This morning, EU Fisheries Ministers agreed on a long-term management plan for Baltic Sea cod. This is a welcome development, but the state of the cod stocks calls for stronger measures.
A European Commission proposal for a multi-annual plan for the cod stocks in the Baltic Sea and the fisheries exploiting those stocks (COM(2006)411) was agreed today after months of negotiations. The plan sets out to recover and rebuild the two cod stocks in the Baltic Sea, only a week after the release of ICES’ annual advice on the status of stocks and future fishing possibilities.
In this year’s advice, ICES states that the Eastern stock is still at a historically low level with no observable increase in the spawning stock biomass over recent years, while the Western stock is doing slightly better but is overexploited with the latest three year classes well below average. The illegal catches continuous to be high – estimated to be at least 37 per cent above the official quota. In a recent Commission report, Poland and Sweden figured as the main culprits.
The new plan is based on a targets for each stock to gradually reduce the so-called fishing mortality rate to much lower levels. This is to be done through annual adjustments of quotas and fishing effort, as well as improved control and enforcement.
– If the fishing mortality rate decreases year on year by 10 per cent, as set out in the plan, we are likely to see a slow improvement in the cod stocks, says Niki Sporrong at the Fisheries Secretariat. But the plan lacks a time frame, and targets may not be reached within ten years, unless stronger action is taken.
Implementation of the plan is built on decreasing fishing opportunities over the next few years. But ICES interpretation of the plan and the fishing mortality rate, released in its advice last week, puts this into question. If ICES interpretation of the plan is used, this could result in official quotas increasing by as much as 15 per cent over the coming years.
Even if this is unlikely to happen, it puts greater pressure on the Council to adopt more stringent quotas than strictly set out in the plan. Member State authorities and the fishing sector will also have to work hard to improve compliance, control and enforcement. If this is not successful, cod might well become ever scarcer.
The plan also regulates closed periods, fishing days and increased port control.