News

September 27, 2022

Member States share concern for eel population in dire straits

Speaking to the Fisheries Council yesterday, Commissioner Sinkevičius was clear that “status quo is not an option” for the management of European eel, considering the critical state of the eel population and the zero catch advice. While the Member States shared his concern for the stock, suggestions on the way forward varied, with Mediterranean countries … Continued


September 27, 2022

Ecosystem Approach: EU fisheries management still dominated by single-species advice

On September 15 the EU Commission released the report ‘The implementation of ecosystem-based approaches applied to fisheries management under the Common Fisheires Policy’. The study provides a state-of-play of the implementation of EAFM in the North and Baltic Seas, Western Atlantic and Outermost Regions. The report concludes that EU fisheries management still is dominated by … Continued


September 26, 2022

NGOs call on French government to support proposals to aid recovery of European eel

Earlier today, a group of NGOs sent a joint letter to the French minister asking France to support a strengthening of the existing transitional measures agreed as part of a multi-annual plan to ensure the long-term conservation and sustainable use of European eel (Anguilla anguilla) in the Mediterranean. The European eel is listed as Critically … Continued


September 7, 2022

Widespread public support for further measures to protect eel – NGOs hand over petition to Commissioner Sinkevičius

Stockholm 7 September 2022; Today, a group of NGOs from the informal Eel Alliance is meeting with Commissioner Sinkevičius to hand over the Power to the Eel petition – a call for action to protect the critically endangered European eel. With over 40,000 signatures from across the EU, it shows that there is widespread public … Continued


August 25, 2022

NGOs welcome increased precaution in Commission’s proposal for Baltic Sea fishing opportunities in 2023

  Brussels 25 August 2022, On the 23rd of August the European Commission released its proposal for Baltic Sea fishing opportunities for 2023. Over and all, the Commission applied a precautionary stance when setting the recommendations for Total Allowable Catches (TACs) for next year which is to be commended. Many fish populations in the Baltic … Continued


July 15, 2022

Help us to #SaveBalticCod

Today we launch a new initiative to #SaveBalticCod, together with our project partners in the Return of the Cod project we call on organisations and individuals around the Baltic Sea to join us in asking EU policy makers to take protective action for cod when they decide on next years’ the fishing limits for the … Continued


June 25, 2022

Cod on Bornholm – Photo Blog

Folkemødet (“The People’s Meeting”) is a four-day Danish festival organised on the beautiful island Bornholm in the middle of the Baltic Sea where politicians and parties can engage in open debate with interested citizens. It has been organized annually since 2011 in the small town of Allinge on the Northern tip of  Bornholm. Folkemødet was … Continued


June 17, 2022

Joint NGO recommendations on Baltic Sea fishing opportunities 2023

FishSec together with a large number of Baltic wide NGOs have launched a joint position on the fishing opportunities in the Baltic Sea for the year 2023, following the release of the ICES advice in late May. The position calls for better advice on ecosystem-based management options, as well as the inclusion of multi-species interactions, … Continued


June 3, 2022

The future is here!

Examples of digital monitoring in fisheries that are in use today On the 31st of May The Fisheries Secretariat hosted a webinar on Advances in Digital monitoring in fisheries. The objective of this event was to showcase projects that are in use today and have the potential to be a game changer in improving the … Continued


June 1, 2022

No improvement for collapsed stocks – time for a reboot in the Baltic Sea

Brussels, 1 June 2022: Responding to yesterday’s publication of annual scientific advice for 2023 fishing limits in the Baltic Sea by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), a group of non-governmental organisations said that the Baltic Sea remains in a dire condition, despite tightening of fishing limits in recent years, and … Continued