EU fisheries ministers reach deal on Baltic Sea catch limits for 2024
Fishing boat
(LUXEMBOURG) - European fisheries ministers reached a political agreement Tuesday on Baltic Sea catch limits for the year 2024 for the most commercially significant fish stocks.
The EU Council reached an agreement on the fishing opportunities in the Baltic Sea for 2024 following the Commission proposal made in August this year.
The Council has followed the proposal as regards total allowable catch (TACs) for three stocks – plaice (roll-over), salmon in the Gulf of Finland (+7%) and salmon in the main basin (-15%).
The Baltic Sea is the most polluted sea in Europe. It is affected by biodiversity loss, climate change, eutrophication, overfishing, and elevated levels of contaminants such as pharmaceuticals and litter.
In view of the environmental situation of the Baltic Sea, the Council has decided to set by-catch allowances for the stocks of western herring, western cod and eastern cod, which means they can only be taken when accidentally caught while fishing for other stocks. Moreover, the existing remedial measures are kept. Today's agreement thus allows healthy fisheries of plaice, Riga herring, salmon in the Gulf of Finland and sprat to continue.
The Council also decided to allow targeted fisheries on central Baltic herring and Bothnian herring, with TACs of 40 368t and 55 000t respectively. For central herring a 30-day closure is introduced to protect aggregation of spawners.
Today's decision will be formally adopted at a forthcoming Council meeting, without discussion, following its legal and linguistic revision. Most provisions will apply from 1 January to 31 December 2024.
Council agreement on fishing opportunities in the Baltic Sea for 2024