News

July 2, 2008

The Kattegat cod stock probably even lower than calculated

The Kattegat cod stock is estimated to be at its lowest level since 1971. The biomass of reproducing fish has been reduced by as much as 95%. There are no signs of recovery and since the year 2000 this stock has been considered by ICES to be outside of safe biological limits. This is concluded … Continued


June 27, 2008

Situation for cod still troublesome

Scientists from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) announced today that the situation for the cod stock continues to be problematic. The advice from ICES shows that the cod stock is overfished in almost all EU waters due to high levels of discards and overexploitation. According to ICES, the situation for … Continued


June 24, 2008

European Commission open for harmful fuel subsidies

Fishermen in several Member States are pressing their governments for additional public aid to help with rising fuel costs. Fuel for the fisheries sector is already heavily subsidized and this is a controversial issue. To tackle the fuel crisis the European Commission has agreed in principle on the contents of an emergency package of measures. … Continued


May 23, 2008

ICES advice

Today, ICES’ Advisory Committee (ACOM) published their advice regarding the exploitation of the Baltic Sea fish stocks in 2009. FISH has made a summary of the ICES advice regarding the two Baltic cod stocks, which can be found under hot topics.


May 20, 2008

Polish Ministry of Agriculture announces cod fishing ban for Polish fishermen, starting 22 May

Polish fishing vessels larger than 12 meters will not be fishing for cod in the Baltic Sea this summer. The Minister of Agriculture, Marek Sawicki, signed a legally binding order which limits cod fishing activities from 22 May until 30 September. Kazimierz Plocke, the Polish Vice-Minister of Agriculture, released this information at a press conference … Continued


May 19, 2008

NGO fisheries Workshop in Warsaw

On 8-9 May, FISH organised a workshop in Warsaw, Poland, to address current NGO work efforts with fisheries in the Baltic Sea. The programme of the workshop included: Discussions on strengthening and broadening the Swedish-Polish and the regional cooperation on marine and fisheries issues. Information-sharing about ongoing and planned activities and current fisheries policy issues. … Continued


May 16, 2008

Swedish Board of Fisheries suggests ban on high grading

In the struggle against high grading the Swedish Board of Fisheries has put forward a proposal to ban the discarding of fish that is suitable for landing. As with fisheries world wide, discarding of unwanted fish is one of the main problems plaguing Swedish fisheries. Each year, huge amount of fish is thrown over board … Continued


May 12, 2008

Parsêta River Clean-Up 2008

On May 10, 2008, FISH was invited to the Parsêta River Clean-Up 2008 event in Zabrowie near the coastal city of Kolobrzeg. Parsêta River flows into the Baltic Sea and is one of the most important habitats for salmon in Poland. The river clean up was arranged as a part of the Agreement for Parsêta, … Continued


March 19, 2008

The Polish World Water Day – Baltic Day will raise awareness about the importance of water resources, rivers and the Baltic Sea

The Polish NGO Klub Gaja, in collaboration with the Centre for Environmental Heritage of Upper Silesia and Mr. Stanislaw Rozycki, a local environmental consultant, has planned a series of educational workshops to celebrate World Water Day – Baltic Day in Raciborz, southern Poland on 22 March. The main objective during the Water Day – Baltic … Continued


March 11, 2008

Attempt to strengthen collaboration between Sweden and Denmark in order to create sustainable fisheries

On 10 March the Swedish and Danish Ministers of Fisheries, Eskil Erlandsson and Eva Kjer Hansen met to discuss collective actions in order to safeguard the Kattegat cod stocks. Within a year the cod fisheries can be temporarily closed during the spawning season. Eskil Erlandsson reports to be satisfied with the dialogue kept with his … Continued