Commission’s proposal for the 2025 fishing opportunities for the Baltic Sea

On 26 August, the European Commission published its proposal for fishing opportunities in the Baltic Sea for 2025.

The proposal sets total allowable catches (TACs) for nine of the ten stocks managed by the EU in the Baltic Sea. The proposal for the remaining quota (Bothnian herring) will be presented at a later stage, as ICES advice is expected on 16 September 2024.

You can access the Commission’s proposal here and read the official press release here.

The European Commission considers the situation in the Baltic Sea critical. Although some stocks have shown an increase in biomass in recent years, the Commission proposes to limit catches with the aim to increase biomass. On this background the Commission proposal does not follow the scientific advice provided by ICES for certain stocks.

The by-catch TACs proposed for the two cod stocks correspond to last year’s landings.

Furthermore, Article 4 point 6 of the Baltic Multiannual management plan (Baltic MAP) is still applicable, which is why the Commission is proposing TACs of 117,070 tonnes for sprat and a by-catch TAC of 394 tonnes for western herring: Baltic MAP, Article 4 Targets – 6. “Fishing opportunities shall in any event be fixed in such a way as to ensure that there is less than a 5 % probability of the spawning stock biomass falling below Blim.”

EFFOP agrees with the need for a precautionary approach to fisheries in the Baltic Sea, but regrets that the Commission is not following the scientific advice from ICES, despite the fact that scientists are already taking a cautious approach based on stock assessments and the uncertainties surrounding the models used.

There is an urgent need to address all the factors affecting fish stocks in the Baltic, such as problems with pollution and nutrient discharges, oxygen depletion and predators such as seals and cormorants.

However, the Commission does not have the final decision on fishing opportunities; it is up to the EU Member States to validate the TACs. The Council will therefore examine the Commission’s proposal and adopt the fishing opportunities for 2025 during its meeting on 21-22 October 2024.

The proposed TACs are shown in the table below, along with the ICES advice for each stock and a percentage comparison with the TACs agreed for 2024.