Significant Increase in Fishing Quotas in the Baltic Sea

The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) has presented its new recommendations for fishing in the Baltic Sea next year, which include significantly increased quotas for herring and sprat in the Baltic Sea.

^{Text: Lena Scherman}

ICES is proposing a zero catch for cod from both the eastern and western stocks, but, conversely, more than a doubling of the quota for herring in the Bothnian Sea and the Gulf of Bothnia, from 39,108 to 90,391 tonnes.

According to ICES, plaice stocks in the Baltic Sea have also shown a positive trend in recent years, and the quotas for plaice are being increased by 17%.

The advice will form the basis for the European Commission’s forthcoming decision on fishing quotas, but it has already faced sharp criticism from both environmental organisations and the Swedish Anglers’ Association, who argue that the advice contravenes the management plan.

Read more about ICES’s advice at the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management.

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