea region will further commit today to the implementation of the Baltic discard ban, with a focus on increased selectivity and changes in fishing behaviour. The critical status of the European eel is recognised and measures to reduce the fishing mortality substantially, as well as improve its habitats and migration routes will be taken.
Finally, the deadlock on the inclusion of Baltic cod in the HELCOM Red List over threatened species and habitats was finally resolved through a compromise with Germany and Denmark, and it will now be possible to publish the Red List, even though many references to it in the Declaration have been lost due to the delay.
Outstanding issues for the Ministerial Meeting are related to the national nutrient reduction targets, as well as NOx emissions from shipping and the responsibilities of non-Contracting Parties – ie countries outside the region that are involved in shipping activities in the Baltic Sea.
The HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) that was agreed in 2007 is good and would, if implemented, drastically improve the status of the Baltic Sea environment. It would also show continued leadership and ambition, enabling the region to move ahead globally in terms of sustainable growth and marine management.
The main problem at this stage is a lack of progress against the targets outlined in the BSAP. Many of the deadlines have already been missed, such as “the urgent adoption of measures to minimise bycatch of undersized fish and non-target species by 2012” and “the active conservation of at least 10 endangered/threatened wild salmon river populations in the Baltic Sea region as well as the reintroduction of native Baltic Sea salmon in at least four potential salmon rivers, by 2009”.
We now hope that outstanding issues can be resolved and that Ministers will be able to adopt a more focused and visionary Declaration in Copenhagen today.