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.

The European Parliament adopted a resolution drafted by Zdzisław Kazimierz CHMIELEWSKI (ALDE,PL) amending the proposed regulation establishing a multi-annual plan for the cod stocks in the Baltic Sea and the fisheries exploiting those stocks. The main amendments were as follows:

- the 10% reduction in fishing days proposed by the Commission in Article 8(3) should be brought down to 8%;

- a new Article states that, by way of derogation from the rules on minimum landing size for cod laid down in Regulation (EC) No 2187/2005, the minimum landing size for cod in Subdivisions 22 to 32 shall be 40 cm;

- the permitted margin of tolerance in estimating quantities in kilograms of fish subject to a TAC (Total Allowable Catches) that are retained on board vessels should be 10% of the logbook figure instead of 8%, as proposed by the Commission. Parliament inserted a 10% margin for catches which are landed unsorted;

- Parliament felt that the provisions laid down in Article 17(2), applicable to a vessel which exits from Area A, B or Subdivision 28-32 (Area C) with more than 100kg of cod on board, were unnecessarily complicated and stated instead that the vessel's master should immediately notify the appropriate fisheries inspectorate of the size of the catch in the Area the vessel has left;

- the cod weight limit in respect of which notification is required should be increased from 100 kg, as proposed by the Commission, to 300 kg;

- the Commission should evaluate the impact of the management measures on the cod stocks concerned and on the fisheries exploiting those stocks in the second year of the application of the proposed regulation and each second successive year of its application, and not in the third year, as originally proposed;

- lastly, a new Article 27a states that the Commission shall draft a report on the socio-economic impact of the application of the Regulation on the fisheries sector, particularly on employment and the economic situation of fishermen, shipowners and firms engaged in cod fishing and processing. The Commission shall produce this report in the second year of application of this Regulation and in each subsequent year of its application, for submission to the European Parliament by 30 April of the relevant year.

The committee adopted the report by Zdzisław Kazimierz CHMIELEWSKI (ALDE,PL) amending - under consultation procedure - the proposed regulation establishing a multi-annual plan for the cod stocks in the Baltic Sea and the fisheries exploiting those stocks. The amendments were aimed at maintaining an appropriate balance between the need to rebuild cod stocks and the need to maintain the basic conditions for fishing communities to continue fishing:

- the 10% reduction in fishing days proposed by the Commission in Article 8(3) should be brought down to 8%;

- a new article provided, by way of derogation from the rules for cod laid down in Regulation (EC) No 2187/2005, for the minimum landing size for cod in the Baltic Sea to be increased to 40cm, on the grounds that this would give the cod further opportunities to breed and thereby strengthen the stock;

- the permitted margin of tolerance in estimating quantities in kilograms of fish subject to a TAC (Total Allowable Catches) that are retained on board vessels should be 10% of the logbook figure instead of 8 %, as proposed by the Commission. The committee also proposed a 10% margin for catches which are landed unsorted;

- the committee said that the provisions laid down in Article 17(2), applicable to a vessel which exits from Area A, B or Subdivision 28-32 (Area C) with more than 100kg of cod on board, were unnecessarily complicated and proposed instead that the vessel's master should immediately notify the appropriate fisheries inspectorate of the size of the catch in the Area the vessel has left;

- the cod weight limit in respect of which notification is required should be increased from 100 kg, as proposed by the Commission, to 300 kg;

-the Commission should evaluate the impact of the management measures on the cod stocks concerned and on the fisheries exploiting those stocks in the second year of the application of the proposed regulation and not in the third year, as originally proposed;

- a new article stipulated that the Commission should draft a report on the socio-economic impact of the regulation and in particular on employment and the economic situation of fisherman, shipowners and firms engaged in cod fishing. The report should be presented in the second year of application of the regulation and in each subsequent year.

The Council held a policy debate on cod stocks in the Baltic Sea in order to provide the necessary guidelines for the work ahead, pending the opinion of the European Parliament which was not expected until early-June.

On the basis of a questionnaire Ministers concentrated in their debate on the general objectives of the multi-annual plan for cod recovery in the Baltic, on different options for effort-management and associated control provisions and on how to take sufficient account of the specific needs of small scale fisheries.

The Council noted general support for the objectives of the plan.

- As regards the type of effort-management and control provisions, several issues were mentioned, namely the outcome of the Baltic Regional Advisory Council (RAC) meeting1, the fight against illegal fishing, the need for revision of the biomass reference and cross reference to the electronic logbook Regulation.

- With regard to small-scale fisheries, the Council took note of the unanimous request for the system to be made flexible and simple, taking into account of safety at work, days at sea and summer closing in relation to the biology of Baltic cod as simple means of control and bearing in mind the principle of not to creating unnecessary burdens on fishermen or control authorities.

The Council gave a mandate to the Council's preparatory bodies to continue the examination of the proposal, with a view to its adoption in June, subject to and pending the opinion of the European Parliament.

Commissioner Borg welcomed the wide support for the proposal's objectives and indicated that the Commission would cooperate with the Presidency to achieve the adoption of the proposed Regulation in the proposed timeframe.

PURPOSE : to propose a multi-annual plan to rebuild Baltic cod stocks.

PROPOSED ACT : Council Regulation.

CONTENT : the Commission is proposing to establish a multi-annual plan for the long-term management of the fisheries on the cod stocks in the Baltic Sea to ensure that the exploitation of Baltic cod stocks is in conformity with the overall objective of the Common Fisheries Policy of providing sustainable economic, environmental and social conditions. This multi-annual plan for Baltic cod has been developed through extensive consultation with stakeholders and with the Member States concerned. This is one of a series of long-term plans developed by the Commission to help re-establish European fisheries on a basis which is at once biologically sound, economically profitable and socially sustainable.

More specifically, the Commission is proposing targets of fishing mortality rates of 0.6 for Western Baltic cod and 0.3 for Eastern Baltic cod. These are designed so as to be sufficiently low to allow the rebuilding of the stocks to sustainable levels while being sufficiently high to ensure high yields for fishermen. A revision clause is included so that minimum mortality rates can be amended in the light of new scientific advice.

Total Allowable Catches (TACs) would be set so as to reduce fishing mortality from current rates by 10% a year until the target rate for each stock is reached. It would, however, be possible to have greater reductions if the state of the stock concerned required it. At the same time, some degree of stability will be guaranteed for the industry by capping annual variations in TACs so that they can neither be reduced nor increased by more than 15% year-on-year. It should be noted that constant or declining fishing mortality on a stock that is growing rapidly can lead to rising TACs. Initial TACs for both stocks will be decided by Council next October, as part of the Baltic TACs and quotas regulation for 2007. The TACs and quotas for 2006 and effort management measures for 2006 were already set with this plan in mind.

An effort limitation scheme will also be set up with the aim of reducing fishing effort by 10% each year until the target fishing mortality rate has been achieved. The scheme will be based on the existing summer ban. This ban closes all fishing for cod with nets larger than 90mm and with bottom set lines for two months in the western Baltic (15 March to 14 May) and for three months in the eastern Baltic (15 June to 14 September). The number of remaining days will then be reduced by 10% each year until such time as the fishing mortality targets for the stocks have been reached. This additional reduction can be implemented in a number of different ways. Additional control measures are included in the proposal, which will be crucial to ensuring its success.

A special derogation to the closed periods under this scheme is available for small-scale coastal fisheries, where boats of less than 12 metres in length will be authorised to retain on board and land up to 10% of cod by live weight caught by gillnets, entangling nets or trammel nets with mesh size of 110 mm or more. In addition, the fishing days allocated to Member States will be increased in proportion to any permanent reductions in fishing effort achieved, whether through permanent cessation of fishing activities or through the definitive withdrawal of vessels from the fishing area concerned.

PURPOSE : to propose a multi-annual plan to rebuild Baltic cod stocks.

PROPOSED ACT : Council Regulation.

CONTENT : the Commission is proposing to establish a multi-annual plan for the long-term management of the fisheries on the cod stocks in the Baltic Sea to ensure that the exploitation of Baltic cod stocks is in conformity with the overall objective of the Common Fisheries Policy of providing sustainable economic, environmental and social conditions. This multi-annual plan for Baltic cod has been developed through extensive consultation with stakeholders and with the Member States concerned. This is one of a series of long-term plans developed by the Commission to help re-establish European fisheries on a basis which is at once biologically sound, economically profitable and socially sustainable.

More specifically, the Commission is proposing targets of fishing mortality rates of 0.6 for Western Baltic cod and 0.3 for Eastern Baltic cod. These are designed so as to be sufficiently low to allow the rebuilding of the stocks to sustainable levels while being sufficiently high to ensure high yields for fishermen. A revision clause is included so that minimum mortality rates can be amended in the light of new scientific advice.

Total Allowable Catches (TACs) would be set so as to reduce fishing mortality from current rates by 10% a year until the target rate for each stock is reached. It would, however, be possible to have greater reductions if the state of the stock concerned required it. At the same time, some degree of stability will be guaranteed for the industry by capping annual variations in TACs so that they can neither be reduced nor increased by more than 15% year-on-year. It should be noted that constant or declining fishing mortality on a stock that is growing rapidly can lead to rising TACs. Initial TACs for both stocks will be decided by Council next October, as part of the Baltic TACs and quotas regulation for 2007. The TACs and quotas for 2006 and effort management measures for 2006 were already set with this plan in mind.

An effort limitation scheme will also be set up with the aim of reducing fishing effort by 10% each year until the target fishing mortality rate has been achieved. The scheme will be based on the existing summer ban. This ban closes all fishing for cod with nets larger than 90mm and with bottom set lines for two months in the western Baltic (15 March to 14 May) and for three months in the eastern Baltic (15 June to 14 September). The number of remaining days will then be reduced by 10% each year until such time as the fishing mortality targets for the stocks have been reached. This additional reduction can be implemented in a number of different ways. Additional control measures are included in the proposal, which will be crucial to ensuring its success.

A special derogation to the closed periods under this scheme is available for small-scale coastal fisheries, where boats of less than 12 metres in length will be authorised to retain on board and land up to 10% of cod by live weight caught by gillnets, entangling nets or trammel nets with mesh size of 110 mm or more. In addition, the fishing days allocated to Member States will be increased in proportion to any permanent reductions in fishing effort achieved, whether through permanent cessation of fishing activities or through the definitive withdrawal of vessels from the fishing area concerned.