Following the quota reduction for western Baltic cod in 2017, the Fisheries Secretariat put forward a proposal to the Baltic Sea Advisory Council (BSAC). The proposal urges member states to support the most vulnerable fishers in line with Article 17 of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). However, this proposal was not supported by a single member representing the industrial fleet in the executive committee (ExCom) meeting, 15 November 2016 in Copenhagen.
Germany, holder of the BALTFISH presidency, will take initiatives to improve the transparency of the regional group.
– We will contact the EU commission and ask if they can host a website for BALTFISH, said the chair Walter Dübner during a seminar at the EU Baltic Sea Strategy Forum in Stockholm.
At the recent HELCOM Heads of Delegation meeting, 14-15 December, a commitment was made to initiate closer cooperation with BALTFISH.
Along with the North Sea Foundation and Seas at Risk, we are looking to hire an NGO Advisory Council support officer to coordinate the work of NGOs in the EU fisheries advisory councils.
For the upcoming December Council meeting, at which quotas will be set for over 150 stocks, we have prepared a briefing outlining our main recommendations for certain key and vulnerable stocks. The principle outlined in the reformed CFP means that Ministers must set quotas below Fmsy, where possible. Thereby ensuring a sustainable harvest whilst allowing … Continued
In a letter to the Slovakian Presidency of the EU, NGOs have requested that the December Council meeting at which quotas are set for hundreds of Atlantic and North Sea fish stocks is live streamed and publicly accessible. Fish stocks are a public resource and it is in the public interest that decisions are taken … Continued
At the upcoming EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR) meeting, The Fisheries Secretariat is organising a seminar to discuss BALTFISH, the regional management body established under the Flagship Project: “Regionalisation of fisheries management in the Baltic Sea” in 2010. This will be the first opportunity for a public discussion forum to meet and … Continued
Cod overfishing will continue next year and the Baltic management plan is in tatters despite quota reductions of 56% for the western cod stock and 25% for the eastern. For sprat, the herring stocks, plaice and salmon, we welcome the decisions. They are all likely to all continue their upward trajectory and had their quotas set broadly in line with scientific advice.
MareFrame is a project in which Ecosystem-based fisheries management solutions are to be co-developed through discussions between stakeholders, which are led by scientists. It aims to remove the barriers toward the implementation of the ecosystem approach to fisheries management. FishSec attended the latest meeting this week as a representative of the Baltic Sea Advisory Council.
In advance of the Fisheries Council meeting, 10-11 October, at which next year’s fishing quotas for the Baltic Sea will be set, The Fisheries Secretariat and Seas at Risk have provided Ministers with a set of recommendations.