The European Parliament has called this Thursday for the adoption of "urgent" measures to stop the deterioration of fish stocks in the Baltic Sea and restore the balance of the marine ecosystem in the area, including the option of temporarily suspending part of trawling and certain fishing activities while some species regenerate.
In a resolution supported by 337 votes in favor, 178 against, and 44 abstentions, MEPs ask the European Commission and the Member States to review the current distribution of fishing quotas and their effect on the sustainability of fishing grounds, as well as to fully adjust catch limits to the "precautionary principle" given the slow recovery of marine resources.
The European Parliament considers that the Baltic Sea ecosystem needs a genuine "reboot" and calls for a more effective use of already available legal and management tools, accompanied by closer coordination between European and national policies and better consultation with the stakeholders involved.
In this framework, Parliament proposes that Brussels and the Member States cooperate to "recover and rebuild" fish stocks, including through the suspension of certain fishing activities targeting specific species in the region during their recovery phases.
The text also proposes to temporarily suppress trawling aimed at the production of fishmeal and fish oil during the population recovery process, as well as to restrict extractive activities in marine protected areas.
MEPs emphasize that fisheries management decisions must be based on scientific criteria, but warn of the need to improve the quality and updating of the data used for decision-making.
Among other initiatives, they call for the development of a complete genetic map of some commercially exploited species in the Baltic, such as herring or sprat, and demand that Member States and the Commission provide updated fisheries information to the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea.
Parliament also asks the Commission to request specific recommendations from this body on precautionary margins linked to scientific uncertainty and on the consequences of not maintaining certain fish stocks above the maximum sustainable yield.
The European Parliament likewise condemns what it describes as "irresponsible, unsustainable and lacking scientific basis" exploitation of Baltic fishing resources by Russia, which it accuses of setting quotas "unilaterally".
Likewise, MEPs warn of the increased presence of the so-called Russian "ghost fleet" in the area, which —they warn— raises the risk of oil spills and environmental damage due to the obsolete state of many of these vessels.