The amended cod recovery plan received unanimous political agreement in Council. This plan ushers in an approach based on fishing mortality; greater flexibility in adapting fishing pressure at the various recovery stages; and specific measures for discards and cod-avoidance programmes. Furthermore, the discussions cleared up a number of Member State concerns as regards reducing cod mortality among fleets not targeting that species. The adoption of this revised recovery plan is extremely good news, as it means that some of the EU’s most important cod stocks will now benefit fully from our experience, and the experience of the stakeholders, in implementing multi-annual management plans.
The Council discussed a number of other important issues. The Commission’s proposal for a complete overhaul of the CFP control framework was largely welcomed by Member States. This will hopefully pave the way for its adoption next year. Furthermore, Commissioner Borg reported that Poland had made real headway in improving control and adapting fleet capacity in the Baltic, as part of the payback for 2007’s overfishing on Baltic cod, although more progress would be needed. The Council also discussed the parameters of the negotiations with Norway that the Commission will be conducting on behalf of the European Union next week. Lastly, Member States shared their initial thoughts on the best way of securing a viable future aquaculture strategy for the European Union.
