Conservation of fishery resources: stock of cod in the Baltic Sea, multi-annual plan

PURPOSE: the establishment of a multiannual plan to rebuild Baltic cod stocks.

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Council Regulation (EC) No 1098/2007 establishing a multiannual plan for the cod stocks in the Baltic Sea and the fisheries exploiting those stocks, amending Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 and repealing Regulation (EC) No 788/97.

BACKGROUND: recent scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) indicates that the cod stock in the Baltic Sea has declined to levels where it is suffering from reduced reproductive capacity and that the stock is being harvested unsustainable.

CONTENT: the purpose of this Regulation, therefore, is to establish a multiannual plan that seeks to ensure Baltic cod stocks can be exploited under sustainable economic, environmental and social conditions.

The main measures being introduced by the Regulation are as follows:

• exclusion of the Gulf of Riga from the plan on the grounds that the salinity of the water is too low for cod, under certain conditions, to be verified;
• greater flexibility for small-scale vessels between 8-12 m long to transfer 5 and 10 fishing days for Western and Eastern Baltic Sea respectively (5 days per month of summer ban in both cases);
• area restrictions on fishing, measured with the help of a satellite coordination system;
• EU Member States to issue a special fishing permit for cod for certain vessels, recorded on a list made available on official websites;
• keeping a logbook on board Community vessels of an overall length of 8 m or more;
• electronic recording and transmission of catch data;
• recording of leaving and entering ports of the Baltic Sea;
• landing in designated ports for vessels carrying more than 750 kg of cod live weight.

The Member States are expected to establish a list of designated ports to be made available on their respective official websites.

Upon adoption of the Regulation, the Commission issued two statements, one concerning recovery of fishing days for those countries which had reduced their fleets permanently, and the other on incentives for equipping vessels with electronic reporting systems and satellite-based vessel monitoring systems.

The annual "TAC and quotas regulation" for cod stocks in the Baltic Sea will be adopted taking into account this plan, on the basis of a Commission proposal.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 25 September 2007.

APPLY: 1 January 2008.