BALTFISH

We participate in the Baltic Sea Fisheries Forum (BALTFISH) Seminars, a regional fisheries forum for exchanging ideas between stakeholders and national fisheries representatives from Members States across the Baltic Region.

BALTFISH is the Baltic Sea regional fisheries body with the primary goal to improve coordination and cooperation among Baltic Sea Member States.

BALTFISH works on two levels:

  • BALTFISH High-level group – composed of the Member States fisheries directors and invited officials from the European Commission.
  • BALTFISH Forum Seminar – composed of representatives from the Member States, the European Commission, representatives from BSAC, NGOs as well as ICES, HELCOM, etc.

BALTFISH provides recommendations to the European Commission and Council on Union fisheries conservation measures, multiannual plans, discard plans, and other regional fishery specific issues as granted in Article 18 on the principles for regionalisation under the Common Fisheries Policy (EU 1380/2013).

The chairship of BALTFISH high-level group rotates clockwise round the Baltic Sea on a yearly basis (and runs from 1 July to 30 June). Meetings are held in the country holding the chair, which also proposes agendas for the meeting (Lithuania (2014/15), Poland (2015/16), Germany (2016/17) and Denmark (2017/18), Sweden (2018/19), Finland (2019/20), Estonia (2020/21), Latvia (2021/22), Lithuania (2022/23)).

Attached documents:

Last updated: May 11, 2023

Recent publications

Updated FINAL NGO recommendations Baltic TACs 2022 based on ICES advi...

October 8, 2021

When our first Joint NGO recommendations Baltic TACs 2022 was released International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES)...


Transparency: A question to the incoming Finnish presidency of Baltfis...

October 2, 2019

In a letter to the incoming Finnish presidency of Baltfish, 15 organisations have called for improvements to transparency and access...


Joint NGO letter to BALTFISH – spatial mangement of the sprat fishery...

April 25, 2018

Nine organiations from across the Baltic region have written to BALTFISH requesting the adoption of the ICES recommendations with regards...


Baltfish briefing on Baltic TACs for 2018

August 28, 2017

This briefing provides recommendations to the Baltfish High Level Group on fishing opportunities in the Baltic for 2017. The Fisheries...