Freshly caught cod from the Baltic Sea. This is one of the species that has seen its quota reduced, due to the poor state of the stocks.
Photo: Adobe Stock.
To ensure "sustainable stocks and a viable sector for the future," and following an agreement by fisheries ministers, the European Council set new catch limits for the Baltic Sea's key fish stocks for 2025. Among the species highlighted are salmon, cod, herring, plaice, sprat, and Norway pout.
This agreement on total allowable catches (TACs) and national quotas for 2025 sets the maximum quantities that each member state will be able to catch for each fish stock and does so in line with the scientific advice of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), which this summer already warned about the challenging times for fishing opportunities in the Baltic Sea.
According to the EU Council release, in setting these quotas, EU fisheries ministers have taken into account both environmental and socio-economic considerations intending to ensure that fishing practices are sustainable while supporting the livelihoods of people in the fishing sector.
"Fishers' livelihoods depend on the long-term sustainability of our fishing stocks. With today's agreement we aim to strike a balance between helping fish stocks recover, protecting marine ecosystems, and ensuring the viability of the sector in the future," said István Nagy, Hungarian Minister for Agriculture and chairman of this Fisheries Ministers Council, as Hungary is the country holding the rotating presidency of the European Union this semester.
The Baltic Sea is the most polluted in Europe and faces numerous challenges, including biodiversity loss, climate change, the effects of past overfishing, and high levels of pollutants and waste.
To meet these challenges and ensure sustainable fisheries and a healthy marine environment, the EU advocates a long-term approach to sustainability. Therefore, to prevent fish stocks from being depleted, the Council sets limits on the amount of fish that can be caught in EU waters. Its role in setting these limits is key because it is the only institution with decision-making power in this area.
The EU Council's agreement is based on a proposal from the Commission and follows the scientific advice from ICES. Furthermore, it is in line with the objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy, as well as with the provisions of the multi-annual plan for the Baltic Sea stocks.
This year, in addition, the work carried out by BALTFISH, the Baltic Sea Regional Fisheries Forum, currently chaired by Germany, has also contributed to the Council's efforts to reach the agreement.
As mentioned above, of all the species highlighted, only the herring quota is up, although it varies according to fishing areas. In the Central Baltic, the stock has increased in the last year above the minimum sustainable level and scientific forecasts are favorable, so the Council has agreed to increase fishing possibilities by 108 %, following the Commission's proposal.
The EU Council has also followed the Commission's recommendations concerning herring in the Gulf of Riga and Gulf of Bothnia and, following positive scientific advice, has increased the catch limits by 10% for the former and 21% for the latter.
In the case of Western Baltic herring, it agreed to carry over last year's TAC for unavoidable by-catches (788 tonnes) due to low biomass levels. It has also decided to maintain the exemption currently in force for small-scale coastal fisheries.
Regarding cod, given the poor state of the stocks in both Eastern and Western Baltic, the EU Council has agreed to continue setting TACs for by-catches only, in order to allow the stocks to recover. Compared to last year, the catch limits have been reduced by 28% and 22%, respectively.
In addition, to help improve the situation of these stocks, the Council agreed with the Commission's proposal to prohibit recreational cod fishing throughout the area, but taking into account incidental by-catches.
Precisely the fact that cod is caught unintentionally during plaice fishing has caused the catch limits for this second species to remain the same as in 2024 - 11,313 tonnes - despite the fact that plaice stocks are healthy.
Another species that maintains the same TAC as last year is salmon in the Gulf of Finland, although this is not the case in the main basin, where the Council has decided to reduce catch limits by 36%. Moreover, recreational salmon fishing in the main basin will also be limited to catching no more than one specimen of adipose fin-clipped salmon retained per fisher per day.
Following scientific advice and in order to avoid a decline below sustainable levels, the Council of the European Union has also agreed to reduce the total allowable catches of sprat by 31%.
Finally, it has also decided on fishing possibilities for Norway pout in the North Sea, a stock shared by the EU and the United Kingdom. After consultation with the UK, delegations agreed to set an EU limit of 300 tonnes for by-catches only.
The decision on the 2025 Baltic Sea fishing quotas - total amounts can be viewed here - will be formally adopted at a forthcoming European Council meeting, once the text has been finalized in all languages.