Joint NGO recommendations on Baltic Sea fishing opportunities for 2024

CCB • June 20, 2023

June 2023 - The Baltic Sea ecosystem is in severe distress and the major commercial fish stocks have never been in worse condition. Both cod stocks are on the verge of collapse, all herring stocks are facing severe difficulties except the well managed Gulf of Riga herring, salmon is in decline and sprat has had low recruitment for two years in a row. Only the plaice spawning stock biomass is high, however alarming signals show a high number of small and skinny fish. In ICES’ own press release, the situation was summarised accordingly: “For a number of large commercial stocks, the advice does not make for positive reading.” and “The Baltic Sea faces many challenges, and conditions here have been deteriorating over the past decade. Overfishing and habitat destruction have impacted the biodiversity and ecological balance of the sea.[1]”


It is clear the current management system is not working.


We must have a management system in the Baltic Sea accounting not only for fisheries, but
acknowledging and protecting ecosystem functions. As of today, the Baltic Sea does not even have
mixed fishery advice. Considering the dire state of the Baltic and its fish, all sectors with an impact on the ecosystem must contribute to bringing the Baltic back to a healthy and productive state. In the case of the fisheries sector, this means adjusting fishing pressure to respect the limits of the system and minimising other impacts of fishing on the marine environment.


In October 2023, EU fisheries ministers will agree on fishing opportunities in the Baltic Sea for 2024. As the deadline to end overfishing by 2020 at the latest as legally prescribed by Article 2(2) of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP)2 has passed, all fishing limits must be in line with sustainable exploitation rates.

Summary of NGO recommendations


The following text outlines the joint NGO recommendations on Baltic Sea fishing opportunities for 2024 in the context of environmental regulations, EU fisheries legislation, scientific advice on catch limits, and the sharing of stocks with third countries.


Overall, we urge the European Commission to propose, and fisheries ministers to adopt, fishing opportunities in accordance with the following recommendations:


  • Set TACs not exceeding the best available scientific advice provided by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), both for stocks with advice based on the ICES MSY approach (where MSY-based reference points are available) and for stocks with advice based on the ICES precautionary approach for data-limited stocks.
  • In light of the dire situation of the Baltic Sea ecosystem including many of its fish stocks, set
    TACs sufficiently below the relevant ICES headline advice presented at the top of the respective ICES single-stock advice document, and ensure that these limits are respected, in order to prioritise the protection and recovery of depleted stocks and to factor in additional anthropogenic pressures and ecosystem dynamics.


Additionally, we call for improved transparency of negotiations and decisions as follows:


  • Provide transparent calculations for TACs based on the ICES advice on fishing opportunities;
  • Improve transparency by making publicly available any proposals subsequent to the official
    Commission proposal, including Commission non-papers as well as Council Working Party,
    AGRIFISH Council, and BALTFISH documents and minutes.


Finally, the European Parliament, as a co-legislator of the CFP basic regulation and of the Baltic Sea
MAP, should be vigilant that no infringements of the rules for which it is responsible occur, and that the overarching objective of rebuilding EU fish stocks to healthy levels is fully achieved.


Download the full joint NGO recommendations on Baltic Sea fishing opportunities for 2024 here.

CONTACT

Nils Höglund, CCB Fisheries Policy Officer: nils.hoglund (at) ccb.se

COP30 brings ocean and water to the center of climate policy

By CCB • December 5, 2025
In Belém, in the heart of the Amazon, the 2025 UN Climate Change Conference COP30 immediately set the bar high. In his opening speech, Brazilian President Lula da Silva stressed that climate change is no longer a "threat to the future", but a tragedy that the world is already experiencing here and now, and called on countries to accelerate actions rather than limit themselves to promises. However, as is often the case in COP meetings, the political reality turned out to be more complicated than ambitions. Negotiations were difficult: the countries could not agree on a clear and binding plan to phase out fossil fuels. It is important to note that the Global Action Plan has provided a platform for discussing the development of a roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels, the main driver of climate change. At the same time, COP30 has brought tangible progress in other areas: the countries agreed to triple the amount of adaptation funding for developing countries by 2035, strengthened the forest and ocean agenda, and expanded the range of practical initiatives under the Action Agenda . COP30 consolidated the trend: from "water at the center of the climate crisis" to a holistic ocean agenda closely related to energy, food, biodiversity and sustainable coastal development. From the COP29 Water Declaration to the COP30 Enhanced Ocean Water Program At COP29 in Baku, the Declaration on Water for Climate Action was adopted , with the aim to applying comprehensive approaches to combating the causes and consequences of climate change for water basins, emphasizing also the need to integrate water-related mitigation and adaptation measures into national climate policies, including Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs). COP30 did not reverse this logic, but expanded it towards the ocean and coasts. Both processes "aquatic" and "oceanic" are moving in the same direction: integration of water, coasts and ocean into the climate plans of countries; development of nature-based solutions; strengthening transboundary management of water and marine systems; recognizing adaptation as an equal part of climate policy, rather than an "adjunct" to emissions reduction. Task Force on Oceans and the Blue NDC Challenge The international Task Force on Oceans , led by Brazil and France, was officially presented at the high-level ministerial meeting "From Ambition to Implementation: Delivering on Ocean Commitments" on 18 November, integrating oceans into a global mechanism to accelerate the incorporation of marine solutions into national climate plans. The Blue Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) Challenge encourages countries to set ocean protection targets when updating their NDCs. The goal is to transition the Blue NDC Challenge into an Implementation Task Force. Members of the Blue NDC Challenge, currently 17 countries, can adopt a broad set of actions aimed at the protection and sustainable use of the oceans.These measures include the sustainable management, conservation, and restoration of coastal and marine ecosystems, supported by tools such as marine spatial planning, integrated coastal zone management, and climate-aligned marine protected areas. Countries are also encouraged to support sustainable and climate-resilient fishing and aquaculture, ensuring ocean health and long-term food security. B razil has set a clear example: its updated NDC includes a separate chapter on the ocean and coastal zones. For the first time, the national climate plan (Plano Clima) until 2035 includes a thematic adaptation plan for these areas. Priorities include the completion of national Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) by 2030 and major programs for the conservation and restoration of mangroves and coral reefs (ProManguezal, ProCoral).

Pathway to Tox-Free Living: Policy and Action

By CCB • November 24, 2025
Leading scientists, consumer advocates and policymakers gathered on November, 18th in Brussels for the conference "From Evidence to Policy: Toward a Tox free Living Environment" . They warned that exposure to Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals in homes and consumer products represents a silent but severe public health and economic crisis. New findings presented to over 65 participants by the EU Baltic Sea Interreg project NonHazCity3 , LIFE ChemBee and the ToxFree LIFE for All projects as well as revealed widespread contamination of European households by complex chemical mixtures of hormone system disrupting substances (so called endocrine disrupters – EDCs) that contribute to chronic disease and impose enormous health costs. According to the key note speaker Dr. Aleksandra Rutkowska, the home environment is a significant source of exposure to EDCs through indoor air, dust and daily contact with common products. Current research links such exposure to a shocking amount of lifestyle diseases including 22 cancer outcomes, 18 metabolic disorder outcomes and 17 cardiovascular disease outcomes. Scientists also stressed that the crisis spans generations. EDCs trigger epigenetic changes that not only affect today’s population but also future children and even grandchildren. Other effects include reproduction disorders. Over the last decade, 150 million babies were born preterm, and evidence shows that reducing the use of plastics by half could cut the risk of preterm birth by half as well.