Together with 17 other organizations, BalticWaters has signed a joint letter to EU Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Costas Kadis. The letter highlights serious shortcomings in the scientific advice currently used by the EU to determine fishing quotas. It was sent ahead of the European Commission’s renewal of its agreement with the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES).
In the letter, BalticWaters, together with other environmental and interest groups, writes that ICES’s current advice on fishing quotas does not fully reflect EU laws and environmental goals. The advice currently does not sufficiently focus on:
- Rebuilding depleted fish stocks within clear and binding timeframes
- Preventing stocks from being fished down to biologically dangerous levels, despite the protective mechanisms in the EU’s multiannual management plans
- Achieving all relevant aspects of good environmental status under the Marine Environment Directive, such as viable stocks and functioning food webs
The fact that many commercially important fish stocks continue to decline, not least in the Baltic Sea, shows that the need for change is urgent.
Call to the European Commission
In the letter, we make a clear call to the European Commission to use the new agreements with ICES to improve both the content and use of scientific advice. Among other things, we call for:
- The rebuilding of fish stocks to be made an explicit goal of the advice
- The precautionary principle to be applied more consistently and with an ecosystem perspective
- Fishing quotas are set below the maximum levels recommended by ICES until better advice is available
- Relevant stakeholders are given greater transparency and opportunity to participate in the process
At the same time, we welcome Commissioner Kadis’ statement that ICES advice should be seen as a ceiling, not a target. But now it is time to turn words into action.
Want to know more about the 2025 fisheries policy year?
In our latest Baltic Sea Brief, we summarize the year’s most important events and point the way forward toward 2026.
