The EU Council reached a ‘sustainable and viable’ political agreement Tuesday on new limits on fish catches for the Baltic Sea’s key fish stocks, including herring, cod, plaice, sprat, and salmon.
The agreement on total allowable catches (TACs) and national quotas for 2025 aim to “strike a balance between helping fish stocks recover, protecting marine ecosystems, and ensuring the viability of the sector in the future”, said Hungary’s Minister for Agriculture Istvan Nagy, for the EU presidency. It is in line with the scientific advice provided by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), and sets the maximum quantities each member state will be allowed to catch for each fish stock.
EU fisheries ministers took into account both environmental and socioeconomic considerations, aiming to ensure sustainable fishing practices while supporting the livelihoods of those in the fishing industry.
The agreement in detail:
Herring: the Central Baltic herring stock has increased above the minimum sustainable level in the past year. With the scientific forecasts for this stock being positive, the Council agreed to increase the fishing opportunities by 108%, in line with the Commission’s proposal.
The Council also followed the Commission’s recommendations regarding herring in the Gulf of Riga and herring in the Gulf of Bothnia, increasing the catch limits by 10% and 21%, respectively, in light of the positive scientific advice.In the case of Western Baltic herring, due to low biomass levels, the Council agreed to carry over last year’s TAC for unavoidable by-catches. This refers to fish caught unintentionally while fishing for other species. The Council also decided to maintain the exemption currently in place for small-scale coastal fisheries.
Cod: both Eastern and Western Baltic cod stocks are in poor condition, and the Council agreed to continue setting TACs for by-catches only, in order to allow for the recovery of the stocks.
Compared to last year, the catch limits have been reduced by 28% and 22%, respectively. To help improve the situation of these stocks, the Council agreed with the Commission’s proposal to prohibit recreational cod fishing in the entire area, but taking into account incidental by-catches.
Plaice: catch limits for plaice will remain unchanged compared to 2024. While plaice stocks are healthy, the plaice TAC takes into account the fact that cod is caught unintentionally while fishing for plaice.
Sprat: the Council agreed to reduce the total allowable catches for sprat, in line with scientific advice, by 31%, in order to prevent a decline below sustainable levels.
Salmon: the Council decided to decrease catch limits by 36% for salmon in the main basin and to maintain last year’s TAC for salmon in the Gulf of Finland.
Additionally, recreational salmon fishing for salmon in the main basin will be limited to catching no more than one specimen of adipose fin-clipped salmon retained per fisher per day. After catching the first specimen, recreational fishers will have to stop fishing salmon for the remainder of the day.
Norway pout: the Council also decided on fishing opportunities for Norway pout in the North Sea, a stock that is shared by the EU and the United Kingdom. Following consultations with the UK, delegations agreed to set an EU limit of 300 tonnes for by-catches only.
The Council will now formally adopt the decision in an upcoming meeting, once the text has been finalised in all languages.
