Fishing boats on sandy beach in Chlopy village port, Baltic Sea coast, Poland.
Adobe Stock
The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) has alerted that the eutrophication in the Baltic Sea ecosystem, aggravated by climate change, is affecting fishing opportunities.
According to ICES, the high level of nutrient concentrations in this region is increasing faster than in other ecoregions causing habitat degradation, changes in food webs, and other ecosystem processes.
For this reason, the advice for Western Baltic herring in 2025 is still for zero catch. Fortunately, and thanks to the management measures implemented, its fishing mortality has decreased, and the stock is beginning to recover slowly.
Regarding the central Baltic area, the sprat stock has also declined due to some weak year classes in the last three years, and therefore the advice is to reduce catches. On the other hand, herring advice is increasing relative to the previous year as the stock is increasing in the short term.
As a positive point, the ICES confirmed that the Gulf of Riga herring stock (size and catch) is increasing thanks to sustainable management.
Despite some promising data, Colm Lordan, Chair of the ICES Advisory Committee, expressed: "The longer-term prognosis for the Baltic is not a positive one. The ecosystem is degraded and unexpected changes are becoming more frequent."
"ICES community is working hard to develop a better scientific understanding of the underpinning process and connections between the ecosystem, exploitable fish species, and the communities relying on them," he announced.
The council will publish a fully revised Ecosystem Overview for the Baltic Sea ecoregion at the end of the year.
The flatfish stocks show weak conditions attributed to the low bottom oxygen content. However, the two plaice stocks in the Baltic Sea are increasing and the flounder stock is considered "relatively good."
Although cod fishing was used to sustain the economy of many coastal communities in the Baltic, the advice remains for zero catch. Similarly, the advice for western Baltic cod is for few catches. Furthermore, the ICES confirms that the stock level is so low that obtaining relevant scientific data is becoming increasingly difficult.
Lastly, Atlantic salmon fishing in the Baltic remains inadvisable except in the Gulf of Finland, where a precautionary reduction is recommended due to the lack of a quantitative estimate of fishing mortality.