Shellfish reefs are some of the most important habitats in the marine ecosystem. These important reef systems provide habitats and homes for many other marine organisms such as anthozoans, hydrozoans, bivalves, echinoderms and ascidians.
At the latest BALTFISH forum, at which representatives of Baltic EU Member States and stakeholders such as the Commission, ICES, HELCOM, the Baltic Sea RAC, NGOs and fishermen’s representatives meet, Danish-led proposals for the discard ban were discussed.
FISH together with CCB and Oceana sent a letter to each minister around the Baltic Sea calling for action to secure the environmental objectives agreed upon in the 2007 HELCOM BSAP and 2010 Moscow Ministerial declaration.
Over the next two days, the regional forum created by Baltic Sea Member States – BALTFISH – is meeting in Riga, Latvia, to discuss issues that will greatly affect the future of fishing and management in the region.
Yesterday, the Commission announced proposals for the TACs and quotas of Baltic Sea fish stocks in 2014. These will be discussed at the BALTFISH meeting in Riga next week, and if a unanimous agreement is made by Member State representatives there, this would likely be rubber stamped at the October Council by all EU fisheries ministers.
After spending almost 3 months cycling the Baltic Sea coastline, the Race for the Baltic could see the finish line getting closer and closer. The team spent three days in Møn, Denmark where they reflected over the last 70+ days, visited two farms, and made an epic entry into their final city on the tour, Copenhagen.
After two weeks in Poland, the Race for the Baltic team made it to Germany. The team met up with Senator Holger Matthäus ,BUND and the Black Fish where they together collected over 1,000 signatures.
The last two weeks of the Race for the Baltic campaign have been spent cycling along the Polish coastline partnering with many different NGOs. The team has been involved in many events from beach clean ups, to public awareness activities to study visits with researchers and local activists.
Lithuania currently holds the Presidency of the EU, at a time when the €6.5 billion EU fisheries subsidy package, the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) is being reformed. This fund will support EU fisheries from 2014-2020 and has the potential to transform our fishing practices.
During the past two weeks, both the European Parliament and Council have made progress with the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) subsidy package, and expect to conclude a deal late this year. The EMFF will provide €6.5 billion of aid, from the public purse, to the industry and Member States for 2014-2020. However, there are serious concerns over the way politicians envisage how these funds should be spent.