EU Demand: Stop Industrial Trawling in the Baltic Sea
The European Parliament is pushing to ban industrial trawlers in the Baltic Sea.
“A strong message,” says Isabella Lövin (the Swedish Green Party) following a vote in Strasbourg.
The demand is outlined in a report on the future of the Baltic Sea, drafted under Lövin’s leadership and with the support of several Swedish MEPs. The hope is that the report will prompt both the European Commission and EU member states to act for more sustainable and long-term fishing regulations.
“Now, small-scale fishing that puts food on the table must be prioritized—not the industrial trawlers that are vacuuming the Baltic Sea of herring to grind it down into fishmeal for animal feed production,” writes Lövin in a statement.
The report was ultimately approved with 337 votes in favor, 178 against, and 44 abstentions.
Cover photo: Isabella Lövin of the Green Party at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. File photo. Photo: Caisa Rasmussen/TT
Parliament calls for urgent action to halt the decline of fish stocks in the Baltic Sea
- Calls for an evaluation and possible revision of the Baltic Sea Management Plan
- Policy decisions must be based on scientific advice, which can be improved
- A ban on trawling for fishmeal and fish oil during a recovery phase
The European Parliament calls on the European Commission and member states to take urgent measures to restore the Baltic Sea ecosystem.
In a report adopted on Thursday with 337 votes in favor, 178 against, and 44 abstentions, MEPs urge the Commission and EU countries to take urgent measures, such as analyzing the allocation of quotas and its potential impact on the sustainability of fish stocks to avoid further declines in stocks. Given the slow recovery of fish stocks, the Council of Ministers should fully align the https://oceans-and-fisheries.ec.europa.eu/fisheries/rules/fishing-quotas_en (TACs) to the https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/IDAN/2015/573876/EPRS_IDA[https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/IDAN/2015/573876/EPRS_IDA(2015)573876_EN.pdf], according to the members.
MEPs note that neither environmental nor socioeconomic objectives have been met under the EU’s multiannual plan for fisheries in the Baltic Sea (the Baltic Sea Multiannual Plan Regulation) and call on the Commission to evaluate and, if necessary, revise it. They also call for the effective use of existing legal and administrative tools, as well as full coordination between different policy areas and consultation with stakeholders.
The members emphasize that the Baltic Sea ecosystem needs to be restored, and state that the Commission and EU countries should work toward the recovery and rebuilding of fish stocks based on EU or national legislation. This includes a halt to targeted fishing for certain stocks in the Baltic Sea. The text mentions the need for a balanced approach between environmental and socioeconomic factors, while urging the Commission and EU member states to work to improve the socioeconomic situation of small-scale coastal fishermen.
Improving the scientific basis for decision-making
While MEPs emphasize that management decisions should always be based on scientific advice, they believe that this advice should be improved. They also want to see a comprehensive mapping of the genetic population in the Baltic Sea for certain commercially exploited species, such as herring and sprat.
Parliament emphasizes the role played by the https://www.ices.dk/Pages/default.aspx (ICES) and notes that EU countries and the Commission should make updated fisheries data available to the organization. MEPs also want the Commission to ask “ICES for advice on precautionary buffers linked to the uncertainty in scientific advice” and for this to be taken into account in the recovery of fish stocks in the Baltic Sea, as well as the effects of not using ranges for stocks of harvested species above maximum sustainable yield [https://knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu/glossary-item/maximum-sustainable-yield_en](MSY).
