Baltic Sea still blighted by illegal discarding and overfishing

CCB • June 1, 2018

Our Fish and CCB Press release:

One-half cut in quota for eastern Baltic cod proposed

Western Baltic cod under safe biological limits and illegal discarding of undersize fish doubled

Western spring spawning herring catch should be zero

Up to 100% of undersized plaice being discarded

Copenhagen, 31 May 2018 :- Responding to reports on Baltic fish stocks published today by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), campaigners called on fisheries ministers to end the annual cycle of overfishing, by following the lowest advised fishing limits when setting quotas for 2019.

“Due to years of poor management and continued overfishing, iconic fish stocks such as Baltic cod and western herring are in perilously bad shape, while illegal discarding continues unabated in the Baltic Sea”, said Our Fish Programme Director Rebecca Hubbard.

“In 2017, governments knowingly perpetuated overfishing – and the resulting decline in social and economic values – by setting four out of ten Baltic fish stocks above scientific advice. This year, fisheries ministers must pay particular attention to the detail of the ICES reports – and act with extreme caution when setting 2019 quotas to ensure that fish populations can be rebuilt to healthy levels”.

ICES advice provides the scientific basis for deliberations on Baltic Total Allowable Catch (TAC) limits that are set at the annual EU Agrifish Council meeting each October. Despite their important role in applying the Common Fisheries Policy and ending overfishing, these Agrifish Council meetings have been criticised for their lack of transparency and accountability, and persistent failure to set fishing limits according to the law (CEO 2017; TI 2017; NEF 2017).

Cod

Catches of the eastern Baltic cod stock have been plummeting for 30 years. From an extraordinary peak at 400,000 tonnes in the 1984 to just under 57,000 tonnes in 1992, this year ICES advice recommends 16,685 tonnes – a drastic cut of one half from last year (ICESb 2018).

ICES found that the western Baltic cod population remains extremely depleted, and below safe biological levels. A recent upward trend entirely reliant on just one strong year class of fish in 2016 – despite the fact that recruitment has been low for almost 20 years, and the 2016 year-class is bookended by two of the worst recruitment years on record (ICESa 2018). Recruitment numbers indicate how many fish are coming into the population, and therefore it’s chances of rebuilding in the future.

“Baltic fisheries in general, and cod in particular, are fast approaching a situation when management decisions have no effect, since the stocks are not responding as would  normally be predicted by scientific models”, said Nils Höglund, fisheries policy officer at Coalition Clean Baltic.”For example, quotas for eastern Baltic cod have not limited fishing efforts for many years now. While fishermen have not come close to catch what they are allowed to — because the fish are too small or simply not there, the eastern Baltic cod stock also lacks  the scientific data required to make proper assessments. What fisheries Ministers have failed to do is ensure there is plenty of sprat for the cod to eat in relevant areas – and this should be tested with priority.”

  “Last year Baltic Sea Fisheries Ministers ignored scientific advice and set catch limits far above ICES advice. This year, we see the results – eastern Baltic cod catch advice has been slashed, and western cod stocks are perched on a knife edge and illegal discarding of juvenile fish has doubled”, said Our Fish’s Hubbard. “Fisheries Ministers need to note ICES strong warnings and set the TAC for Baltic cod at the lowest levels proposed for commercial and recreational fishers.”

Herring

According to ICES, the Baltic’s Western herring stocks have been outside of safe biological limits since 2008, with low recruitment since the mid-2000’s, reaching a record low in 2016 and 2017. Despite fishing pressure being far above sustainable levels (Maximum Sustainable Yield) between 1992 and 2009, coinciding with a crash in fish stock size, fishing pressure was not substantially decreased even after 2010 (ICESc, 2018).

“In a damning indictment of poor fishery management, ICES recommends that catches for the Western spring spawning herring should be zero, due to continued overfishing. This sends a clear message to Baltic fisheries ministers that they cannot continue to ignore natures limits without repercussions. This year, fisheries ministers must end the decades of overfishing of western herring or risk commercial extinction of an ecologically important fish stock” said Hubbard.

Plaice

Despite ICES reporting the Plaice fishery to be in reasonably good health, with fishing pressure decreasing and stock populations increasing in recent years, illegal discarding is now considered to be widespread in the Baltic (ICESd, 2018).

“Only seven tonnes of undersized plaice was landed in 2017, whereas researchers estimate the real figure is over 400 tonnes higher, with 100% of the catch still being discarded in some fleets. This constitutes not only a huge waste of marine resources, but illegal, unreported fishing. Baltic Sea member states – especially Denmark, Germany, Sweden and Poland – must start dealing with this IUU fishing in their fleets by significantly increasing monitoring and control at sea,” concluded Hubbard.

NOTES:

Western Baltic Cod: ICES (2018a), ICES Advice on fishing opportunities, catch, and effort, Baltic Sea Ecoregion. Published 31 May 2018 . Cod.27.22-24

ICES advises that when the EU multiannual plan (MAP) is applied, total catches in 2019 that correspond to the F ranges in the plan are between 9094 tonnes and 23992 tonnes. Depending on the management decision for recreational catches, assumed to be between 1754 tonnes and 3227 tonnes, the corresponding commercial catches are between 5867 tonnes and 22 238 tonnes.

The positive perspective of the stock development in the forecast is mainly due to one strong year class (2016). Although the spawning-stock biomass has increased until 2018, it is still below Blim. Fishing mortality in 2017 was still considerably above FMSY. The 2016 year class is the only strong year class in more than ten years and the present advice is highly dependent on predicted development of this year class, which is not yet fully recruited to the fishery. Additionally, the 2015 and 2017 year classes are at historical low. There is a risk of growth overfishing because the 2016 year class fish have not yet reached their full growth potential. Therefore, to make use of the full growth potential of the 2016 year class, ICES suggests to use the FMSY lower value in the MAP when setting the TAC.

Eastern Baltic Cod: ICES (2018b), ICES Advice on fishing opportunities, catch, and effort, Baltic Sea Ecoregion. Published 31 May 2018 . cod.27.25-32

ICES advises that when the precautionary approach is applied, catches in 2019 from the eastern Baltic cod stock should be no more than 16,685 tonnes. Landings of fish below the minimum conservation reference size (MCRS, 35 cm) are very low (179 t BMS reported in 2017) and discarding still takes place despite the fact that the landing obligation has been in place since 2015. The estimated discard amount 3 452 tonnes in 2017 (approximately 11%) based on observer data. The available information from the fisheries and observers suggests that illegal modifications of the selectivity properties of the gear takes place, leading to a higher proportion of smaller fish being caught.

Western Baltic spring spawning Herring: ICES (2018c), ICES Advice on fishing opportunities, catch, and effort, Baltic Sea Ecoregion. Published 31 May 2018 . her.27.20-24.

ICES advises that when the MSY approach is applied, there should be zero catch in 2019. The SSB has been below Blim since 2006. Fishing mortality (F) has been relatively constant at levels above FMSY since 2010. Recruitment has been low since the mid-2000 and has been declining in recent years, with the lowest values of the time series in 2016 and 2017.

Sprat: ICES (2018), ICES Advice on fishing opportunities, catch, and effort, Baltic Sea Ecoregion. Published 31 May 2018 . spr.27.22-32

ICES advises that a spatial management plan is considered for the fisheries that catch sprat. Relocating the sprat fishery has long been suggested by ICES to improve availability of feed for cod in the Baltic proper area (25-26) and it is repeated again this year. This would also help the sprat and herring in more northern areas of the Baltic Sea to grow to their full potential and also likely result in less M74 in Baltic salmon, whose diet at present is comprised of too much sprat causing an increase of the problem.

Plaice: ICES (2018d), ICES Advice on fishing opportunities, catch, and effort, Baltic Sea Ecoregion. Published 31 May 2018 . Ple.27.24-32

Since 2017 a landing obligation is in place and discarding is illegal. About 7 tonnes (0.8% of the total catch) of BMS plaice were recorded by the Member States. Based on observer data 38% of the catch was discarded in 2017. This indicates that the landing obligation is not enforced for this stock. The discarded fraction can cover all length classes and comprise as much as 100% of the catch.

See Also:

CEO, Corporate Europe Observatory (2017). Fishing for influence, May 24th 2017. Viewed at:: https://corporateeurope.org/po wer-lobbies/2017/05/fishing-in fluence

TI, Transparency International (2016), Overfishing in the Darkness: A case study in Council decision-making. Viewed at: http://transparency.eu/project /overfishing-in-the-darkness/

NEF, New Economics Foundation (Dec 2017)., Landing the Blame – Overfishing in the Baltic 2018. Viewed at: http://neweconomics.org/2017/1 2/landing-the-blame-baltic-201 8/

“After hours of deliberations that continued until after 6am , EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council ministers agreed to set Total Allowable Catches (TAC) for western Baltic cod at 5,597 tonnes, four times higher than the most cautious scientific advice, despite the stock being critically overfished [3]. Eastern Baltic cod was set at 28,388 tonnes, almost four thousand tonnes higher than scientific advice.”

Contacts

Dave Walsh, Our Fish Communications Advisor, dave@our.fish +34 691826764

Rebecca Hubbard, Our Fish Program Director, rebecca@our.fish +34 657669425
http://our.fish

Nils Höglund, Coalition Clean Baltic Fisheries Policy Officer, nils@ccb.se +46 708679249
https://ccb.se/

NGOs urge stronger action as 2027 Baltic Sea fishing limits fall short of securing full recovery of fish populations

By CCB • October 27, 2026
27 October 2026 , Luxembourg - EU fisheries ministers increased central Baltic and Bothnian herring catch limits beyond the European Commission’s proposals and significantly increased the sprat catch limit, falling short of the precaution needed to protect the role of herring and sprat in the Baltic Sea food web. The Council also rejected proposed cuts to accidental catches of severely depleted cod and western Baltic herring populations. NGOs warn that fishing limits remain too high and urge EU ministers to follow the agreement with concrete plans to rebuild depleted fish populations. Herring: further measures needed to safeguard fragile recovery and protect vulnerable populations EU fisheries ministers increased the catch limit for central Baltic herring to 165 228 tonnes, a 71% increase compared with 2026. The population has shown signs of improvement after years of depletion. However, the central Baltic herring population remains vulnerable, and rebuilding must restore healthy age and size structures as well as overall abundance. Although below the scientific headline catch advice, the Council’s decision exceeds the Commission’s proposal, which was more precautionary and recovery-oriented and should have been followed by the ministers. “Ministers have recognised the need for caution, but still allowed more herring to be caught than the Commission proposed. These vulnerable populations need a stronger chance of lasting recovery, with clear rebuilding targets, a timetable for reaching them and measures that are implemented and enforced ,” said Cathrine Pedersen Schirmer, Senior Fisheries Policy Advisor at Coalition Clean Baltic. For Bothnian herring , ministers retained the three-month spawning closure but increased the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) by 12% , despite the population remaining below healthy levels. The Commission’s proposed TAC for this fish population was already a compromise between population rebuilding and maintaining fishing opportunities. The agreed higher TAC poses a risk to the recovery of the Bothnian herring population and creates increasing uncertainty for the industry. “ Fisheries decisions must also account for the risks to fish population recovery. Even catch limits within the ICES advice range can leave stocks at risk of remaining below the biomass levels that should trigger recovery measures. Fishing opportunities must give depleted populations a real chance to recover to healthy level s,” said Beatrice Rindevall, Chairperson of the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation. The Gulf of Riga herring TAC was also set above NGOs’ recommendations, with an increase of 11% compared with 2026, despite the recent decline in its spawning biomass and its importance to the Baltic food web. Lower limits for this fish population would have better supported population health and long-term resilience. Sprat: recovery must extend to the Baltic Sea food web The sprat agreement remains a significant concern. The Council’s decision, in line with the Commission’s proposal, to increase the sprat catch limit by 44% to 291 590 tonnes exceeds the level NGOs recommended. Although the population has increased, the agreed limit does not sufficiently account for sprat’s importance as prey for cod, salmon, seabirds and other marine wildlife, persistent catch misreporting or the risk of catching vulnerable herring alongside sprat. “ Herring and sprat are vital to the Baltic Sea ecosystem. When setting fishing opportunities, decision makers must leave enough prey in the water to support predators like cod and salmon, to rebuild ecosystem health and align with the EU’s nature restoration ambitions ,” said Justyna Zajchowska, Fisheries Lead for WWF Baltic Sea Programme. Salmon: no increase in catch limits, but stronger protection needed NGOs welcome the decision not to increase salmon fishing opportunities. However, fishing should be restricted to compensatory hatchery-released salmon or salmon from rivers where populations are at full reproductive capacity. Fishing on vulnerable wild populations must be avoided and, if returning salmon numbers are insufficient, additional adaptive management measures should be deployed immediately, considering the impact of recent poor spawning runs. “ Good returns to some large rivers are encouraging, but they do not demonstrate recovery across the Baltic region. Many smaller river populations remain in serious difficulty. We need fishing restrictions that protect those vulnerable salmon throughout their migration and allow enough fish to reach their spawning grounds ,” said Thomas Johansson, Chairman of Östersjölaxälvar i Samverkan and Secretary General of the Baltic Salmon Fund. Cod, western Baltic herring and plaice: Council misses opportunity to curb bycatch Both Baltic cod populations and western Baltic herring remain severely depleted. Targeted cod fisheries remain closed, while ministers retained the small-scale fisheries exemption for western Baltic herring. Yet ministers agreed bycatch quotas well above the Commission’s proposals for 2027 and at the same level as 2026, falling short of the protection sought by NGOs. For all three populations, the agreed bycatch quotas permit continued catches despite ICES advice for zero catch. The Council’s decision to increase the plaice TAC to 11,237 tonnes , well above the level NGOs recommended, missed an opportunity to secure a reduction in accidental cod catches. The decision also does not reflect the very low reported landings of this species. Declining weight and condition of plaice also warrant greater caution. The TAC must be combined with effective enforcement of mandatory selective gear to reduce cod bycatch and the implementation of the landing obligation. Annual fishing limits must support lasting recovery The Council’s decisions on Baltic Sea fishing opportunities for 2027 are not ambitious enough to secure restoration of all Baltic Sea fish populations. These decisions should be seen in the context of last year’s joint commitment by the European Commission and Baltic Sea Member States to seek dedicated scientific advice from ICES on rebuilding pathways for fish populations. In the absence of such rebuilding-oriented advice, and whilst we are waiting for it, decisions should be more cautious and based on the available recovery-focused catch options provided by the scientists in their traditional advice. Fisheries management must also support EU marine restoration objectives and the achievement of good environmental status in the Baltic Sea. Restoring fish populations and food webs is essential to the recovery of the sea itself and to the long-term future of Baltic fisheries and the coastal communities that depend on them. ENDS *** Further information: Link to Council decision Link to Commission’s proposal Link to Joint NGO recommendations on Baltic Sea fishing opportunities for 2027 Media contact: Beatrice Rindevall, Chairperson, Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, ordforande@naturskyddsforeningen.se Cathrine Pedersen Schirmer , Senior Fisheries Policy Advisor, Coalition Clean Baltic, Cathrine@ccb.se Justyna Zajchowska , Fisheries Lead, WWF Baltic Sea Programme, jzajchowska@wwf.pl Dr. Katja Hockun, Senior Expert Meeresschutz, Deutsche Umwelthilfe e.V., hockun@duh.de Konrad Stralka , Executive Director, BalticWaters, konrad.stralka@balticwaters.org Magda Jentgena , Baltic Sea and Freshwater Programme Manager, Pasaules Dabas Fonds, mjentgena@pdf.lv Regan McEnroe , Chairperson, Nature and Youth Sweden, ordforande@faltbiologerna.se Tapani Veistola, Executive Director, Suomen luonnonsuojeluliitto (Finnish Association for Nature Conservation), tapani.veistola@sll.fi Thomas Johansson , Chairman, Östersjölaxälvar i Samverkan, and Secretary General, Baltic Salmon Fund, thomas@balticsalmonfund.com .

CCB's submission on sustainable fishing in the EU

By CCB • August 31, 2026
Uppsala, 31 August 2026 - Coalition Clean Baltic (CCB) welcomes the Commission’s recognition that declining fishing pressure has not consistently delivered higher biomass, that recruitment and biomass are deteriorating for a number of stocks, and that Baltic fisheries urgently need rebuilding trajectories. These findings must now shape the Council’s decision on the 2027 fishing opportunities and the Commission’s position during the Council negotiations. The poor status and decline of many Baltic Sea fish populations have been documented over several decades and show that the ecosystem is in severe distress. Cumulative human pressures have contributed to major ecosystem shifts, and at the same time climate change is making the shallow, semi-enclosed Baltic Sea warmer and less saline. These combined pressures affect not only fish biomass but also recruitment, population age and size structures, species interactions and the functioning of the wider food web. The Baltic crisis reflects the persistent failure to fully implement the CFP and the Baltic MAP, including their precautionary safeguards and the legal obligation to apply ecosystem-based fisheries management. Fishing opportunities for 2027 must therefore mark the first concrete step towards ambitious, timebound rebuilding trajectories that reduce fishing pressure and enable depleted populations to recover to healthy levels. These trajectories must include implementation of an ecosystem based approach by accounting for species interactions, food-web needs, habitat conditions, environmental and climatic change and scientific uncertainty, while reinforcing, not replacing the CFP’s objectives and the Baltic MAP’s existing safeguards in Art. 4.6. The Commission’s 2027 proposal is now before the Council. The October Council must turn the commitment to rebuild Baltic fish populations into measurable action by adopting fishing opportunities that deliver rapid and sustained recovery. Under no circumstances should the TACs adopted be higher than levels proposed by the European Commission. Fishing opportunities aligned with scientific evidence, legal safeguards and ecosystem needs are the basis for both a recovering Baltic Sea and viable fisheries in the long term. Read the full CCB's submission and recommendations here .