{"id":154254,"date":"2024-11-05T03:00:18","date_gmt":"2024-11-05T02:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cde.ual.es\/?p=154254"},"modified":"2024-11-04T13:29:57","modified_gmt":"2024-11-04T12:29:57","slug":"commission-proposes-fishing-opportunities-for-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cde.ual.es\/en\/commission-proposes-fishing-opportunities-for-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Commission proposes fishing opportunities for 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today, the Commission published its\u00a0proposal<\/a>\u00a0to set catch limits, or\u00a0total allowable catches (TACs), for ten fish stocks\u00a0<\/strong>in the EU waters in the\u00a0Atlantic Ocean, Kattegat, and Skagerrak<\/strong>\u00a0for 2025. The proposal is based on scientific advice and covers\u00a0fish stocks managed solely by the EU<\/strong>\u00a0in those sea basins.<\/p>\n

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Following the available scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES),\u00a0<\/strong>the Commission is proposing\u00a0catch limits for<\/strong>\u00a0eight stocks, in line with the objective of maximum sustainable yield (MSY)<\/strong>, i.e. the maximum amount of fish that fishers can take out of the sea without compromising the regeneration and future productivity of the stock. For one stock, the Commission is proposing a by-catch TAC above MSY to allow mixed fisheries to continue. The number of TACs proposed for 2025 is lower than last year, due to\u00a0last year’s introduction of\u00a0multiannual TACs<\/strong><\/a>. For certain stocks, TACs for 2025 were already set by Member States at the end of 2023.<\/p>\n

The Commission proposes an increase in catch limits for five stocks:\u00a0anglerfish<\/strong>,\u00a0megrims and horse mackerel<\/strong>\u00a0in Atlantic Iberian waters<\/strong>,\u00a0Norway lobster in the southern Bay<\/strong>\u00a0of Biscay<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Cantabrian Sea<\/strong>, and\u00a0common sole in the Bay of Biscay<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

For\u00a0hake in Atlantic Iberian waters<\/strong>, the Commission proposes to maintain the 2024 TAC \u2013 17\u00a0445 tonnes \u2013, which is between the MSY point value \u2013 15\u00a0105 tonnes \u2013 and the upper limit of the MSY range \u2013 20\u00a0404 tonnes \u2013 provided by ICES. Hake is the most limiting species in mixed fisheries, as other species are often caught incidentally together with hake. With this proposal, the Commission aims to strike the right balance between protecting hake in the long term and allowing fishers to catch it.<\/p>\n

For\u00a0plaice in the Kattegat<\/strong>, the Commission also proposes to maintain the 2024 TAC, which falls below the lower limit of the MSY range provided by ICES. Plaice and cod are incidentally caught in fisheries targeting Norway lobster. In light of the zero-catch advice for cod, catch limits for Norway lobster and for plaice should remain low to avoid increasing by-catch pressure on cod.<\/p>\n

For\u00a0sole in the Skagerrak-Kattegat<\/strong>\u00a0and the Western Baltic Sea<\/strong>, considering the\u00a0<\/strong>low biomass of the stock, the Commission proposes suspending the targeted fishery and setting a by-catch TAC for fisheries targeting Norway lobster at the level of recent catches. ICES forecasts that this by-catch TAC will keep the stock’s biomass stable, although it will not allow reaching MSY.<\/p>\n

Based on the precautionary approach, ICES advises zero catches in 2025 and 2026 for\u00a0roundnose grenadier<\/strong>\u00a0in the Skagerrak-Kattegat. The Commission proposes setting a low multiannual by-catch TAC for 2025 and 2026 for roundnose grenadier for fisheries targeting Northern prawn at the level of recent landings.<\/p>\n

Extended measures to safeguard eels<\/strong><\/p>\n

Given the critical status of the European eel population, the Commission proposes to maintain the\u00a0existing measures for protecting the stock<\/a>.<\/p>\n

These include a mandatory six-month fishing closure and a prohibition for all recreational eel fishing in EU marine and brackish waters of the North-East Atlantic.<\/p>\n

Jointly managed stocks and further scientific advice<\/strong><\/p>\n

This proposal will be updated after the conclusion of the ongoing consultations with Norway and the United Kingdom, and to take account of the upcoming decisions to be taken in various regional fisheries management organisations.<\/p>\n

Twelve stocks, managed solely by the EU, are still awaiting scientific advice:<\/p>\n