Today, the European Commission released its proposal on fishing opportunities in the Baltic Sea for 2012. The Commission states that the overall objective of the proposal is to make fisheries in the Baltic Sea environmentally and economically sustainable by following the recommendations of scientists. Increases in TACs for both cod stocks are therefore suggested, following the rules stipulated in the management plan. The Commission is also proposing to increase the TACs for Western and Gulf of Bothnia herring. Substantial cuts are being proposed for salmon, Riga and central herring, sprat and plaice.
The proposal is in line with the scientific advice issued by ICES earlier this year. The largest cut proposed is for salmon in the main basin, where a 79% decrease in TAC compared to last year is advocated in order to recover the populations to sustainable levels. In the case of plaice the Commission is going even further than the ICES advice which suggests a “no increase in effort”. The Commission is proposing a 25% reduction in TAC for this species, according to its newly adopted rules on TAC setting for stocks with insufficient data.
