2016-05-12

Ministers: take action and uphold your responsibilities on marine protection

CCB has joined a group of NGOs  (Greenpeace, Oceana, WWF, Swedish and Danish Societies for Nature conservation, Swedish and Danish Anglers Associations, Living Sea and Fisheries Secretariat) and written an open letter to the ministers in Denmark and Sweden asking them to uphold the existing closed areas in the Kattegatt. The area has been closed to fishing since 2009 and may represent on of the few productive fishing areas in EU that has not been trawled at all the past 7 years.

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The joint NGO position is that the area must be made a permanent closed area not only to protect fish reproduction and weak fish stocks but also because of natural values existing in the area. Following the closure in 2009, the recovery of the bottom in the area is remarkable and to protect the area permanently suits well with EU and Member states ambitions under Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) implementation. In fact the opposite, to not protect it, is hard to argue for or even consider due to the uniqueness of such a trawl free area. Opening up the area for active fishing and especially towed gear such as trawls is going from an clearly improved or even good environmental status (GES) towards not meeting the GES objective. That is a breach of the objectives of not only MSFD but also Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).

The full letter can be read here (in Swedish): Brev Kattegatt final svenska

Kattegattutvärdering

 

Scientific statement: the area closed for fishing since 2009 has had clear positive effects and should stay in place. Read (in Swedish) http://www.gp.se/nyheter/v%C3%A4stsverige/stoppet-gav-effekt-torskbest%C3%A5ndet-v%C3%A4xer-1.115701

Swedish Scientific evaluation of the area (in English): http://www.slu.se/Documents/externwebben/akvatiska-resurser/publikationer/PM-Rapporter/Summary_Evaluation_of_Closed_Areas_in_Kattegat.pdf

STECF evaluation of the effects of the closed area (in English): https://stecf.jrc.ec.europa.eu/c/document_library/get_file?p_l_id=53314&folderId=133326&name=DLFE-12704.pdf

 

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