The EU Fisheries Council decision on the 2011 catches allow much smaller reductions of cod quotas west of the British Isles than the European Commission and scientific advice had suggested. For the faltering cod stocks in the Kattegat, the Skagerrak and the North Sea, however, the council’s decision followed the proposal from the Commission. There will be a cut of 20 percent in the TACs for cod in the North Sea and the Skagerrak as compared to 2010, and the TACs for the much threatened Kattegat stock will be halved.
The council has decided to reduce the two areas west of Scotland TACs by 3 percent and 25 percent respectively, while the Commission had proposed cuts by 15 percent and 50 percent, respectively. For cod fisheries in the Irish Sea, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) has for 10 years advised a total closure – the Council has raised the Commission’s bid for a 50 percent reduction to 25 percent decrease from 2010.
The decision drew less acclaim from environmentalists. Greenpeace EU oceans policy director Saskia Richartz saying certain red lines set out by the Commission were kept, but a large number of quotas are still too high, especially for cod and tuna.
