Oceana recommendations on fishing opportunities for 2015 - Baltic Sea Stocks - Oceana

Report | September, 2014

Oceana recommendations on fishing opportunities for 2015 – Baltic Sea Stocks

 

In advance of the next EU Commission proposal and Council decision on fishing opportunities in the Baltic Sea, Oceana would like to provide a constructive opinion on how total allowable catches (TACs) should be fixed for 2015. It is our hope that the EU Commission and EU Member States take into account the recommendations contained in this document and establish TAC levels that are in line with scientific advice, thereby balancing conservation and exploitation objectives.

This year, the decision on TACs for the Baltic Sea as well as for the rest of the EU waters will define the willingness for Ministers to implement what they have agreed on, as Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) is to be achieved as of 2015 according to the new Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).

The International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) has been presenting advice on how to transition to MSY by 2015 for several years now. Unfortunately, the Ministers have decided to only follow this advice for some stocks, leaving Member States with little choice this year but to apply in some cases rather large cuts for overfished stocks.