The Agriculture & Fisheries Council will meet in Luxembourg on Monday 22 (starting at 11 a.m.) and Tuesday 23 October, under the Presidency of Mr Jaime Silva, Minister for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries.
Council will start with the only Food Safety and Animal Health issue followed by Agriculture items. Fisheries points will be dealt with on Tuesday.
Fisheries
Fishing opportunities and associated conditions for certain fish stocks and
groups of fish stocks applicable in the Baltic Sea for 2008
On 3 September, the Commission tabled a proposal on fishing possibilities and associated measures for a number of fish stocks in the Baltic Sea for 2008. This proposal was made on the basis of the most up-to-date scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), which was then reviewed by the Commission’s own Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee on Fisheries (STECF), together with input from stakeholders, in particular from the Baltic Regional Advisory Council.
Scientists warned that the condition of the two cod stocks in the Baltic continue to give serious cause for concern, and have again recommended the complete closure of the eastern fishery. Council adopted a multi-annual plan for these cod stocks last June. Given the provisions in this plan, which will enter into force on 1 January 2008, the Commission has proposed a reduction of 23% in the EU quota for eastern Baltic cod, from 40 805 tonnes to 31 561 tonnes, and of 33% in the TAC on western Baltic cod, from 26 696 tonnes to 17 930 tonnes. These proposals are in line with the long term plan’s objective of reducing fishing mortality by 10% each year, while also reflecting the gravity of the latest scientific advice concerning the status of the stock and the high levels of misreporting in the Eastern Baltic..
Control remains a central problem for this fishery. The Commission will therefore use all available means to ensure proper implementation by all Member States of the control and monitoring measures listed in the multi-annual plan and the establishment of management mechanisms for next year. The Commission is currently drafting a proposal to establish a specific control and inspection programme in the Baltic Sea region, so as to target the control activities of the Member States concerned more effectively.
A range of technical measures for fisheries in which cod are taken are also proposed, so as to achieve a 10% decrease in fishing effort for certain gears to accompany the reductions in TACs. The Member States concerned may grant aid to the operators affected by these measures under the European Fisheries Fund (EFF).
ICES also advised that the stock of salmon in the main Baltic basin is showing signs of fragility, due to a very low survival rate for juvenile fish (at the post-smolt stage). As a result, the adult population of this stock is set to decline substantially over the next few years. The Commission has therefore proposed a 15% reduction in the salmon fishing possibilities, from 428 697 individual fish in 2007 to 364 392 fish in 2008.
Most pelagic stocks saw very high recruitment rates in 2003-2004, but since then the number of young fish joining the stocks has been returning to more normal levels. The Commission has proposed reductions in the TACs for sprat and herring stocks in the Gulf of Riga and subdivisions 30 and 31, offset partly by an increase of 11% in the TAC for herring in the central Baltic, which continues to do well. The western Baltic herring is suffering weak recruitment. Furthermore, this stock is partly fished together with herring from the North Sea stock, which has been showing even worse recruitment in recent years. For this reason, the Commission is proposing a reduction in the TAC for the Western Baltic of 20%, from 49 500 tonnes to 39 600 tonnes.
The Commission hopes that political agreement will be reached during this Council.
EU-Norway: annual consultations for 2008 – exchange of views
The EU and Norway have had a bilateral Fisheries Agreement since 1980, covering joint stocks in the North Sea. Some of these stocks are jointly managed (cod, haddock, herring, plaice, saithe, whiting and mackerel), while others such as anglerfish, horse mackerel, Norway pout and sandeel are not. Annual TACs are set jointly by the EU and Norway for the jointly managed stocks. The reciprocal exchange of quotas needs to be in overall balance across the Agreement. Council will hold an exchange of views on the line to be taken by the Commission in the negotiations with Norway.
AOB
Bluefin tuna
At the request of Spain, Council will discuss the management of the EU fishery for Eastern bluefin tuna during the 2007 season. Following adoption of a new multi-annual management plan by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) last November, the EU was allocated a TAC of 16,820 tonnes for 2007. This TAC was accompanied by new rules on minimum sizes and closed seasons, and by a new control system, which is intended to guarantee the traceability of all fish taken in the fishery, from net to plate.
On 19 September, the Commission closed the EU bluefin tuna fishery for the year, having deemed the quota to be exhausted, and on 26 September the Commission opened infringement procedures against all seven Member States involved in the fishery for failure to comply with their reporting obligations. In the case of France and Italy, the infringement procedure also concerns shortcomings in their control of this fishery. The Commission believes that the control and reporting problems should be resolved by the permanent transposition of the ICCAT recovery plan into EU law, as has already been proposed to Council, and its faithful implementation. The Commission will also be proposing that any Member State which was not able to fish its quota due to the early closure of the 2007 fishery should be compensated in future by receiving additional fishing possibilities.
