Environmental NGOs Seas At Risk, Our Fish and Oceana are deeply disappointed that the Commission proposal for fishing limits in the Baltic allows for the continuation of overfishing in 2020, even though there is a legal deadline to end overfishing by 2020 under the EU Common Fisheries Policy. The Commission’s proposal includes fishing limits that exceed scientific advice for the iconic western Baltic herring and main basin Baltic salmon. It also leaves a gaping loophole for over-exploitation of the threatened eastern Baltic cod.
Overfishing is a serious problem in the Baltic, the European Union and worldwide. It not only depletes fish stocks, disrupts marine food webs, and massively increases pressure on the fragile balance of marine ecosystems, but also affects the food and employment security of millions of Europeans. Currently 69% of the fish stocks are overfished in EU waters, and 50% in the Baltic. Despite the clear fail for certain stocks, the Commission has followed scientific advice for the majority of cases (6 out of 10), which NGOs welcome.
In light of the collapse of eastern Baltic cod, and the 2020 deadline, it is incredible that the Commission still allows for overfishing in 2020, disregarding the scientific advice for Western Baltic Herring. With accumulating scientific evidence of a climate and biodiversity crisis in our seas, this is not the time for the Commission, the guardian of the EU Treaty, to delay urgently needed and EU-wide agreed action. We recognize the efforts made following scientific advice for a majority of fish stocks, however this year the legislation is clear: all harvested stocks must be fished at sustainable levels, there is no room for loose ends, said Our Fish Program Director Rebecca Hubbard.
The Commission’s proposal should not only mandate sustainable fishing limits, but aim to deliver healthy fish populations by 2020, as demanded by EU regulations. Instead they have failed to propose the rapid action that is needed to lift the Baltic Sea out of the full scale ecological crisis it is experiencing. While the Commission has proposed zero targeted fishing on eastern Baltic cod, known loopholes related to trawl fishing mean that this is not enough. EU Member States, will need to build on this proposal and take a range of other measures urgently in order to save the cod, said Oceana Europe Policy Advisor Andrzej Bia?a?.
Fisheries ministers will have the last word to uphold the good ambition shown by the Commission for some stocks, or show responsibility by following scientific advice for others like the western Baltic herring and the Main Basin Salmon. From 1 January, overfishing will be illegal in the EU waters, and Ministers need to act accordingly, said Seas At Risk Fisheries Policy Officer Andrea Ripol.
The 2020 fishing quotas for the Baltic proposed by the European Commission today, will be decided at the AGRIFISH Council of Fisheries Ministers on 14 and 15 October in Luxembourg. This will be the last chance for the EU to end overfishing in the region by 2020.
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