During the summer the first of three trials conducted by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) and local fishermen from southern Sweden was concluded. The aim of the project is to improve the profitability of coastal fishing on wild cod. At present, the condition of Eastern Baltic cod is poor for a number of reasons including their small and skinny size which makes them unsuitable for the market.
During the summer, the new Finnish presidency of HELCOM publicised its priorities for the coming two years. This covers the target year 2020 for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD).
Transparency and sustainability are the keywords of the Swedish presidency at BALTFISH[1], as explained by representatives from Swedish ministry at the BALTFISH Forum meeting with representatives from the fishing sector and NGOs in Stockholm on September 5th. Another word emphasised was: cooperation.
Low Impact Fishers of Europe (LIFE) has presented an “Action Plan for Eastern Baltic cod stock”. LIFE, which represent over thirty fishing organisations across Europe, including in six of the eight EU Baltic member states, have together contributed to the Action Plan.
The European Commission have announced their proposals for fishing opportunities in the Baltic Sea for 2019. The proposals are for the cod, herring, sprat, plaice and salmon stocks. The final decision will be taken by the European Council on 15-16 October.
The Polish government held a conference entitled “state of the fish stocks in the Baltic Sea, particularly cod stocks – prognosis for management for 2019” in Szczecin along the Baltic coast.
This year Environmental Non-Govermental Organisations joined forces during the Danish political week, Folkemødet, on the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. WWF, Greenpeace, PEW, Oceana, Danish Society for Nature Conservation and FishSec all made an effort to put the spotlight on the need for Denmark to put more effort into sustainable ocean- and fisheries management in the Baltic Sea region.
In a joint statement, retailers including food giants Lidl and Aldi, have written that the landing obligation needs to be successfully implemented once it is fully operational on January 1st 2019.
Baltic Sea Advisory Council: Executive Committee meeting Thursday 28th June 2018, Copenhagen: Short Report
During its second meeting of Range States for European eel, the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), it was agreed that further international cooperation would be valuable as a way to improve conservation and management. The importance of taking all threats affecting European eel into account and have a mechanism that covers its full geographical range was emphasised.