Small Fish – Big Impact, the importance of forage fish
Forage fish, such as sprat and herring, are small pelagic fish species that serve as a key food source in the marine ecosystem. Our new project, ‘Small Fish – Big Impact,’ will focus on the importance of forage fish in the Baltic Sea and the need to manage them through an ecosystem based approach.
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Latest briefing on the status of Baltic fish stocks and quota recommendations
Read more on the State of the stocks and find our joint briefing providing analysis and comment on fishing quotas in the Baltic Sea here.
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Take action to save European eel
In less than 50 years, European eel has gone from one of our largest, most widespread fishery resources to a critically endangered species in need of urgent, coordinated action.
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Baltic Sea
Working with the fishing industry and policy makers, we focus on improving fishery sustainability in the Baltic Sea through policy development.
Common Fisheries Policy
The CFP provides the framework for fisheries regulation in the European Union. We work with a number of polices and regulations emerging under the reformed CFP.
European Eel
We work together with partners for further actions to secure eel recovery across its geographical range. Some needed actions are; a revised EU management framework, improved control and regional coordination.
Latest news
December 13, 2025
Too many concessions makes eel fishing closures ineffective
The EU Fisheries Council have agreed to a roll-over of current eel fishing closures in EU waters to protect the 2026/2027 eel migrations. Regrettably the well-intentioned provision now contains so many derogations that the measure is not effective. The ban on recreational eel fishing in EU waters remain. In the Mediterranean region, measures apply in … Continued
December 10, 2025
EU’s annual eel fishing closures full of exemptions – roll-over proposed
The Commission is proposing a roll-over of this year’s provisions for the annual eel fishing closures, which will be adopted at the Fisheries Council later this week. For a critically endangered population with a zero catch advice since 2021 for all life stages, including catches for aquaculture and restocking, the current provision as well as … Continued
December 5, 2025
Proposal to list all Anguillid eels under Appendix II of CITES rejected
CITES Summit ending today rejected a proposal to list all Anguillid eel species under Appendix II to protect them from illegal and unsustainable trade. The proposal put forward by the EU and Panama was rejected by a large majority including key countries involved in trade, aquaculture and consumption. European eel (Anguilla anguilla) has been listed … Continued
November 4, 2025
Press Release: No catches of European eel in 2026 can be in line with scientific advice
Widespread exploitation of the critically endangered European eel population continues against scientific advice, despite few signs of recovery. Today, the International Exploration of the Sea, ICES, published its scientific advice on fishing opportunities and conservation for European eel for 2026. As in previous years, ICES advises zero catch for all life stages, all uses and … Continued