In about a month, it is intended that the EU countries' fisheries ministers will decide on the catch quotas that will apply in the Baltic Sea during 2026.
However, already in advance, scathing criticism is being directed at how poorly the current system is working.
"The long-term fishing plan has largely failed to achieve its goal of restoring and maintaining stocks above a sustainable level," writes Christian Möllmann at the University of Hamburg in a fresh report to the EU Parliament's Fisheries Committee.
"Completely wrong direction"
Möllmann warns of a situation with increasingly fewer, smaller and weaker fish.
"A rapid recovery for cod and herring at sea is unlikely even under a fishing ban," he notes, among other things.
EU Parliament member and former Environment Minister Isabella Lövin (Green party) agrees.
I agree on every point in it. Everything points in the completely wrong direction, she stated at a press conference in Strasbourg a couple of weeks ago.
Summit meeting
The EU Commission is now trying to find new ways to handle the situation. One step is to gather both fishing and climate people from the Baltic Sea countries to a summit meeting in Stockholm on Tuesday.
We all know that the Baltic Sea is in very poor condition and has been for a long time. But I think there is much greater cooperation between countries today, says Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall, who is leading the meeting together with her fisheries colleague Costas Kadis.
Skua problem
Sweden and several other countries have recently pointed an extra finger at the skua's ravages in fish stocks. Roswall was prompted on the issue as recently as last week and hopes to be able to show before the end of the year how countries can more flexibly tackle the birds without having to revoke their protected status.
- We are working on new guidelines for how to reduce the stock within the framework of the directive that already exists, says Roswall.
This is how the catch quotas in the Baltic Sea have developed for some of the most sensitive species since 2016:
Herring in the Bothnian Sea and the Bay of Bothnia: 120,872 tonnes (quota 2016) - 25,560 tonnes (proposal for 2026)
Herring in the central Baltic Sea: 177,505 tonnes (2016) - 83,881 tonnes (2026)
Cod in the eastern Baltic Sea: 41,143 tonnes (2016) - 159 tonnes (2026)
Salmon in the Baltic Sea: 95,928 pieces (2016) - 25,487 pieces (2026)
Sources: EU Commission and the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management.
