PURPOSE: to safeguard the full reproductive capacity of certain herring stocks in the Baltic Sea.
LEGISLATIVE ACT: Regulation (EU) 2018/976 of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2016/1139 as regards fishing mortality ranges and safeguard levels for certain herring stocks in the Baltic Sea.
CONTENT: Regulation (EU) 2016/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishes a multi-annual plan for cod, herring and sprat stocks in the Baltic Sea. The purpose of the plan is to contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the common fisheries policy and, in particular, to ensure that the exploitation of living marine biological resources restores and maintains populations of harvested species above levels which can produce maximum sustainable yield (MSY).
The scientific evaluation of the Bothnian Sea herring stock and the Bothnian Bay herring stock conducted in 2017 by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) showed that those two stocks are similar. As a consequence, ICES combined the two stocks into one, changed the boundaries of its geographic distribution area and re-estimated the MSY fishing mortality ranges, as well as the relevant conservation reference points.
This led to different stock definition and numerical values than the ones established in Regulation (EU) 2016/1139.
Accordingly, this Regulation introduces a technical amendment to Regulation (EU) 2016/1139 to ensure that fishing opportunities for herring stocks in the Bothnian Bay are fixed in accordance with updated conservation reference levels following the scientific assessment carried out by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES).
ENTRY INTO FORCE: 17.7.2018.