Tomorrow, on 23 June top fishing specialists of all Baltic Sea Countries and the European Commission will meet to discuss the management of cod and Baltic herring resources in the Baltic Sea. The topic of discussion will be possible adoption of new management units based on which fishing possibilities would be established according to the population resource of the specific species of fish. There are plans to introduce new management units (quantities of the resource of different populations of fish species) proposed by scientists due to variations in the condition of Baltic herring and cod populations in different areas of the Baltic Sea. So, for instance, the populations of Baltic herring vary in the Gulf of Riga and the western and central part of the Baltic Sea. Consequently, different parts of the sea should be managed according to different systems. It is likely that there will be two cod management units instead of one for the Baltic Sea: western and eastern resources of the Baltic Sea. Baltic herring resources would be managed separately in the western and central part of the Baltic Sea and in the Gulf of Riga. So far, scientists have estimated management units separately, but fishing possibilities have been established by dividing the common Baltic Sea resource between all Baltic Sea Countries. As an exception, the International Baltic Sea Fishery Commission has established separate Baltic herring quotas for Estonia and Latvia in the Gulf of Riga already for the past two years. New management units will be presumably adopted at the beginning of next year. After that, fishing capacity will depend on the current condition of the resource of different populations of the specific fish species. For example, if the Baltic herring resource in the Gulf of Riga decreases, the quota allocation will be decreased only in the Gulf of Riga, and if the situation of the resource improves, the quota allocation will be increased accordingly. Similarly, the amount of other quota allocations would depend on the condition of resources. After joining the European Union, Estonian fishermen can catch fish in the whole economic zone of the European Union. Therefore, the adoption of new management units should improve the fishing possibilities of our fishermen. Further information: |
