The Supreme Administrative Court of Poland suspended the canalization works on the Odra river

CCB • March 14, 2023

Is the State Water Holding Polish Waters above the law?

Abstract:
● There is evidence that despite the verdict of the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (NSA), Wody Polskie and their subcontractors are continuing regulatory work on the Oder.
[Watch the video available below]
● The verdict of the NSA is a great success for the natural diversity of the Oder landscape, as well as for the people living along the river.
● The decision of the NSA is a victory for Polish and German NGOs (Naturalists Club, Eko-Unia Association, SOT, N., Deutscher Naturschutzring, BUND, NABU), demanding that the works be stopped as harmful to the ecosystem of the river, which is particularly weakened after the ecological disaster that hit the Oder in July and August 2022.

A brief history of lawlessness


The NSA's order of the 7th of March this year leaves no doubt. Wody Polskie should stop the regulatory works on the Oder. The justification states, among other things: "However, in the light of the case at hand, the Supreme Administrative Court considered that the suspension of the execution of the environmental decision, in the case of the ongoing implementation of this project, implies a real obligation to suspend the works in progress as part of its implementation. In the opinion of the Supreme Administrative Court, the adoption of a different position would not only be contrary to the principles of environmental law, but would also mean depriving the parties of their right to a court, which, having regard to the principle of a democratic state of law, cannot constitute a façade institution."


Thus, the NSA dismissed the complaint of the State Water Holding Company Wody Polskie (PGW WP) against the decision of the Voivodship Administrative Court (WSA) on 9 December 2022, which had already ordered the suspension of the works.


"This is a success, but this is what normality should look like, given the law" comments Ewa Leś, an expert for Governance for Transboundary Freshwater Security from the Save the Rivers Coalition and Coalition Clean Baltic, - "Let's remember that the Oder is a transboundary river of three countries that should work on its best condition, not devastation. There is also a need for coordinated efforts between HELCOM [1] and the International Commission for the Protection of the Oder River against Pollution [2] in the future, especially considering the source-to-sea approach and the role of healthy rivers in achieving good environmental status in the Baltic Sea" she continues.


Here it is worth mentioning that the WSA's decision in December to stop the works should have been enforced when it was issued. In spite of this, Wody Polskie continued to regulate, citing the final Permits for the Realisation of the Investment. At the same time, WP filed a complaint and decided to wait for the settlement of the NSA. This ruling has just been announced. The NSA upheld the decision of the lower instance, which means an immediate injunction to stop the works. Despite this, the materials attached to this information clearly show that Wody Polskie is breaking the law and disregarding the verdict of the NSA, which is no longer subject to appeal. This is outrageous, especially in the context of what the Oder River went through in August 2022 and in view of the still high salinity levels in the river and the presence of 'golden algae' in it.

Credit: Jacek Engel, Greenmind Foundation

"The works must be stopped immediately. Especially after the ecological catastrophe on the Oder in 2022, more attention must be paid to the transboundary effects of construction activities on protected species and habitats. The ecological processes and resilience of the river must be prioritised" - says Krzysztof Smolnicki, from the Coalition "Time for the Oder" and the Foundation for Eco-development.


Radosław Gawlik, from the Eko-Unia Association (Poland), is not optimistic: "It is likely that the current Polish government and water administration will disregard the decisions to stop the works to channel the Border Odra. The prosecutor's office subordinated to the government will not do anything in this case either. There will be a chance for a decision of the European Court of Justice. This worked for the Polish government in the case of deforestation in the Białowieża Forest and the Czech government's complaint about the environmental impact of the Turów open pit."


***


NOTES

The Save the Rivers Coalition and the Coalition "Time for the Oder" are monitoring this issue and are available for any information and materials.

The above Press note comes from Save the Rivers and Coalition "Time for Oder", written by Rafał Rykowski.


[1] The Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission – also known as the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM) – is an intergovernmental organization (IGO) and a regional sea convention in the Baltic Sea area. More info here.

[2] ICPO - International Commission for the Protection of the Oder River against Pollution is one of thirteen international commissions for the protection of rivers, lakes and seas whose catchment areas lie within the territory of more than one country. More info here.

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 .