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Today, the Environment Committee (ENVI) in the European Parliament requested Associated Committee status on CFP reform, referring to the strong environmental focus of the proposal.

On September 8, the second annual meeting was hosted by the Commission in Brussels, moderated by Lowri Evans, Director General for DG Mare. The focus of the meeting was on the state of European fish stocks, as presented by scientific experts, and the way the EU should react to scientific based assessments and uncertainties. The meeting was the last opportunity for inputs to be made by stakeholders before the TACs are set for 2012.

The Commission “Blue team” visit to the Ministry in Copenhagen took place on the 8th September. Representatives of the EC presented their proposals for the CFP reform and invited approximately 25 Danish stakeholders to ask questions and pass comment.

The 9th annual seminar awarded Axel Wenblad, former head of the Swedish National Board of Fisheries (Fiskeriverket), with their leadership award for his work on the new proposed Swedish legislation for Marine Spatial Planning and Regulation. Also, the WWF Baltic Sea scorecard for 2011 was launched, which evaluates how successful each of the Baltic countries have been in implementing the environmental agreements and conventions which they have signed up to.

In a recent article published in Marine Ecology Progress Series the German scientists Rainer Froese and Martin Quaas suggest that current exploitation levels should be kept for several years, or alternatively that the fishery is closed for 2 years in order to achieve MSY by 2015.

According to DG MARE staff the Commission is currently planning to develop a multi species plan for the Baltic Sea, including pelagic and demersal species.

For the first time ever, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) will conduct an open review of national and regional actions to protect deep-sea species and ecosystems— beyond national jurisdiction— from the harmful impacts of bottom fishing. This open review is scheduled to take place at UN headquarters in New York, on 15-16 September, 2011.

On 12 August, after a long preparation process, the European Commission finally tabled the anticipated proposal for a new management plan for the Baltic salmon.

Published today, in their report ‘Oceans for Sale’, Greenpeace ranks nine largest retailers of fish and seafood products in Poland for the third time since 2008. Some improvements have been noted in terms of the sourcing strategies and the quality of fish and seafood products. The aim of the ranking is to draw attention to overfishing and the problem of poor management of marine resources.

The 5th annual International Clean-up the Baltic 2011 event will take place on 22 September in Hel, Poland, and all organizations around the Baltic Sea are invited to join in! This year’s theme of the campaign focuses on the protection of more than one-hundred fish species that inhabit the Baltic Sea waters, under a slogan: ‘Sea of Rubbish or Sea of Fish?’