[ ENVIRONMENT ] A small sea with big problems
Fishing in the Baltic Sea faces an uncertain future The fishing industry in the Baltic Sea region has long and rich traditions. As early as the Middle Ages, it was one of the most important economic and social activities, and it experienced an unprecedented boom during Hanseatic times. The fishers of today can only dream of such times. Drastic reductions in catch quotas are endangering the existence of many businesses and their future is at risk. What are the causes behind this fatal development?
T
he catch quotas in the Baltic Sea for 2021 agreed upon by the Fisheries Ministers of the EU Member States exceeded the fishing industry’s worst expectations, with further cuts for cod and herring, the most economically important species of fish for Baltic Sea fisheries. Although the scientific data would have allowed for a moderate increase, the EU Commission decided to proceed with caution and introduce more effective protection for cod and herring stocks. Since it is nearly impossible to avoid catching cod as bycatch in plaice fishing, the eastern cod stocks, as in previous years, cannot be targeted for fishing at all. Experience has shown that the approved quota will be exhausted with the bycatch alone. The limited increase of five percent for western cod is therefore almost a concession to the fishing industry. Things look especially gloomy for herring in the western Baltic Sea, for which the catch quota has now reached
The brackish Baltic Sea was first formed approximately 12,000 years ago, when the Weichselian glaciation ice sheet, which was up to 3,000 metres thick, melted.
its lowest point. In the late 1980s, approximately 100,000 tonnes of herring were still permitted to be
caught per year. Now, the catch quantities for 2020, which were already vanishingly small, have
been even further decreased, halving to nearly 1,500 tonnes. The cuts primarily affect herring in the
Total catch quantities and quotas in the Baltic Sea for 2021 EU total catch quantity in 2020 (t)
EU total catch quantity in 2021 (t)
Change 2020 to 2021 (%)
Herring, western Baltic Sea
3,150
1,575
Cod, western Baltic Sea
3,806
4,000
+5
Cod, eastern Baltic Sea
2,000
595 (bycatch only)
- 70
Plaice
6,894
7,240
+5
Sprat
210,147
222,958
+6
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- 50
