News
May 13, 2015
Public consultation – EU ecolabel for fishery and aquaculture products
The European Commission has opened a public consultation on "EU ecolabel for fishery and aquaculture products". The consultation is open to all stakeholder groups and individuals and close 31st of July 2015.
May 12, 2015
Research news
A short summary of news from the reserach community: Sediment cores reveal historic hypoxia in the Baltic Sea; The invisible collapse of fish stocks, and Open ocean dead zones in the tropical North Atlantic Ocean
May 11, 2015
The Baltic Multiannual Plan makes it through Council and Plenary, 1st Reading
The Baltic Multiannual Plan (MAP) for cod, herring and sprat is a big step closer to reality following the European Parliament and Council defining their positions at meetings in April.
May 7, 2015
European Parliament approves rules for the landing obligation
The European Parliament voted to adopt a collection of rules, the so-called Omnibus Regulation, on April 28 to implement the landing obligation. This vote maintains a critical loophole integrated during trialogue with the Council which allows damaged fish to be discarded. The Council of Ministers is soon expected to support the agreement, after which the new rules will be implemented in stages between 2015 and 2019.
April 30, 2015
Cold water prawn red listed
The Swedish species databank have red listed the cold water prawn (Pandalus borealis) as a threatened species. Main justification for the red-listing is due to that the population has decreased with 30-50% over the last ten years.
April 17, 2015
Parliament needs to uphold strong position on fisheries reform
FISH has together with other NGOs pointed out key priorities for the Plenary vote on the Baltic MAP and urge Parliament to support and further strengthen the Report from the Fisheries Committee, which voted on the file on the 31st of March 2015.
April 17, 2015
New practical manual on how to reduce discards
A user-friendly guide has been developed by the Environmental Defense Fund as a tool to help reduce discards and meet the EU landing obligation. The guide aims to help EU fishermen, fishery managers and Member State regulators find ways to successfully implement the CFP landing obligation requirements.
April 8, 2015
Moving towards a stronger Baltic Multiannual Plan
Last week saw the first major vote on the Baltic Multiannual Plan (MAP) in the European Parliament’s Fisheries Committee. The European Commission’s proposal, released last October, failed to adhere to the objectives of the reformed Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). Last week’s vote saw a positive reversal of some, but not all, of the shortcomings in the proposed Baltic MAP.
March 26, 2015
Researchers look at the financial side Baltic Sea ecosystem changes
Changes in Baltic Sea ecosystems will cause financial losses up to 120 million euros per year new study shows. Showing that the regeneration of an ecosystem to an economic target is not straightforward, as there are multiple interacting drivers involved that need to be considered and understood.
March 24, 2015
NGO priorities for the Baltic multiannual plan
FISH together with a number of NGOs urge Member States to adhere to the binding objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), to be mindful of the Fisheries Committee vote of 31st March, and to carefully address the objectives of multiannual plans, sustainable fishing mortality rates, conservation reference points, and the ecosystem-based approach.