At a meeting in Warsaw yesterday, WWF-Poland and Greenpeace Poland discussed Polish plans for Baltic cod with Marek Gróbarczyk, the Minister of Maritime Economy, and his Vice-Minister Grzegorz Ha³ubek. It is clear that Poland’s current Government wants to go its own way and change the entire management system.
Earlier this week, several Polish environmental NGOs were invited to see the Polish Minister of Maritime Economy and his Vice-Minister responsible for fisheries to discuss a draft Polish plan for the protection of cod resources in the Baltic Sea. Because of the short notice, the meeting was only attended by representatives of WWF and Greenpeace.
At the meeting, the Minister presented a draft plan proposing a new management system to replace the current TACs and quotas. The plan consists of five main points:
- any catch, landing or sale of undersized cod would be prohibited and punishable with fines of up to 15 000 EUR
- several areas closed to fishing would be established
- inspections of vessels fishing for pelagic species for industrial purposes would be intensified
- pelagic fisheries in cod spawning grounds would be banned
- fishing effort would be further regulated by a decrease of the number of fishing days
According to the NGOs present, the plan was still at an early stage without specific details on area closures, control measures or the implementation of any of the restrictions. They did not judge it to be a serious attempt to find a better management system for Baltic cod, but rather a way to draw attention from the current ban on Polish cod fishing and the Commission proposal for the Baltic TACs to be dealt with by the European Council of Ministers early next week.
Although the plan includes proposals for high fines for landings of undersized fish, a substantial decrease of industrial pelagic catches and the introduction of closed areas, the plan is far from being put into practice. The NGOs also felt that the proposed change in the management system, mainly shifting from fishing quotas to effort management, is not possible in view of the current state of Baltic cod resources and the widespread illegal fishing activities. In addition, the plan does not provide any answers regarding the much-needed further reduction of the cod fishing fleet.