EU cuts 2020 cod quotas for the Baltic

EU quotas for cod in the Baltic will be cut next year to try to shore up dangerously dwindling stocks, according to an agreement by fishing ministers published Tuesday.

Finland's minister Jari Leppa, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, hailed the "courageous decisions" to prevent overfishing of some species in the Baltic Sea.

He said the reduction for most fish stocks in the zone—and especially cod—would not only help them recover "but also helps mitigate the socio-economic effects on EU fishermen".

The EU sets quotas between member states with the aim of attaining "maximal durable yield"—allowing catch volumes that still maintain the size of a fish stock.

The state of some stocks are worrying for the European Commission, which in July prohibited to the end of the year all cod fishing in most of the Baltic.

For 2020, the ministers agreed to cut eastern cod catches by 91 percent to 2,000 tonnes total, basically just what is accidentally picked up in the nets. And western cod catches were reduced by 60 percent, to 3,806 tonnes.

The ministers also agreed to limit recreational fishing for cod, allowing just five fish per fisherman or woman per day, and lengthened no-fishing periods in some fishing areas.

© 2019 AFP