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Calls for Emergency Halt to Baltic Fishing - Oceana Europe
Press Release Date: May 29, 2019
Brussels May 29, 2019:- Responding to scientific advice that a number of important Baltic fish populations are in a state of crisis and cannot be fished sustainably, four non-governmental organisations have demanded a halt to fishing for western Baltic herring and eastern Baltic cod for 2020 – and to end overfishing, as is required by EU law. Coalition Clean Baltic, Oceana, Our Fish and WWF today called on te European Commission – which is responsible for proposing fishing limits – and on fisheries ministers – who make te final decisions, to not exceed te scientific advice provided by te International Council for te Exploration of te Sea (ICES) when setting all fishing limits in te Baltic Sea.
Te EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) requires that EU fish populations will be rebuilt or fished at sustainable levels by 2020 [1]. Scientific advice published by ICES on 29 May 2019 clearly states that western Baltic cod [2], eastern Baltic cod [3], and western Baltic herring [4] fisheries are in a dire state, both as a result of, and contributing to, a deteriorating situation in te Baltic Sea. ICES has recommended that catches of eastern Baltic cod and western Baltic herring in 2020 should be zero in order to meet CFP objectives, and to safeguard fish populations and deliver sustainable fisheries in te future.
“Western and eastern Baltic cod, as well as western Baltic herring, underpin te Baltic Sea’s ecosystem, yet decades of overfishing, and te ignoring of scientific advice by te EU Commission and Baltic governments, has been one of te drivers of destruction and a tragedy for te coastal communities”, said Ottilia Thoreson, Director, WWF Baltic Ecoregion Programme. “Due to these years of destruction and neglect, we are now facing a situation where fishing must be halted, if we are to have a chance to fish and sustain livelihoods in te future”.
“Te only sane response to te collapse of te eastern cod population is to stop all fishing now and develop a recovery plan, rather than wait for 2020”, said Nils Höglund, Fishery and marine policy officer, Coalition Clean Baltic. “With this clear advice from ICES, EU Member States must act without delay – and if they do not, te Commission must take action – there are still fish that can be saved, and spawning season is happening right now”.
“Te European Commission has a responsibility to start pulling Baltic fisheries back from te brink and rebuilding its ecosystems, when it proposes te fishing limits for 2020. When doing so, it is essential for te Commission to put forward fishing limits that do not exceed scientific advice, to set an example for member states on responsible fisheries management”, said Andrzej Bia?a?, Policy Advisor, Oceana.
“All EU governments committed to end overfishing and to return our seas to good health, when they signed up to te reformed Common Fisheries Policy in 2013. Yet six years later, te situation in te Baltic Sea is worsening, with governments still caving in to short term industry pressure [5]. This year, te EU Commission and Baltic member states, must follow te science, and begin managing our fisheries and Baltic Sea ecosystem for te long term benefit of all citizens and nature, not just te short-term profits of a few”, said Rebecca Hubbard, Programme Director, Our Fish.
Te Common Fisheries Policy demands that exploitation of all fish stocks is sustainable by 2020, without exceptions. Yet, for two years in a row, te Commission has requested ICES advice for fishing limits to Baltic plaice that do not meet these requirements, which only serves to undermine its own ambition, and that of Member State governments to fish at sustainable levels [6]. If te European Commission would like to contribute to Baltic Sea wealth and restoration they should fully respect Common Fisheries Policy requirements.
Western (Baltic) Spring Spawning Herring
Western Baltic herring is in crisis: scientific advice from ICES to stop fishing last year was ignored, and te population has been further depleted this year [4]. ICES scientific advice suggests that te herring population will not recover unless emergency measures are taken to save te fishery, including an immediate halt on fishing. For te year 2020, ICES still advises a fishing limit of zero tonnes.
According to ICES, te eastern Baltic cod population is in a state of distress, with reproduction of te population at te lowest on record since 1946 [3]. Growth, condition (weight at length) and size at maturation has substantially declined during te last decades, and yet EU governments have repeatedly set fishing limits for eastern Baltic cod above scientific advice [3]. Unreported, illegal discarding of eastern Baltic cod is also believed to be rife and increasing, as a result of poor monitoring and control [7]. ICES advice for eastern Baltic cod fishing limit in 2020 is zero tonnes.
Western Baltic cod is still in a precarious state with estimates of te population revised down by over 60% this year [2]. ICES warns that te number of young fish entering te fishery in 2018 and 2019 are te lowest on record, and reports that if this doesn’t change in te coming years, there will be a rapid decline in te population. ICES therefore suggests to use te lower value when setting te fishing limits. This equates to zero catches in subdivision 24 (Baltic Sea west of Bornholm) in order to comply with te zero catch advised for eastern Baltic cod (where there is mixing of eastern and western Baltic cod), and a commercial fishing limit of between 2,329 and 3,065 tonnes of western Baltic cod for subdivisions 22-23 [2].
[1] Common Fisheries Policy. Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of te European Parliament and te Council on te Common Fisheries Policy.
[2] ICES (2019), ICES Advice on fishing opportunities, catch, and effort, Baltic Sea Ecoregion. Published 29 May 2019. Cod.27.22-24
[3] ICES (2019), ICES Advice on fishing opportunities, catch, and effort, Baltic Sea Ecoregion. Published 29 May 2019. cod.27.24-32
[4] ICES (2019), ICES Advice on fishing opportunities, catch, and effort, Baltic Sea Ecoregion. Published 31 May 2019. Her.27.20-24
Also: Ices (2018) advice- that there should be zero catch – was ignored
[5] Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) – Monitoring te performance of te Common Fisheries Policy (STECF-Adhoc-19-01). Publications Office of te European Union, Luxembourg, 2019. https://stecf.jrc.ec.europa.eu/reports/cfp-monitoring/-/asset_publisher/oz5O/document/id/2484866?inheritRedirect=
[6] ICES (2019), ICES Advice on fishing opportunities, catch, and effort, Baltic Sea Ecoregion. Published 29 May 2019. ple.27.21-23
[7] Baltic Sea still blighted by illegal discarding and overfishing https://our.fish/press/baltic-sea-still-blighted-by-illegal-discarding-and-overfishing/
Klar tale fra forskere: Stop fiskeri efter torsk og sild i Østersøen
København, 29 maj 2019 – Det står nu klart, at der ligger en yderst vigtig opgave på bordet i fiskeriministeriet efter folketingsvalget, når en kommende og eventuelt ny minister skal forhandle fiskekvoterne for Østersøen på plads sammen med EU-kollegaerne. I dag kom forskerne i Det Internationale Havundersøgelsesråd (ICES) nemlig med den utvetydige og skarpe melding, at det skal være helt slut med at fiske efter torsk i den østlige Østersø og sild i den vestlige Østersø [1]. Det er altså ifølge forskerne ikke nok at skære kvoten for torsk i den østlige Østersø med 70%, sådan som fiskeriminister Eva Kjer Hansen ellers lagde op til i april. Meldingen fra ministeren kom, efter at det stod klart, at torsken i dette område var tæt på at kollapse.
Det er ikke for sjov, når forskerne anbefaler nul-kvoter, det er en uundgåelig konsekvens af, at fiskeriministrene i årtier har ignoreret forskernes advarsler. I sidste ende er det ikke alene havmiljøet men i høj grad også de fiskere og kystsamfund, der er afhængige af torsk og sild, der nu kommer til at betale den ultimative pris for ministrenes uansvarlige beslutninger,”siger Kampagnekoordinator i Our Fish, Cathrine Pedersen Schirmer.
Ifølge Den Fælles Fiskeripolitik (FFP) er alle EU’s medlemslande forpligtet til at sikre, at EU’s fangstmængder sættes på bæredygtige niveauer senest i 2020, og at pressede bestande genopbygges [2].
“Det er nu hele seks år siden, at EU’s medlemslande skrev under på løftet om at stoppe overfiskeri, alligevel er situation i for torsken i Østersøen bare blevet værre og værre. Nu er tiden inde til, at fiskeriministrene for en gangs skyld følger forskernes råd, når de fastsætter fiskekvoterne for Østersøen i oktober og for Atlanterhavet og Nordsøen i december,” siger Andrzej Bia?a?, Policy Advisor for Oceana.
I de seneste 30 år har fangsten af sild i den vestlige Østersø konsekvent ligget over det niveau, der anses for at være bæredygtigt. Ligesom i år anbefalede ICES også sidste år en nul-kvote. Desværre blev anbefalingen ignoreret af fiskeriministrene [3].
Situationen for torsken i den østlige Østersø er på ingen måde bedre. Populationen har ikke været lavere siden 1964 [4], og i de seneste 10 år er størrelsen på en gydemoden torsk i den østlige østersø blevet halveret. Alligevel er forskernes advarsler om at sænke fiskeritrykket på arten blevet overhørt i årtier, og sidste år overskred fiskeriministrene rådet fra ICES med hele 45 %. I april konstaterede forskerne så, at torsken i den østlige Østersø nu er nede på et så kritisk lavt niveau, at den ikke er i stand til at reproducere sig selv i tilstrækkelig grad til at sikre en bæredygtig bestand fremover. [5]
[1] Hvert rådgiver ICES om, hvor store eller små EU’s fangstmængder og fiskekvoter bør være forud for EU Kommissionen og EU’s fiskeriministrenes forhandlinger for Østersøen i oktober og for Atlanterhavet og Nordsøen i december.
ICES har netop offentliggjort rådgivningen for:
Torsk i vestlige østersø: ICES (2019), ICES Advice on fishing opportunities, catch, and effort, Baltic Sea Ecoregion. Published 29 May 2019. Cod.27.22-24
Torsk i østlige østersø: ICES (2019), ICES Advice on fishing opportunities, catch, and effort, Baltic Sea Ecoregion. Published 29 May 2019. cod.27.25-32
Sild i vestlige østersø: ICES (2019), ICES Advice on fishing opportunities, catch, and effort, Baltic Sea Ecoregion. Published 31 May 2017. her.27.20-24-5
[2] Den Fælles Fiskeripolitik: Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of te European Parliament and te Council on te Common Fisheries Policy.
[3] ICES (2019), ICES Advice on fishing opportunities, catch, and effort, Baltic Sea Ecoregion. Published 31 May 2017. Her.27.20-24-5
[4] ICES (2019), ICES Advice on fishing opportunities, catch, and effort, Baltic Sea Ecoregion. Published 31 May 2017. Her.27.20-24-5
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