An agreement was obtained on Baltic TACs (Total Allowable Catches) and quotas, which builds further on the Recovery Plan adopted in June 2007. For western herring, the Commission’s proposal recommended a 63% reduction in the TAC in line with scientific advice, but the Council agreed to a 39% reduction. The Commission accepted this as a first step, as the Council decision is coupled with a commitment to establish a long-term management plan for this stock. As for the two Baltic cod stocks, the Council agreed to a 15% reduction in the TAC for the western stock and a 15% increase for the eastern stock. The Council also endorsed the Commission’s proposal to reduce effort in the eastern Baltic by 10%.
On deep-sea species, the Commission managed to secure a meaningful agreement which will considerably reduce fishing pressure on these vulnerable stocks, while at the same time trying to keep discards to an absolute minimum. In this vein the Council agreed to reduce the TAC for deep-sea sharks to zero by 2010, while providing for a 10% allowance to cover inevitable by-catches and thus avoid discards. Furthermore, the Council succeeded in agreeing to a 15% reduction in the TACs for roundnose grenadier and for orange roughy a 50% reduction for 2009 and a zero TACs for 2010. It also decided to lower the TACs for black scabbard fish by 10% for 2009 and 7% for 2010.
On TACs for the Black Sea, the Council reached agreement in line with the Commission’s original proposal. As regards the annual negotiations with Norway, there was a very useful exchange of views which will help the Commission greatly to focus its priorities as negotiations get underway in November.
Finally, Commissioner Borg was pleased to announce that Member States adopted a very bold position for the upcoming ICCAT annual meeting, in particular on bluefin tuna. Everybody realises that a lot is at stake, and that time is running out to save the bluefin tuna stock from collapse. With this position, the EU will be able to champion bold and decisive measures, in particular, to resolve the issue of overcapacity, to reduce the length of the fishing seasons, and to identify specific measures that can reinforce control throughout the market chain. “The EU stands ready to take its responsibilities and do all that is necessary in order to ensure that the bluefin tuna fishery is sustainable, and we hope that all the members of ICCAT will join us in making this exceptional effort at November’s annual meeting in Marrakesh, ” declared Dr. Borg yesterday evening.
