"Scientists are telling us that for some pelagic fish stocks in the Baltic Sea, things are looking better for 2027. This gives us hope that our cautious approach in recent years is now starting to pay off," writes Fisheries Commissioner Costas Kadis in a press release with proposals for quotas for next year.
This includes increased quotas for herring and Baltic herring in the Baltic Sea: up 3 percent in the Bothnian Sea and the Gulf of Bothnia, and a full 49 percent in the central parts. The sprat quota is also proposed to increase significantly, by 44 percent.
However, reductions are proposed for the already low levels of cod and herring in the western Baltic Sea, which are only approved as by-catches.
Decisions on the quotas will be made by the EU countries' fisheries ministers this autumn.
