FishSec

Advisory Councils

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We are a member of the Baltic Sea Advisory Council (BSAC), a regional stakeholder body charged with a providing advice to the Commission and Member States on the management of Baltic fisheries.

EU Advisory Councils
The Advisory Councils (ACs) are “stakeholder-led organisations that provide the Commission and EU countries with recommendations on fisheries management matters“. Advisory Councils have been established across the EU for stakeholders (fishers, producer organisations, NGOs and consumer groups, among others) to provide advice to policymakers towards meeting the objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy (1380/2013). They are formally defined in the 2013 Common Fisheries Policy Articles 43-45 and Annex III.

Advisory Councils have been established as follows:

  • Aquaculture AC
  • Baltic Sea AC
  • Black Sea AC
  • Long Distance AC (EU fisheries in third countries)
  • Market AC
  • Mediterranean Sea AC
  • North Sea AC
  • North-western waters AC
  • Outermost regions AC
  • Pelagic stocks AC
  • South-western waters AC

According to the Common Fisheries Policy, 60 % of the seats on Advisory Councils are allotted to representatives of fishermen and the processing and marketing sectors and 40 % to representatives of other interest groups such as environmental organisations and consumer groups. Advisory Councils should adopt recommendations by consensus, but where consensus cannot be reached, minority views should be noted.

Last updated: May 11, 2023