A collaborative forum shapes EU fisheries legislation in the Baltic

On 1 July 2022 Lithuania started its one-year long presidency of Baltfish, the regional fisheries forum for the Baltic Sea, taking over from Latvia. After a year at the helm the Lithuanians can look back with some satisfaction at the results achieved by the forum.

The history of Balt sh dates back to 2009 when it was started as a agship project within the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. In December 2013 ministers of the eight Baltic Sea Member States signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the principles and working methods of Balt sh thereby marking the new status of the Balt sh as a permanent sheries forum. e Memorandum stated that the primary goal of Balt sh was to strengthen and improve the Member States coordination and cooperation in sheries management in the Baltic Sea, as well as to develop cooperation with other key stakeholders relevant to Baltic Sea sheries. Balt sh is a forum for exchanging ideas, views, and information to facilitate joint actions and various concrete projects aiming at achieving sustainable sheries in the Baltic Sea Region.

A regional approach supports cooperation while considering area-speci c needs

In 2014 the latest reform of the EU common sheries policy (CFP) came into force. One of the key elements introduced with that reform was regionalisation of sheries management within the CFP. e activities of Balt sh have been further developed based on the principles of regionalisation set out in the Common Fisheries Policy. Regionalisation was introduced to address widespread concerns over the top-down approach in EU sheries management that lacked exibility and adaptation to local and regional realities and failed to consider the diverse conditions throughout EU waters. Balt sh became one of seven groupings of Member States engaged in the process of regionalisation of the EU shery. Under this arrangement Member States with an interest in sheries management are entitled to propose detailed conservation (including technical) measures in joint recommendations, having consulted the relevant Advisory Councils. e measures can be implemented into EU law by the Commission as delegated or implementing acts, on the basis of scienti c, technical and economic advice provided by advisory bodies such as the STECF. Unless the European Parliament or the European Council objects, these acts enter into force. e situation in the Baltic Sea shery is deteriorating progressively due to a range of environmental and anthropogenic factors, however, it should not be the shers alone who su er ever-growing pressures and incur the highest price due to various limitations requirements imposed upon them. Each conservation measure should be based on scienti c advice and must be speci c to each site and species. ese are the principles that guide Lithuania—also while holding the Presidency of Balt sh.

Lithuania is a devoted and proactive supporter of the CFP’s regional approach and has consistently advocated the balance of environmental, social and economic elements in sheries management.

A representative and participatory sheries forum

Balt sh operates on two levels: e Balt sh HLG forms its opinion by consensus among its Member States and delivers common positions and joint recommendations. However, a Member State may choose not to join the Balt sh common position or joint recommendation by abstaining.

— e high-level group (HLG) comprises the Member States’ sheries directors and invited o cials from the European Commission. Balt sh HLG in accordance with the EU Regulation on the Common Fisheries Policy consults the Baltic Sea advisory Council (BSAC).

— Balt sh Forum Seminar is composed of representatives from Member States, the European Commission and the Baltic Sea Advisory Council (BSAC) as well as representatives from intergovernmental organisations such as ICES, HELCOM, and other relevant stakeholders in the Baltic Sea sheries.

Conservation measures to bene t several species

roughout the Lithuanian Presidency of Balt sh, meetings of the HLG, of technical working groups with scienti c and technical experts, and of control expert groups were hold on a regular basis. Close contacts with the European Commission and Baltic Sea Advisory Council (BSAC) were also maintained to address the numerous relevant and pressing issues faced by the Baltic Sea sheries sector. Under the Lithuanian presidency intensive work continued on developing new conservation measures to comply with EU environmental obligations, such as further implementing the landing obligation in accordance with the CFP, developing new technical measures to improve selectivity, and establishing area closures. ese measures concern gear selectivity and the at sh shery, as well as the protection of Baltic harbour porpoise, salmon, and Baltic Sea cod.

One of the most important and challenging tasks for every Baltsh Presidency is to nd a compromise on the following year’s total allowable catches (TACs) and quotas for sh stocks in the Baltic Sea. Under EU law the European Council is responsible for xing and allocating shing opportunities on the basis of a European Commission proposal. Relevant EU Member States’ ministers must reach a political agreement at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting each year. In this process the Council is guided also by the recommendations provided by the Balt sh. For the Balt sh Member States this is a particularly di cult task because of the poor state of part of the commercially exploited sh stocks, as well as diverging priorities and domestic approaches in the di erent Member States.

Tough negotiations preceded agreement on TACs and quotas for 2023

e Lithuanian presidency gave full priority to the issue of shing opportunities for 2023.

Numerous bilateral meetings were held with the Member States in a bid to facilitate convergence of the di erent positions and to hammer out an agreement between all the Baltic Sea Member States. On the eve of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting, the Balt sh HLG met in Luxemburg. After intense negotiations consensus was achieved over the Balt sh proposal on TACs and quotas for the year 2023. e compromise was reached in line with the scienti c advice provided by ICES and in conformity with the proposal by the European Commission. e stumbling block in this process was the TACs for central Baltic herring and sprat and they were agreed after several hours of negotiations. Balt sh also reached a compromise on some other important elements of the proposal for Council Regulation. It was the rst time in many years that the Balt sh Presidency reached a

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compromise among the Baltic Member States before the Council meeting. e outcome of the negotiations was very much welcomed by the Member States and the European Commission, and it greatly facilitated nding a political agreement at the next day’s Council meeting.

e next day, Agriculture and Fisheries ministers reached a political agreement on shing opportunities in the Baltic Sea for 2023 setting the TACs and quota per member state for each species in the Baltic Sea for the coming year in the dedicated Council Regulation. e agreement allowed shing to continue in the Baltic Sea after 1 January 2023 without any disruption despite many challenges, and at the same time contributed to the protection of sh stocks for the future.

Ana Sedenko, Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture, ana.sedenko@zum.lt