October 10th 2017 Baltic sea fishing opportunities conflict with EU leadership
The EU Fisheries Council set limits to the fishing activities of the Baltic Sea in 2018. An Estonian-led meeting lasted nearly a day, because on the one hand, it was difficult to find a compromise between the Member States, but on the other hand, environmentalists were also annoyed about over-fishing.
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“The Baltic Sea is in a desperate state, its abundance is at its lowest level for thirty years. In order to restore the stock to a healthy level, the Baltic Sea curd must be given a pause of overuse,” said Rebecca Hubbard, program manager at the non-profit organization Our Fish, who tackles over-fishing.
“This is the fourth year in a row when the Fisheries Council ministers have set a catch limit for Western cod catches significantly above the scientific advice, even though the stock is suffering heavy overfishing,” Hubbard said. “Governments are once struggling with the downfall of powerful fish stocks, which have strong ecological and economic consequences and which go against EU fisheries laws and public opinion.”