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Summary of ICES advice on Baltic stocks for 2016
June 3, 2015
On 29 May 2015, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) Advisory Committee published their advice regarding the exploitation of the Baltic Sea fish stocks for 2016. Here we provide a summary and comment on the assessments and advice.
Multiannual Plan for the Baltic Sea – joint NGO priorities for the Fisheries Council
April 16, 2015
This briefing was sent to Fisheries Ministers in advance of their AgriFish Council meeting on 20 April, 2015, National Fisheries Ministers discuss the Commission’s proposal for the Baltic Multiannual Plan (MAP) (2014/0285 (COD)), and in particular the Presidency proposal for a compromise.
In this letter we urge Member States to adhere to the binding objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), to be mindful of the Fisheries Committee vote of 31st March.
Council brief on Multiannual plans for the Baltic Sea
April 7, 2015
This briefing with recommendations regarding the multiannual plan for the stocks of cod, herring and sprat in the Baltic Sea and the fisheries exploiting those stock (COM(2014)614) is aimed at the Fisheries Ministers to consider at the upcoming Council meeting.
The Baltic MAP is the first of several multiannual plans defining the future of fisheries management in EU waters. This plan is a model for future multiannual plans, thus it must be a robust, well-designed and holistic management tool to inform future legislation.
Multiannual plan for the Baltic Sea – joint NGO priorities for the Fisheries Committee
March 12, 2015
This briefing was sent to MEPs in advance of the Fisheries Committee meeting on 31st of March 2015 and their vote on Jarosław Wałęsa’s report concerning the EU Commission’s proposal for a Baltic Multi-Annual Plan (MAP) on cod, sprat, and herring 2014/0285 (COD).
In this letter we urge MEPs in the Fisheries Committee to ensure that the objectives of the reformed Common Fisheries Policy are not undermined in the new MAP.
Multiannual plan for the Baltic Sea – joint NGO priorities
February 4, 2015
The European Commission’s proposal for a management plan for the stocks of cod, sprat and herring in the Baltic Sea is the first multi-species plan to be delivered by the new Common Fisheries Policy. This is a first step to address fisheries management through an ecosystem based approach, looking at multi-species interactions instead of single-species management.
In this joint NGO letter we aim to address the priorities on the multiannual plan for the Baltic Sea.
Multiannual Plan for the Baltic Sea – joint NGO priorities for the European Parliament
February 4, 2015
This briefing was sent to Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) ahead of the Plenary in Strasbourg on April 27, 2015, where MEPs vote on Jarosław Wałęsa’s report concerning the EU Commission’s proposal for a Baltic Multi-Annual Plan (MAP).
In this letter we urge MEPs to support and further strengthen the Report from the Fisheries Committee, which voted on the file on the 31st of March, 2015. In particular we urge MEPs to support the objectives of multiannual plans, sustainable fishing mortality rates, conservation reference points, and the ecosystem-based approach.
Council brief on North Sea and Atlantic TACs 2015
December 9, 2014
The December Council set TACs for the majority of EU fish stocks for 2015. This briefing focuses on certain stocks from the North Sea and Atlantic, and provides recommendations on fishing opportunities for EU stocks in Atlantic waters (COM(2014)670).
Council brief on Fishing opportunities for deep sea stocks
October 28, 2014
This letter and annex with recommendations on fishing opportunities for certain deep sea stocks for 2013 and 2014 (COM(2012)579) was sent to the Fisheries Ministers of the EU Member States prior to the EU Fisheries Council Meeting taking place 11-12 November 2014.
We highlight that setting TACs alone is not sufficient to ensure sustainable fisheries and protecting deep-sea ecosystems, but also urge ministers to finalise the negotiations on the deep-sea access regime (COM(2012)317) and adopt a Council position in the coming weeks.
Brief on the omnibus regulation
October 16, 2014
This letter with recommendations regarding the Commission proposal for amendments in connection with implementation of the landing obligation – the omnibus regulation (COM(2013)889) – and the draft European Parliament report (2013/0436(COD) was sent to the Members of Fisheries Committee in the European Parliament prior to the meeting taking place October 16.
The omnibus regulation has been described as the “sticking plaster” intended to align the existing legislation to the landing obligation under the new Common Fisheries Policy, thereby creating a coherent legal framework. It is a temporary solution in support of the interim regionally based “discard plans”, with provisions eventually being incorporated in the multiannual plans. It sets out to remove inconsistencies in current regulations that would be contradictory to a discard ban. However, the ambition is not just to remove contradictory legislation, but to address the gaps in regulation to ensure a minimum of control of the discard ban.
Council brief on fishing opportunities for the Baltic Sea for 2015
September 16, 2014
This briefing provides recommendations on fishing opportunities for Baltic Sea stocks for 2015. The Commission proposal (COM(2014)552) is the first proposal for fishing opportunities under the reformed Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), which revised the long-term targets for EU commercial fish stocks.
The briefing was sent to the EU Fisheries Ministers and their advisors. Fisheries Attachés at the Permanent Representations to the EU were also targeted, where we presented our deliberations on the proposed fishing opportunities for Baltic Sea stocks for 2015, which will be discussed in the coming weeks. We asked them to consider all our input in order to ensure more sustainable utilisation of our common marine resources.