Multiannual plan for Baltic fisheries

Multiannual plans for fisheries management are an essential tool to ensure the sustainable exploitation of fish stocks and marine ecosystems. They also offer increased predictability to fishermen in the long run. In October 2014, the European Commission proposed a multiannual plan for stocks of cod, herring and sprat in the Baltic Sea and for the fisheries exploiting them. Seen as a test case, this Baltic multiannual and multispecies plan was the first proposed plan to build on the principles of the 2013 reform of the Common Fisheries Policy. After quite difficult negotiations, a compromise was reached in March 2016 in trilogue discussions. The plan notably defines ranges of fishing mortality levels on the basis of which the Council will have to define annual catch limits. In cases where a spawning stock would be at too low a level, safeguard measures must be taken and the level of fishing mortality reduced. The Commission would also be empowered to adopt delegated acts for fisheries technical measures based on recommendations elaborated jointly at regional level by the Member States concerned. Following approval by Parliament and Council in June, Regulation (EU) 2016/1139 entered into force on 20 July 2016. This briefing updates an earlier edition, of February 2016: PE 581.985.